Reproduction Heads

[MikeL]

I have been searching for an original rear head for my 52 and most everything I see needs a ton of work or is ridiculously priced. I was wondering if anyone can comment on reproduction heads (STD or VTwin)....Any comments or experiences would be appreciated.

[nmaineron]

Seems like I see them everywhere in the bike mags.I just have a hard time with the shovel exhaust spigots on a pan,but thats just me.I'll wager they work quite well!

[Hog54]

The std heads are pretty nice and work perfect according to my friends that use them.And use stock pan exhaust spigots.If I had the extra cash I would get them right now as spares.

[caschnd1]

STD went out of business. Rumor I heard is that Spyke bought them. They used to make a really good repop head that looked OEM. Most of the STD heads you see are not the repop head. Most have big ugly square fins , shovel intake ports and 3 bolt exhaust ports.

-Craig

[Bigincher]

There's a seller on eBay that offers 'replica' heads, but they might seem expensive, at $1200. The do have valves in them, but lack the rocker arm assemblies. Are these the V-Twin offering?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/REPLICA-PANHEAD ... es&vxp=mtr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have no experience with them, but they 'appear' pretty nice. Have to use 'replica' head bolts....

Recently there were several OEM offerings on eBay, but Yes, those are the ones that need some work. But here's one that seems better than a lot I've seen on eBay, but it does has issues....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HARLEY-DAVIDSON ... es&vxp=mtr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Still, if you can pick one up cheap enough, it might pay to have it repaired by HeadHog or Creekside.

Are you concerned with a date code that would be correct for your '52?

[MikeL]

Thanks for the comments,
caschnd1: I had heard that STD went out of business too and that was my major concern with them, as there head seems pretty nice.

Bigincher: I think the repro heads on eBay are the same ones VTwin sells and I haven't heard any comments good or bad on those.
I have been watching the eBay auction you posted and the outside looks quite alright but it looks like something happened inside (but should be repairable).

I am not too hung up on the year of the head (currently the rear head that is causing me problems is a 48) but I would prefer something original if I can find something in decent shape.

[Hog54]

This guy has all the STD head sets.With and without valves.http://www.ebay.com/sch/westsidemotorsp ... ksid=p3984" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.ebay.com/itm/STD-Replica-Pan ... 4cfa9b18ee" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Bigincher]

I am not too hung up on the year of the head (currently the rear head that is causing me problems is a 48) but I would prefer something original if I can find something in decent shape.

You probably already know this, but the only difference between the 1949-50 and the 1951-54 heads is the visible hole near the exhaust port that was drilled and plugged during manufacture. On the rear head you can't really see it, but it's pretty obvious on the front head. For "correctness", it would make a difference, but for a rider, no big deal. All other aspects of the heads are the same from '48 to '54.

I also have a '52, so I know what you're going through. I picked up a really nice set of 1949 (late 1948 date codes) heads a few years ago for $550 (Yes, on eBay), complete with rocker arm assemblies. Whoa, have you priced the rocker arm assemblies lately? They alone are worth... oh, $300. I am going to rebuild these heads as spares for my '52.

You say you have a '48 head on the motor now, but please be sure to read the casting date codes, and not the 'casting number', if you want to be exact.

[TimmyV]

This guy has all the STD head sets.With and without valves.http://www.ebay.com/sch/westsidemotorsp ... ksid=p3984" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.ebay.com/itm/STD-Replica-Pan ... 4cfa9b18ee" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Last summer after the rear head on my '61 Pan cracked into several pieces I bought a set of Pan heads from those folks. From what I was told by the guy I talked to, his company was Spyke. They bought all the tooling & surplus castings from STD.
The set of heads I purchased were ported & polished, complete with valves, guides, springs, etc. I did have to take the rocker blocks/arms out of my old heads but for the price I am a very happy camper. Stock exhaust ports & unless you look pretty close they are hard to tell from stock. My motorcycle is a rider anyways, so I was not too concerned with having stock heads on the motor.

[Bigincher]

Damn, those look NICE...!

[TimmyV]

Thanks Tom...I thought so too !


My old bike is never gonna be a hot rod , but the seat of my pants says that my motorcycle runs better with these heads than it did before with the stockers.

[Bigincher]

My old bike is never gonna be a hot rod , but the seat of my pants says that my motorcycle runs better with these heads than it did before with the stockers.

Oh, no doubt of that..!

[MikeL]

Thanks for the help everyone.

TimmyV: you reused your stock rocker blocks/arms. Did you have any issues or did everything fit good?

[TimmyV]

Mike, no issues with using the stock rocker blocks/ arms, everything fit correctly. ONLY issue I had was when I first received the heads, I had to de-burr the insert holes as the burrs were large enough in my opinion to affect the head gasket sealing surface. I contacted Spyke about this & apparently they were not concerned as they never replied to my message. Then again, they already had my $$$, so why should they care ? (SARCASM ON )
All in all, I am very satisfied with these heads.... price as well as performance.

[steinauge]

We have one of the V-Twin early style panhead engines here. The heads are a decent replica of the plumber style heads.Nice castings.They dont look quite like a stock head externally but very close.They do use a 3\4" reach spark plug and shovelhead valves. I believe they are too much money.