V-Twin Panhead motors

[easyrider]

Hello, and greetings from Finland, the northern gem of a country!

I am looking to get myself a titled panhead roller, which needs a new motor. It has been ran with an evo for the past 20 years, and I have been looking for options on engines to build or to get a completely new engine. I came across Vital v-twin 80" panhead motor, which allegedly is supplied with S&S cases, S&S flywheel assembly and Timken bearings, I think the top end consists V-twins cylinders and heads. I would be tempting to go with that engine pricewise, as it is really cheap, but are there any certainly bad things in these motors? Well, the most genuine thing would be to find good OEM cases and build a motor with new inner parts and fresh heads, but that would be more expensive for sure. Have any of you ran these engines with good luck? The motor that I'm looking for is V-Twin product Code: 10-1999. They don't seem to have them in stock at the moment, but I sent an inquiry about if they are coming back to stock in near future.


Thanks in advance!

[RooDog]

You are right, that engine on on BO....
Description:
"Assembled and tested for oil pressure.
Panhead 80" long block features S&S crankcase, Sifton oil pump and breather assembly, S&S stock stroke flywheel, Timken bearings, stock cam installed with a matched pinion gear. Cylinders are stock with 8.5:1 compression cast pistons and Hasting rings. Top end includes single plug Panhead fitted with rocker arm assemblies, chrome pan covers with thick D rings and chrome steel pushrod covers. Order manifold, carburetor, and 2 brush generator separately. Automatic advance distributor and smooth cam cover are included. Entire unit is pre run and factory tested for oil pump pressure. Manufacturer's Statement of Origin is supplied. **NOTE: Carburetor and charging system is not included.

FITS
FL 1965-1969"

Several members here have not had good luck with V-Tedd's valve springs as installed in their Pan Heads.....
....RooDog....

[awander]

I've had good results so far with the V-Twin "Replica" heads I bought. If you do a site search you will find the thread.

[Excalibur]

Raising this question so you can make an informed choice. Someone please correct me if this is wrong...

With the VT No: 10-1999 you'd need to run the shorter gearbox mainshaft. As you've been running an Evo engine you'll already have the longer mainshaft? so perhaps VT No: 10-2014 would be better? This would give correct chain alignment plus the option of alternator.

10-2014 is also out of stock..

[RUBONE]

Hello, and greetings from Finland, the northern gem of a country!

I am looking to get myself a titled panhead roller, which needs a new motor. It has been ran with an evo for the past 20 years, and I have been looking for options on engines to build or to get a completely new engine. I came across Vital v-twin 80" panhead motor, which allegedly is supplied with S&S cases, S&S flywheel assembly and Timken bearings, I think the top end consists V-twins cylinders and heads. I would be tempting to go with that engine pricewise, as it is really cheap, but are there any certainly bad things in these motors? Well, the most genuine thing would be to find good OEM cases and build a motor with new inner parts and fresh heads, but that would be more expensive for sure. Have any of you ran these engines with good luck? The motor that I'm looking for is V-Twin product Code: 10-1999. They don't seem to have them in stock at the moment, but I sent an inquiry about if they are coming back to stock in near future.


Thanks in advance!

Welcome to the forum. Please be sure and go to the New Member section and tell us a little about yourself. It always helps to get more response when members know a little about who they are dealing with.

As for your question, S&S builds their own Pan replica engines too. And they are sold by W&W in Germany. My take on anything from V-Twin or any other aftermarket seller would be to completely tear it down and check everything for correct tolerance. Which sort of defeats the buying a complete engine thing.
Robbie

[easyrider]

Several members here have not had good luck with V-Tedd's valve springs as installed in their Pan Heads...

Okay, went and read the thread started by awander. So they needed a bit of attention to get them run fine, but so far nothing major?

With the VT No: 10-1999 you'd need to run the shorter gearbox mainshaft. As you've been running an Evo engine you'll already have the longer mainshaft? so perhaps VT No: 10-2014 would be better? This would give correct chain alignment plus the option of alternator.

You are correct. That pan I'm looking for has been ran with an evo and a cowpie transmission. Transmission comes with the deal, and I probably would get myself a ratchet top and the correct case, and use the gears out of a cowpie, with shorter mainshaft of course. Decent, used ratchet tops are getting pretty expensive here

Welcome to the forum. Please be sure and go to the New Member section and tell us a little about yourself. It always helps to get more response when members know a little about who they are dealing with.

As for your question, S&S builds their own Pan replica engines too. And they are sold by W&W in Germany. My take on anything from V-Twin or any other aftermarket seller would be to completely tear it down and check everything for correct tolerance. Which sort of defeats the buying a complete engine thing.
Robbie

Thanks Rubone, I'll post little something about myself on the NM section.

Yes, S&S is one option, but not from Europe. European retail for panhead engine (no matter what setup, 74" or 93") is over 10k in €uros, compared to $8900 from USA (8,9k$ =7,5k€). Whatever engine I'm gonna go with, it's gonna come from US in a freight container from a finnish company operating in US. As what comes to V-twin engine, I was thinking the same as you Rubone. It would be smart to overhaul the engine completely to make sure everything is set correctly, and to be honest that's not gonna be a deal breaker for me. Overhauling and setting things as they should be is little IMO, what I wouldn't want is bad connecting rods, cylinders, heads etc that would wear prematurely. Any experiences about so?

I've heard S&S has had their own difficulties with their replica engines, mainly lifter block failures (too short, tappet gets too deep in the lifter bore, twists and breaks the lifter block on the way up). I would even consider buying a V-twin lower end with S&S cases and flywheel assembly if they are not too bad, and get myself a set of S&S cylinders and STD heads, still would be cheaper than buying complete S&S panhead engine.

V-twin replied to my email this morning. They replied:

No it probably will not be available anytime soon. I never take money on their out of stock items as there is no date. I could place a special order, but it would be non refundable and only ship once it is available. Could be a month, could be six months. They never tell us a date. Which is why I try never to take customers money on their out of stock products as there is no date know as to when we can get one.

Sincerely,
Emmett

Vital V-Twin Cycles
1943 Garfield Ave

I'm still keeping my eyes open for their website, if they get them in stock. I'm not actually in a hurry, as I haven't purchased that roller yet. Plan is to get the bike up and running for summer of '22, so there is plenty of time to get whatever engine I'm going with. But to the original reason that got me starting this thread, any good or bad news about these V-Twin panhead engines is very much appreciated

[Mongrel505558]

I'm one of those people who had trouble with V-Twin valve springs, but otherwise the heads seem to be okay. Bike starts right up and runs well. You might have better success piecing together a motor if you were figuring on tearing down the Vital V-Twin one anyway (that's currently unavailable). Get a pair of S&S cases, or STD if you can find them. You should be able to find 80 inch shovelhead flywheels without too much trouble. There's no wait on V-Twin heads or jugs. Bore the jugs .060 over to go with the 4.25" stroke flywheels to get 80 cubic inches. Plus you can reassemble the flywheels with a sprocket shaft that lines up with your transmission (or the other way around). An S&S or '73 and up Harley oil pump gives more than enough flow for a panhead. Look to ebay for the cam chest gears. This way you get to pick the components and not have to worry about the quality of any one part that comes in a fully assembled engine, plus the satisfaction of building your own motor. You will need the services of a machine shop for a few steps like fitting the pinion shaft rollers, boring/honing the cylinders and truing/balancing the flywheels, but not much else. Most, if not all, of these parts are available now rather than some mysterious time in the future.

Whatever path you choose, good luck.

Jim

[Sarre]

In Europe I would go for Cannonball or Motortechnic MFG. I have good experience with Cannonball, but Motortechnic MFG can build you a complete engine.

Yes, S&S is one option, but not from Europe. European retail for panhead engine (no matter what setup, 74" or 93") is over 10k in €uros, compared to $8900 from USA (8,9k$ =7,5k€).

And you don't have to pay import fees and VAT on that 7,5K€ because it is coming in a Finnish shipping container? If so, I see your point. I could use that container as well for future projects

[melvinjo]

What gets me is that there are allot of, "I have heard", statements in replies to this post.......

I bought a brand spanking new 74" version of the V Twin Pan Motor from a man that was selling off most of his stuff. I boghut it for $2500, quite a deal

My main issue was that these V Twin motors dont come with intake manifolds. You would think by what they charge from V Twin for these motors that it would be included

So how does it run? I have had NO issues..... The biggest PIA is titling in my state, but thats another story. (Wasnt hard, just long a long paperwork drill)

I also bought for another build, V Twins Panhead heads: Aagin, intake manifolds not included. How did they run? NO PROBS.......

[RooDog]

There are so many different carbs available to run on a Panny, Linkert, $&$, SU, that an included manifold could easily be wasted.....

[kitabel]

The largest pump gears are 1968-*. 1972-* is the faster drive gear set.
More data on my page here: http://victorylibrary.com/tech/OHV-pump.htm

[Mongrel505558]

What gets me is that there are allot of, "I have heard", statements in replies to this post.......

I bought a brand spanking new 74" version of the V Twin Pan Motor from a man that was selling off most of his stuff. I boghut it for $2500, quite a deal

My main issue was that these V Twin motors dont come with intake manifolds. You would think by what they charge from V Twin for these motors that it would be included

So how does it run? I have had NO issues..... The biggest PIA is titling in my state, but thats another story. (Wasnt hard, just long a long paperwork drill)

I also bought for another build, V Twins Panhead heads: Aagin, intake manifolds not included. How did they run? NO PROBS.......

My experience isn't hearsay - it's direct experience. Broken valve spring in less than 50 miles, with a mild cam (J-grind). Other than that no problems.

[Sarre]

Same here, I am running cannonball cases.