The Shovelhead was the Harley-Davidson engine family that debuted in 1966 with shovel-shaped rocker covers.
The Shovelhead replaced the Panhead as Harley-Davidson’s large overhead-valve engine for Big Twin motorcycles. Its rocker-box design gave the engine its name and made it visually recognizable from earlier Harley-Davidson powerplants.
Shovelhead engines remained in production until 1985, when the Evolution engine became the company’s new Big Twin design. During its life, the Shovelhead powered both touring-oriented and custom-style Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
The name is sometimes confused with Panhead, whose rocker covers were associated with their pan-like appearance, or Ironhead, the nickname for a Sportster engine.