Most incredible is how closely this model engine follows the real knucklehead engine in is construction details. I worked on an Arlen Ness blown 93 inch knucklehead from 77 to 80, as a young Marine stationed in Hawaii, and have worked on such fifty years now. That is incredibly accurate sounding to a full scale "knucklehead". This is a fine follow on to the very accurate panhead engine that's been available for some time, thanks for showcasing this for all of us.
Wow, a 93 inch knuck back then must've been something else, especially with a blower. I had an EL replica with a "93 S&S about ten years ago and it was real fun to ride. Took a lot of people by surprise. I loved the old builders, Hunziker, Ness, Denver and Ernie Johnson were my idols as a kid. I still have the Black Gold blown 750 Honda poster that hung in my bedroom when I was a kid, those rectangular exhaust pipes were sick!
@@genefogarty5395 I rode that Ness blown knuckle for a couple years, couldn't keep it running, constantly stuck the front exhaust valve. I didn't realize at the time, I could simply make exhaust guides I couldn't buy at the time. I "nursed it" prepping it for a run, and knowing it would get ten or fifteen miles and need the valve redone. I saw the bike again and again for twenty five or thirty years. Never came close to "topping it out", way too much power for the chassis.
@@genefogarty5395 I looked at those SS engines, never could afford to buy one, but built a few. I've got a 103 STD Panhead, going back together for this summer, I'm considering reducing it to 88, for better life. Been doing an 88 since 95, for a street engine.
@@johnmcclain3887 The EL was one I couldn't pass up, got it from a guy going through a divorce for less than the price of just the engine. He was done with bikes so I got all his stuff for one price. Sounds like that pan will be a stout runner, best of luck with her!
I have worked on or ridden every American made Harley model from 45 cu. in. flat heads to the Milwaukee 8 and the knucklehead has always had the best sound. IMHO
I've been looking at these all year and am amazed at how much they sound (in scale) to the actual Knucklehead. Very curious to hear the Shovelhead!! The old Harley engines have such a unique sound, the manufacturer of these scale engines is really on to something.
With the few known they were looking all over for a miniature motorcycle engine as if the quality of details of a miniature knuckle-head to the real McCoy as if the idle sounds like a real knuckle-head as later Harley Davidson famous V-twins has the few know they want to get their hands on a miniature pan-head and compare it to a real pan-head.
The real Harley sounds pretty much just that bad, so if the goal is to model after the real thing then they nailed it 100%. It's characteristic of the design I think.
It needs to break in, do not go adjustment happy with these engines. Harley engines have a loping idle by nature, this is made to duplicate the characteristics of the 45 degree Harley V-twin.
Not a lot of oil on those cam drive gears, grease might be a good idea but be careful not to upset the timing by turning the engine over without the cover on. How do you add oil to the crank case ? ?
Ian, I have this engine & did the same as you mentioned; removed the cam chest cover & lubed the lobes & gears. No oil in bottom end. I run Coleman fuel / 3% Marvel Mystery Oil. After a little time is on the engine, i layed my engine flywheel side down, to check if blow by lube was getting to the crank. Yep, oil residue comes out the timing “peep hole” Glad to know crank gets enough lube 🤙
Pretty nice little engine, though the pressed steel valve gear covers look a bit cheap and nasty. Sounds like the fuelling needs to be fixed as well. BTW it's really not a good idea to pull HT leads off with the engine running, this puts a lot of stress on the coil insulation and the primary side drivers.
What's the name of the small electric screw driver used in the video? Been looking for a small one to work on smaller electronics that use the small precision bits.
Awesome sound, the best of all the tiny engines I've seen on your channel so far!!! Might be even better if 4 of them would be combined to build a V8 😏😎
Even better if you can take about 16 of them depending on if the angles right and if it's set up properly you could make a plane what do you think the Harley engine is literally it's one section of a plane engine essentially
@@russcole5685 yeah I don't know if it would actually work today but Harley-Davidson's the 45° twin-style motor is based on plane engines a single I'll just call it a Cell of a plane engine is essentially the twin motor and it's like 8 to 16 of them or something like that that are all put into series that get the specifically for prop planes so this is going to be like your Cessnas and such I don't know what plane engine it was actually derived from but basically
@@russcole5685 I think you could use something like a Galaxy gear oh my Galaxy Gear and then just have it so that the motors are spinning the outer ring just so you can have your prop shaft running down the center of it basically think how monster truck wheels are in Reverse basically. And yeah if you take and you put enough of those into a single layer I think you can fit something like six or eight per layer and you just start stacking those layers after three or four maybe even five layers you will end up with one just absurdly powerful plane engine
my biggest gripe with tiny engines is how annoying and whiney they sound, So honestly something like this is so cool just because it sounds so close to the real thing!
I have no use for Harleys but that little engine I would love to have! The problem is, there would be no use for it after running it for 2 minutes and everyone had seen it
I subscribed to your channel a few weeks ago, and today (Dec 4) I have completely watched EVERY single videos you put out as of now. Might I suggest that you put out one video showing a real-time machining on the lathe and the CNC mill please? I love those kind of things. :)
It sounded sweet at 2:20 and for the rest of the video. Pretty amazing and holds a nice steady idle.. even when idling real low.. hard to believe that was still around 1600 rpm. Who makes this engine? Its pretty nice. And did the ignition system come with it? Love how u pulled each plug wire and it kept running.. also showin live spark.. that was hella kool
Interesting. I wonder how long these model engines last. Are they comparable in lifespan to cheap chainsaw and weedeater engines? Or do these model engines have like a 4 hour lifetime before the bearings go out?
There is no oil in the crankcase of these, so you need to mix about 2-3% oil in with the fuel to lubricate the Viton rings. They typically have enough blow-by to lubricate the bottom end. I run with Coleman camp fuel mixed with Marvel Mystery Oil, a lot of guys use the canned 2 cycle gasoline pre-mix but that's expensive. With timing cover off, dab a bit of grease on the cam lobes and timing gears. The crankshaft and camshaft have ball bearings wihich is good. After a good break in, the engine starts easily by just flipping it over with your fingers, the drill adapter or starter rope aren't necessary. Machining and detailing on these is incredible, as is the sound- just like the real deal.
Exactly how I run mine, Mark. The bottom end gets lots of lubrication from blow by. If you lay your engine flywheel side down, oil residue will come out of the timing ‘peep hole’ Just as you said, I removed the cam chest cover and pulled & lubed the cam lobes, followers, and crank / cam gear. I’ve noticed my exhaust valve stem / springs have a little blow by lube as well. I was glad to see the Hall Effect sensor is fully shrouded in a plastic sleeve to protect it. Can’t wait to see Mr Jin’s Shovelhead run. It looks amazing. His Pan looks great too. Later man, -j.
@@gazratjackson, Jin’s engines are somewhat delicate; but they are also made to run. It’s obvious Jin put some serious love & time into his R29, by how well it runs. If an engine can start with a single finger flip from cold, that says quite a bit. I have ran my R29, a LOT. Runs perfect and never misses a beat. If I’m running mine for an extended amount of time, I keep a fan blowing on it; it dissipates heat efficiently and gets no where near the temps Q90 let his get up to…. I don’t run it however, when my fiancé is in the middle of talking to me… One time… hells bells, no more opening that can o worms.
@@mhz-yn9gh thanks man I wish I could have run one 18 years ago when my wifey walked out, it would have sounded better then the noise she made , oh well I got lots of old cars an motorbikes that I wasn't allowed before 🍻
@@gazratjackson 😆 Honestly man, I’m lucky… she lets me play with the Knuck’ in the house… Coleman fuel has much less of an exhaust fume than gasoline 😉
Built an rc bike many years ago. Had a servo in the rider to shift mass to steer. Easier said than done. Spent more time rebuilding and repairing than driving.
@JohnnyQ90 you could make a programable / adjustable load to simulate upshifting and downshifting sounds with these tiny motors on stand so we can hear what they would sound like mini ripping!
Rc motorcycle might be too hard to drive but RC morgan 3 wheeler with this engine would be awesome.
A trike might be a good compromise.
A mf honda bigred
Yup! Made in wood, like the real one! Can be awesome
@@Pyro60000 A harley with sidecar would be nice too, and battery, radio receiver and other "ugly" stuff could be hidden in sidecar.
I had an RC motorcycle it was pretty easy to drive just had to get it going
That idle RPM is amazing for such a small engine! This sounds incredible too
The low idle is caused by the large flywheel that is on the primary side that is being used to start and run it.
Most incredible is how closely this model engine follows the real knucklehead engine in is construction details. I worked on an Arlen Ness blown 93 inch knucklehead from 77 to 80, as a young Marine stationed in Hawaii, and have worked on such fifty years now. That is incredibly accurate sounding to a full scale "knucklehead". This is a fine follow on to the very accurate panhead engine that's been available for some time, thanks for showcasing this for all of us.
Wow, a 93 inch knuck back then must've been something else, especially with a blower. I had an EL replica with a "93 S&S about ten years ago and it was real fun to ride. Took a lot of people by surprise. I loved the old builders, Hunziker, Ness, Denver and Ernie Johnson were my idols as a kid. I still have the Black Gold blown 750 Honda poster that hung in my bedroom when I was a kid, those rectangular exhaust pipes were sick!
@@genefogarty5395 I rode that Ness blown knuckle for a couple years, couldn't keep it running, constantly stuck the front exhaust valve. I didn't realize at the time, I could simply make exhaust guides I couldn't buy at the time. I "nursed it" prepping it for a run, and knowing it would get ten or fifteen miles and need the valve redone. I saw the bike again and again for twenty five or thirty years. Never came close to "topping it out", way too much power for the chassis.
@@genefogarty5395 I looked at those SS engines, never could afford to buy one, but built a few. I've got a 103 STD Panhead, going back together for this summer, I'm considering reducing it to 88, for better life. Been doing an 88 since 95, for a street engine.
@@johnmcclain3887 The EL was one I couldn't pass up, got it from a guy going through a divorce for less than the price of just the engine. He was done with bikes so I got all his stuff for one price. Sounds like that pan will be a stout runner, best of luck with her!
I have worked on or ridden every American made Harley model from 45 cu. in. flat heads to the Milwaukee 8 and the knucklehead has always had the best sound. IMHO
I love the little spark plug and spark plug boots too cute!
This could make for an amusing generator for lipo packs.
Put those into your.......🤣🤣🤣🤣
Wow 3 videos a row keep this up man! ❤
This sounds so refined. Definitely a favorite.
I've been looking at these all year and am amazed at how much they sound (in scale) to the actual Knucklehead. Very curious to hear the Shovelhead!! The old Harley engines have such a unique sound, the manufacturer of these scale engines is really on to something.
With the few known they were looking all over for a miniature motorcycle engine as if the quality of details of a miniature knuckle-head to the real McCoy as if the idle sounds like a real knuckle-head as later Harley Davidson famous V-twins has the few know they want to get their hands on a miniature pan-head and compare it to a real pan-head.
Try advancing the ignition timing to see if the running improves
Maybe having it break in properly would make a difference. It's not like any engine runs perfectly before break in.
Might try running it on petrol as well.
The real Harley sounds pretty much just that bad, so if the goal is to model after the real thing then they nailed it 100%. It's characteristic of the design I think.
@@8180634 Like the Harley, the design has been optimised to convert fuel into noise without the side effect of mechanical power. 😁
It needs to break in, do not go adjustment happy with these engines. Harley engines have a loping idle by nature, this is made to duplicate the characteristics of the 45 degree Harley V-twin.
"Who is a big boy!? Who is a great big boy!?"😹 This lil engine is so cool!
My buddy had had a 1963 knucklehead police trike, great rc idea!
That idle is amazing. I need this as an alarm clock ! 🤣 with revving !
Thats a damn good idea! I know a million harley guys would love it.
I loved this idea until I realized that you would be making essentially a time bomb 😂
Just cut this videos audio out and play it through a speaker lol
Make it run on wild Turkey and go to bed with the fumes,.
Lol
This is awesome! The timing sounds the same ! Very impressive.👍🏻
Not a lot of oil on those cam drive gears, grease might be a good idea but be careful not to upset the timing by turning the engine over without the cover on.
How do you add oil to the crank case ? ?
to my ears, owning a knucklehead myself. It sounded like it was already out of timing by a pretty large margin, almost as if it was fighting itself
Ian, I have this engine & did the same as you mentioned; removed the cam chest cover & lubed the lobes & gears.
No oil in bottom end.
I run Coleman fuel / 3% Marvel Mystery Oil.
After a little time is on the engine, i layed my engine flywheel side down, to check if blow by lube was getting to the crank. Yep, oil residue comes out the timing “peep hole”
Glad to know crank gets enough lube 🤙
Dab of Vaseline maybe ?
The very first top end rebuild I ever did on a Harley was on a 1947 knucklehead. This is pretty damn cool!
What a perfection!please make a 2x1 exaust!
It’s funny seeing you grab the flywheel and giving it a spin to start it.
Finally a motor with spark plugs! Great vid, keep up the good work
He's built loads of engines with spark plugs?
He uses mostly glow plugs
@@ferrumignis He has a few, but most of the engines are nitro, so they have glow plugs
@@ferrumignis he didn’t build this…
Words can’t describe how cool this is. Bad to the bone 🦴
Sounds like it has about the same power as a real Harley engine. The idle speed is really impressive for such a small motor though
The heavy flywheel helps with the idle quite a bit. If it didn’t have that big chunk on it, I’m sure it wouldn’t idle so low.
_"Sounds like it has about the same power as a real Harley engine"_ Don't be rude to the model engine.
I've never noticed this until now, but when you were revving it up the max Rpm's are pretty much exactly like the real life size engine
Pretty nice little engine, though the pressed steel valve gear covers look a bit cheap and nasty. Sounds like the fuelling needs to be fixed as well.
BTW it's really not a good idea to pull HT leads off with the engine running, this puts a lot of stress on the coil insulation and the primary side drivers.
even sounds like a Harley v-twin.
They got it right on this one even the annoying sound..
That's one of my favorite Harley engines. Soooo cool
Awesome little engine! Great work!!😃👍🛠️🔧
idk if this guy made this himself but ive seen thigns on youtube that peopel do craft engines this small and they work its pretty neat..
Need some carb tuning!
yup, I think so
I really can't believe the amount of hard work and engineering that go into these little engines. 👍
You'll believe it when you see the price! 😄
@@mickmuzzmkmz1628 for real, $900 for this little thing
@@johnkilo3 They typically sell at auction on E-Bay for $450-550.00.
@@MarkPalmer1000 exactly, I just paid us$388 or 580 Australian, big bucks for a toy but don't care, by it now is au$1350
most beautiful work I've seen in a while. Dude.
I'd love to see a mini V6. Maybe a VQ style. See how trumpety a mini one of those would be 🤣
Even in a miniature vq it'll sound like trash and farts
3.8 Buick 3800 would be killa
Stirling makes a bunch of miniature engines.
That thing sounds incredible!
I find it interesting that they made this engine spin backwards to a usual Harley engine.
…exactly what I thought too…!?
Maybe some RC motorcycle like some old harley WLA with sidecart👀
Definitely 😁
Impressive definitely do an rc motorcycle! Sounds like a beautiful challenge good luck!
I am amazed at how much this little thing sound exactly like a Harley
Gorgeous little engine 👍 love the sound 👍
Crazy how accurate it sounds too, just in smaller scale of course.
Magnifique, c’est de l’horlogerie, félicitations
Wow that’s sick man great job 👍
I bet you could make a pretty sweet reverse trike with that! Exposed engine would look sweet!
Wish I had this in the 60s,my G.i Joe would have a great scooter..great job man.
sounds mad
🔥
What's the name of the small electric screw driver used in the video? Been looking for a small one to work on smaller electronics that use the small precision bits.
It’s a “Sequre ES126”
I’ve had mine for a year and love it.
Yep sounds like the knuckle s i use to build. Great job...
How is this one lubricated if just using Zippo fuel?
Thats what I'm wondering, I've just ordered one 🤷♀️
Trop trop fort !!! Magnifique, j'adore !! Bravo !!!
For some reason. Seeing this motor reminded me of the 1976 Harley Davidson Electra Glide that Elvis used to ride.
@03:46 Coolest part 😍
THANKS FOR THE ARROW IN THE THUMBNAIL TO SHOW US WHICH ENGINE, OF THE ONLY ENGINE PICTURED, TO LOOK AT.
Arrows & circles: overdone since 2001.
Awesome sound, the best of all the tiny engines I've seen on your channel so far!!! Might be even better if 4 of them would be combined to build a V8 😏😎
Even better if you can take about 16 of them depending on if the angles right and if it's set up properly you could make a plane what do you think the Harley engine is literally it's one section of a plane engine essentially
@@borttorbbq2556 What!
@@russcole5685 yeah I don't know if it would actually work today but Harley-Davidson's the 45° twin-style motor is based on plane engines a single I'll just call it a Cell of a plane engine is essentially the twin motor and it's like 8 to 16 of them or something like that that are all put into series that get the specifically for prop planes so this is going to be like your Cessnas and such I don't know what plane engine it was actually derived from but basically
@@russcole5685 I think you could use something like a Galaxy gear oh my Galaxy Gear and then just have it so that the motors are spinning the outer ring just so you can have your prop shaft running down the center of it basically think how monster truck wheels are in Reverse basically. And yeah if you take and you put enough of those into a single layer I think you can fit something like six or eight per layer and you just start stacking those layers after three or four maybe even five layers you will end up with one just absurdly powerful plane engine
@@borttorbbq2556 I don't think any functional plane has a V32.
Jeezus!! Real spark plugs? LMAO !!
Out fkn standing !!!
my biggest gripe with tiny engines is how annoying and whiney they sound, So honestly something like this is so cool just because it sounds so close to the real thing!
I think JohnnyQ90 is just a giant working on normal sized engines
This is beyond belief !
What does he do for a living $ ?
Genius !
That is so cool, my favorite so far
The definition of form and function
Sooo nice 👌
Holy sh!t, sounds better than a full sized Honda.
That sounds awesome. You should make a trike or quad with one of those. That would be awesome
harley davidson v2 sound
was für ein cooler Sound !
Time spent on projects like this engine is time well spent 👌
SO MUCH POTENTIAL!!! 👍👍👍
Absolutely a great job. Needs just a run on the dyno bench. And a little bit of oil leak...
Hi does it got that much power to put on rc car?will it work or doesn’t have that much power please tell your opinion thanks
Damn, I could use that idle sound to sleep every day 😎
That's a really beautiful engine ☺️
you started it in reverse
In order to make it more realistic there should be a few oil leaks and it should breakdown randomly
How much for that
Like 1800 on amazone😭
Do you have to add oil to the crankcase?
I have no use for Harleys but that little engine I would love to have! The problem is, there would be no use for it after running it for 2 minutes and everyone had seen it
I subscribed to your channel a few weeks ago, and today (Dec 4) I have completely watched EVERY single videos you put out as of now. Might I suggest that you put out one video showing a real-time machining on the lathe and the CNC mill please? I love those kind of things. :)
Right on dude
Would be fantastic
They're mass produced, Stirling makes these for 900 bucks a pop.
it sounds like a mini Harley Davidson which is pretty cool!!
Why did you run it backwards flywheel rotation? Does it run better backwards
have you tried those Cison engines?
I'm very impressed with this motor
It sounded sweet at 2:20 and for the rest of the video. Pretty amazing and holds a nice steady idle.. even when idling real low.. hard to believe that was still around 1600 rpm.
Who makes this engine? Its pretty nice. And did the ignition system come with it?
Love how u pulled each plug wire and it kept running.. also showin live spark.. that was hella kool
is there oil in the crankcase?
is there a Magneto to charge the batteries?
It would make a great addition for "The Mouse and the Motorcycle."
Are those kits or did you machine it yourself?
Does it need no cooling?
what does it use for oil?
Thank you ☺️
it even shakes well
Interesting. I wonder how long these model engines last. Are they comparable in lifespan to cheap chainsaw and weedeater engines? Or do these model engines have like a 4 hour lifetime before the bearings go out?
How is it lubricated?
There is no oil in the crankcase of these, so you need to mix about 2-3% oil in with the fuel to lubricate the Viton rings. They typically have enough blow-by to lubricate the bottom end. I run with Coleman camp fuel mixed with Marvel Mystery Oil, a lot of guys use the canned 2 cycle gasoline pre-mix but that's expensive. With timing cover off, dab a bit of grease on the cam lobes and timing gears. The crankshaft and camshaft have ball bearings wihich is good. After a good break in, the engine starts easily by just flipping it over with your fingers, the drill adapter or starter rope aren't necessary. Machining and detailing on these is incredible, as is the sound- just like the real deal.
Exactly how I run mine, Mark. The bottom end gets lots of lubrication from blow by.
If you lay your engine flywheel side down, oil residue will come out of the timing ‘peep hole’
Just as you said, I removed the cam chest cover and pulled & lubed the cam lobes, followers, and crank / cam gear.
I’ve noticed my exhaust valve stem / springs have a little blow by lube as well. I was glad to see the Hall Effect sensor is fully shrouded in a plastic sleeve to protect it.
Can’t wait to see Mr Jin’s Shovelhead run. It looks amazing. His Pan looks great too.
Later man, -j.
Good info thanks gents, mine on its way from Cynah, I wouldn't dought they be somewhat delicate and be a shame to break it.
@@gazratjackson, Jin’s engines are somewhat delicate; but they are also made to run.
It’s obvious Jin put some serious love & time into his R29, by how well it runs. If an engine can start with a single finger flip from cold, that says quite a bit.
I have ran my R29, a LOT. Runs perfect and never misses a beat.
If I’m running mine for an extended amount of time, I keep a fan blowing on it; it dissipates heat efficiently and gets no where near the temps Q90 let his get up to….
I don’t run it however, when my fiancé is in the middle of talking to me… One time… hells bells, no more opening that can o worms.
@@mhz-yn9gh thanks man I wish I could have run one 18 years ago when my wifey walked out, it would have sounded better then the noise she made , oh well I got lots of old cars an motorbikes that I wasn't allowed before 🍻
@@gazratjackson 😆
Honestly man, I’m lucky… she lets me play with the Knuck’ in the house… Coleman fuel has much less of an exhaust fume than gasoline 😉
Yes a trike gotta make it would be insane
I can't imagine the time it took to build this engine. WOW
Made in china microcosm been on eBay a long time.
Johnny you gotta do a motorcycle or trike RC build with this knucklehead engine!!! 🙏🙏
I see a motorcycle build comin..
Where is the best place to get that RPM gague your using?
I'm down to stick that in a rc crawler, rpm sounds realistic enough and gear reduction would make it work
Does it not have crank case oil?
Wicked machine 🙌
Làm 1 chiếc Harley Davidson RC đi bạn 😍
Built an rc bike many years ago. Had a servo in the rider to shift mass to steer. Easier said than done. Spent more time rebuilding and repairing than driving.
Why did you reive the side cover?
That's awesome. Now you need to build a small Harley Davidson to put it in. 😉
@JohnnyQ90 you could make a programable / adjustable load to simulate upshifting and downshifting sounds with these tiny motors on stand so we can hear what they would sound like mini ripping!
looks like a collectors item XD