Panhead Distributor

[58panman]

Looking at Panhead distributor from the front of the bike which way should it be rotating when the motor is running? I'm changing out my Dyna S ignition and want to make sure the previous owner did not install a reverse gear.

Thanks, Tony

[CraigArizona85248]

The OEM part will rotate clockwise when the motor is running... that is the points cam will be rotating clockwise.

-Craig

[chris haynes]

Panheads do not have distributors. They have a timer. It doesn't distribute anything.

[58panman]

Craig,

Thanks, I'm good to go it's still stock I'll order the Spyke CRD.

Chris,  feed your Yamaha some more rice.

Tony

[CraigArizona85248]

Tony,

Make sure you get the "special" instructions for installing the ignition in the spyke distrubutor.  The wiring is different for distributor vs. nose cone installation because of the opposite direction of rotation.

-Craig

[chris haynes]

Craig,

Thanks, I'm good to go it's still stock I'll order the Spyke CRD.

Chris,  feed your Yamaha some more rice.

Tony

Tony,
I don't own a Yamaha. Only 15 Harley-Davidsons and none of them have a distributor.

[Harpo]

BOY it's a good thing someone clarified that whole distributor/timer thing, I bet lots of others (besides myself) had no idea what Tony was refering to in his post.  I guess most us will still call it a distributor and will also still refer to the knarly clutch assist device on the left side as a mousetrap.  I know, I know.......27.3 Harleys (make that Harley-DAVIDSONS) and not ONE of them catches mice.

[wreck74]

thats like calling my engine a motor. theres no motor on my 59 panhead. i have to kick start it.

[Little Al]

humm, semantics... lol

from Webster Dictionary:

Engine:  a machine for converting any of various forms of energy into mechanical force and motion

Motor:  any of various power units that develop energy or impart motion:
           a) a small compact engine
           b) internal combustion engine  ; especially : a gasoline engine

looks like Wreck, you have a motor and an engine! lol

[ModelABob]

Distributor, timer or circuit breaker they all do the same thing.   What gets me is why I read all the time about guys
pulling there original H-D "sparky thing" for some whoop-de-do high dollar aftermarket replacement "sparky thing"??   I've never had that much trouble with original Harley timers and all I've ever used to set them up and time the bike is a screwdriver and a cigarette paper.   I admit I don't ride the Pan that much anymore, but I sure did back in the day.  My Pan is a '65 model with its original one year only style automatic advance circuit breaker and if you know anything about them they can be a bit tricky to set up.  I guess it is all in what ya' want.....

Happy New Year & AMF/Ride Safe

[fourthgear]

The timer does distribute , ie; the dc voltage power supply to the coil at the proper time when the points open, so it is a distributor also and a timer .
I had a timer /distributor on my 48 motor /engine wear oblong (egg shape )where the top & stem move and you would set the timing and then go to start and the timing would be off , that took a while to figure out . Went to a new after market auto adv. timer /distributor and she started every time .Then I went Mallory !

My 65 also has the OEM timer/distributor.

[Deye76]

I got a "timer" on the stove.

From the dictionary....distributor:
"a device in an engine for distributing the voltage to the spark plugs in a definite sequence." 

[bikerider58]

I hear ya ModelA.  My old sparky thing didn't auto advance.  It worked great for many years, but when I had to rebuid the heads (valve guides broke loose), I decided to do the whole engine/motor and changed it to a new auto advance and electronic sparky thing.  Works just as good as the original, but without me touching it during the ride.

[Pzokes]

Chris,
I always wondered where the AMCA people came up with the word "timer".  I never heard any of the HD Dealers or mechanics call it that.  In the "Big Twin 1940-47 Service Manual" it is callled a circuit breaker.  In Old Goose's "Panhead Service Manual 1948-57 Rigid" (which I think may have been a mix of 1940-47 Overhead notes, 1958-64 Duoglide Manual, and Harley Shop Notes) it is also called a circuit breaker.  I also see the chrome covers called "circuit breaker covers" in early Superior and Dixie Catalogs.  The first reference that I can find to the word "timer" is in Palmer's book.  Palmer titles the paragraph "Timers" but then starts the first sentence "The timer or circuit breaker".  But Palmer also stays away from using the Chopper Builder's terms "Panhead" & "Knucklehead".

[stroker800]

  I,ve only had my pan a few years(counting build time)...where the hell  is timer thing. And what am I timing ?? Is it for eggs, does it count the # of kicks to start the bike??? Also checked out Taiwan Tedds.....guess what they don,t sell timers only distributors,,,,,I also like the name "sparky maky thing",,,but it good to know we are being "policed" about our parts...See what you can do when you own 15 harleys,,,,,,,,,
Dave

[Deye76]

S&S labels them "timers" in their catalog. Never heard them referred to anything but distributors, until recently.

[Pzokes]

To do a "restoration judge rephrase": As this is the Panhead part of this webside, to be recognized as a revelant term, we must have factory documentation that this was the term used by Harley Davidson during the Panhead years.....or we call it by the new HTT name: "sparky-maker-thing".  LOL 

[Little Al]

Original parts manuals and service manuals seem to use the terms circuit breaker and timer interchangeably.

I say call it what you will, we all know what we're talking about.

[4DWUDS]

I'm all for the "Sparky Makey thingy"

[CraigArizona85248]

LOL... Patrick, I figured you'd go for calling it a "dizzy".   

[4DWUDS]

If I had, maybe only you and I would have known what I was talking about

[Speeding Big Twin]

As noted by Little Al, H-D referred to both a circuit breaker and a timer. I have five H-D catalogs covering certain Panhead years and Circuit Breaker (Timer) and Wiring is listed in the 1937-1949 index but in the 1949-1957 index only Timer appears. However, both relevant pages for 1949-1957 bear the following heading: Circuit Breaker (Timer) and Wiring. The indexes for 1958-1968 and 1961-1971 both include two alphabetically separated listings: Circuit Breaker; and Timer. However, neither catalog used the latter description in a page heading.

The index for 1941-1984 doesn't include a timer, only a circuit breaker. Ignition Circuit Breaker, not timer, is given as part of the heading on both relevant pages. The word ignition may have been included to differentiate the part from the other circuit breakers in the publication. And this possible differentiation also happened in two of the 1961-1971 page headings.

I have three different pre-Panhead catalogs, the earliest of which covers 1926-1939, and all three of them use Circuit Breaker (Timer) and Wiring as page headings. Included in all five of my pre-1958 catalogs are parts such as: timer (drive) shaft and cam; and timer shaft housing. But also: circuit breaker plate/base; and circuit breaker (timer/timer base) assembly. However, in the 1958-1968 catalog the pre-1965 shafts are described as circuit breaker shafts, not timer shafts. It's also interesting that my four earliest catalogs covering certain Panhead years all list a circuit breaker cover, not a timer cover. (The 1941-1984 catalog shows a cover although it is not listed.) But The Legend Begins mentions a time [sic] cover for 1948 and timer covers for 1949-1969.

Palmer's index includes timers but not circuit breakers although both descriptions are used in his book as pointed out by Pzokes. Palmer's book even includes both descriptions when referring to similar parts on the one page. For example, on page 390 a timer shaft and housing are shown and mentioned but circuit breaker shafts and their housings are also shown and mentioned.     Eric

[Little Al]

Despite what everyone said (including me) and the suggestions and evidence, I've switched my vote to us calling it a "dizzy"

I just like the sound of it and nobody else will know what we're talking about! lol

[ModelABob]

Hey, I'm the only "dizzy" part on my Panhead......LOL

AMF/Ride Safe

[Deye76]

Wondering if I should go with a mechanical dizzy or an electronic dizzy. What would purist's think?

By the time I aquried my 49', in boxes, not complete, a manual in good condition, was likely worth more.