A shovel head is a type of Harley engine. It get's the name because the head looks like a shovel, same as the knucklehead.

Historically, the term bobber chopper comes from when folks would "chop" things off the bike that they felt were superfluous. Same as bobbing. Later, the term Chopper began to describe bikes with long raked forks because they would chop up the frame to add rake to the neck. Bobber, pretty much stayed the same as meaning they bobbed the extra crap off of it to make the bike lighter.

If I am wrong, someone will sure correct me.

ooooooo!!!! ok, that makes sense! i like rat bikes, and i've seen flat black bikes in the photo gallery....i think maybe a little red pinstriping would be pretty sweet!

thanks for clearing that up! i'm still confused about the jigser thing though! haha

Shovel head


Knuckle head


Pan head


Blockhead  

is that yours with the black and blue tank? that thing is gorgeous! i'm asking cuz on the bottom of your post it says red 98

ok, that makes alot of sense! they are very very nice bikes! and i assume they're not the same engines as the savage.....what other bikes have the little thumper in them?

my friend calls it a weedwacker on wheels ahaha

sorry kids, blockhead is already spoke for... first gen harley evo's.... "jixxer" does indeed mean gsxr, and no, not nearly the same engine... they carry dual ohc 4 bangers, liquid cooled, these days fuel injected... a "bobber" is one of those "every excess gram pared off" choppers, ie: no front fender, turn signals, rear seat, passenger pegs, very often no front brake, a cut as far as you dare rear fender, sportster tank, usually a side mount plate and tail-light... solo jockey seat is the norm... if you check craigslist in miami, you'll also see 70s vintage japanese streetbikes for sale as "bobbers", though in these cases what you'll see is just a butchered kz750 twin for the most part... a "chopper" dates back to the late 40s... during ww2, many of the aviation mechanics and pilots rode bikes as their "issue transportation", especially in the pacific theater... the mechanics used alot of the high-performance techniques that gave aero engines all that power on the bikes... bumped up compression, bigger valves, welded up and reground cams, etc.... made those issue harley 45s much more powerful... once they got home, and they still wanted to ride, they discovered that most civillian auto/bike production had ceased in '42... thus, tons of older bikes, no new ones (cars too)... so, using the techniques learned in repairing airframes and engines, they modified the available bikes into "customs"... cars had the same techniques used on them, particularly lowering of the roof line "chopping", and lowering of the body on the frame rails "channeling".... the custom bikes were called "choppers" to distinguish them from stock bikes.... this phrase passed on to the earliest issue helicopter in korea, that "mash"-vintage bell whirlybird, because the closest resemblance to it could be found in the stripped out bikes of the ww2 aviators.... harley's various engine models are described by head style since very early on... skipping the "total loss" oilers, and various very early models(suction valve, twin valve, j models, etc), you have flatheads(45, 60, 74, and 80 cubic inch), knuckleheads(60 and 74 cubic inch, overhead valves, mechanical lifters), panheads (a few 60s, vast majority 74s, ohv, hydraulic lifters), shovel heads (74s mostly, the odd late 80 incher, ohv, hydraulic lifters, improved oiling system), blockheads are the early evos, and the current generation of engine is the "twin cam"..... i skipped the sporties and k-models....lol
edit: forgot to mention that flats, knucks, and pans also had "thumper" versions... just 1 jug.... not seen very often....

There is a some dispute over when a single-cylinder motorcycle  becomes a "thumper." As far as I know no one calls a two-stroke a thumper, regardless of displacement. I don't think anyone calls a 50 cc a thumper, nor a 125 cc. Some call 250 cc singles thumpers. More accept the 350 cc as a thumper, I think especially the 350 Ducatis. I believe 500 cc singles and up are always considered thumpers. The name probably derives from the "thump - thump - thump" sound made by singles at relatively low RPM.