The Shovelhead is a notoriously cantankerous, but much beloved V-twin motorcycle engine manufactured from 1966 to 1984 by the Harley Davidson Motor Company. The name was derived from the way in which the engine's rocker boxes resemble the inverted heads of coal shovels. Though prone to oil leaks, hard-starting and overheating, this engine defined the unique Harley sound that many love (or hate) today. This piece employs live audio processing techniques via the Max/MSP programming language. The included program files can be executed with Max/MSP Runtime, which can be downloaded for free. |