and then there's this on the horizon



http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/ne...dia/index.html

 

I read that they also got help from Porsche on tuning the EVO...the motor was all developed, but they could not get the emissions in line and still have any power.

 

Hey Fats, if yer gonna slag H-D by sucking up to a pasta-can bike at least spell the name of the ravioli burner correctly: D-U-C-A-T-I, or as we call them out here, high-strung, expensive-to-service POS that get stomped by ever decent Japanese bike. And the Bills blow...

 

I should rephrase, if HD goes with a V-Rod "type" liquid cooled engine, they won't be able to keep the sound. The V-Rod uses a DOHC. It's not a pusrod motor. Heck, even the "Big Twin's" don't have the conventional HD sound. There's a ton of people here wanting to lower their RPM's to attempt to make their bike have the "potato potato" sound. I don't care what exhaust you put on a V-Rod type (or any liquid cooled metric V-twin for that matter", it'll never have the conventional HD sound.

 

The V-Rod engine was designed by Harley as a full race engine, the VR-1000. Porsche was brought on board to turn it into a streetable and reliable motor for daily use.

I think it is a wise move to bring on their engineering expertise to develop the new engine.

~Joe

 

So many newbies to the game... The (carbed) EVO was and still is the best all around Harley designed motor ever produced. It will never get better than that one. Many with well over 100k documented miles and still not even a top end refresh. And when it is ready for an overhaul, you can still do it yourself.

No, they won't put a high revving low torque motor in an Electra Glide. They'll likely get bigger, and maybe faster, with more and more elecro gizmo techno - tronics to fail you can't begin to diagnose much less repair yourself, but they'll never get better.

 

So true. the CI's will definatley get bigger and the compression will go up so we can run crappier fuel. Most of the "elecro gizmo techno - tronics you are referring to (that fail), you can thank the Government (mainly EPA) for that. same thing in just about every industry, when the Government steps in, things get complicated. My father owns a heating and A/C business, and it's the same story. So many controls and safety devices that there now has to be a computer in them to function. Most of the repairs are a safety switch or the computer board that fails, not the furncae itself. Once you understand how the funtion, they are not hard at all to diagnose, same with the bikes. you just have to have the proper manuals and the electrical knowledge.

 

Porsche's engineering department has done contract work for many auto, aerospace, and consumer products over the years. Obviously, they are signed to stringent NDAs to protect their intellectual property and the client's identity. It has been very well documented though that HD is on that client list.

 

Harley Davidson designed the Revolution engine when they went Superbike racing in the 1990's with the VR-1000. They involved Porsche to "tune" the engine for street use purposes.

 

The early model Daytona 675's were notorious for throwing a CEL. For what, you ask? The flapper in the middle of the exhaust track would get stuck. Would it cause issues with the bike running? No. But it was there for emissions. After owning VWs, I tend not to immediately worry if the vehicle throws a CEL and is still running half way decent, but on a high strung bike like that, that little light can be worrisome for such a tiny annoyance as that stupid flapper valve.