Were you around for that technology too?.................LOL

 

Please post audio/video of Evo making a potato sound.

 

EPA does not mandate how emission levels are achieved. They set the levels and industry finds the way to be in compliance.

Don't forget that there is a huge number of air cooled aircraft motors out there.

The same displacement motor with the same level of tune generates the same amount of heat. It is how the heat is dissipated that is different.

Water cooled motorcycles are not without heat complaints. For 2010 Kawasaki went to a 1700 cc motor and changed from a drive shaft to belt drive. The frame was shortened some with the belt drive. Riders started having heat complaints right away. For 2011 the company rerouted flow from the radiator. They had the same problem with their sports tourer the Concours.

Over the generations Honda has modified the flow from its radiators also. 2012 brought changes to insure that the flow did not go back onto the passenger as it had on earlier models.

The technology with metallurgy and oil engineering is to the point that no oil is like it was 10 years ago. There is no advantage to water cooled over air cooled at all. In fact there are more disadvantages.

It is time to organize like ABATE originally did for helmets to lobby Congress for legislation to exempt or limit regulation of motor cycle emissions.

Voting will get you what you want. We must get together and fight for this one.

By the way for those that said they would buy a water cooled HD. They have been doing that for ten years now. Go get one. They are awesome.



Then you will learn that heat from a water cooled bike stuck in traffic and the fan kicks in, you will be blasted which MORE heat than the TC engine will give you.

 

Listen up guys... water cooling blows. Right up there with shaft drive as a worthless idea.

(Uh, why does he say this?)

Cause water cooling concentrates all the heat coming through the radiator ducts towards your shins. It has a bunch more parts ands things that can break. Look, if you are riding a Harley it is because of the art of the bike. If you want hyper performance, get a Hayabusa. Like i have along with two Harleys.

Once again, everybody! Water cooling blows...

 

Actually the comparisons I read were with other V-twin cruiser style motorcycles, mostly water cooled metrics. There was an air cooled Yamaha in the group though. About the only place the Harley came out ahead was on fuel mileage.

I won't argue that a water cooled engine should last longer than an air cooled one, and make more power. I was just disagreeing with the OP's fuel mileage theory.

 

Compare the horsepower levels too.

Even stock air-cooled sound like crap with the stock exhaust. V-rods with a nice exhaust sound awesome.

No, the lawsuit will have nothing to do with it. The bigger motors, advancements, frame and 6speeds will be the most sought after.

+1.

That can be addressed with design changes and engineering.


Except the 6.1 & 6.4 liter SRT-8s, the LS3 and LS7 are excellent, fast revving, powerful V-8s that still give the imports fits.

Incorrect. Water cooled engines allow for higher compression ratios and engine heat management that allow for power levels and 91 octane/unleaded compression ratios never seen before on the street while still meeting EPA emissions and excellent fuel economy.

That can all be managed rather easily. What coolant temps activate the fans on a water cooled bike?

 

OK, here's my question. Isn't the heat proportionate to the compression? I have no idea, so thats why I ask but wouldn't just lowering the compression a point eliminate quite a bit of heat. YES, you would loose some power, but with todays engines being as large as they are wouldn't the trade off be better than a cooling system? Honestly, just asking.


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No, you'd lose efficiency, power, mpg etc. It's a backwards step.

The 103ci is equivalent to a 412ci V-8 or a 6.76 liter.

It's already an underpowered motor, a lower compression ratio would make it horribly obsolete.

 

Companies like S&S turn out fine motors every day. With the aftermarket motor and tranny business at the level it is today, really not much reason to buy a new one anyhow. I've rebuilt several bikes in the past, they all came out better than they were factory new. This was done at a time when aftermarket, bolt-up motors and transmissions were not available. The fact that you have these companies like S&S, Baker, Revtech and many more, make the rebuilders job easier.

I'm not trying to suggest any solutions or answers for you or anybody else. You watercooled guys can do what you want! I'm stating the fact, that I will never own a water cooled Harley Davidson.

I have a real problem imagining why any long time or "hardcore" Harley rider would even want to consider water cooled Harleys. There are too many other options out there. If the MoCo decides to watercool, they are not going to consult with me, so that takes it pretty much out of my hands, other than to say "I'll never buy one of them", yes I'll still ride a Harley, and will as long as I can swing my leg over one!

 

I'm no engineer, so this is layman's speculation. But the addition of a cooling system would add significant weight--for the radiator, fan and fan motor (if so equipped), thermostat, etc. and the coolant. (Water weighs 8 pounds per gallon, have no idea about water/antifreeze mix.) So adding a system like that to the same sized engine would decrease the power to weight ratio, wouldn't it?

And how about this lawsuit--radiator hose breaks and shoots superheated water and steam onto motorcyclists legs. When a hose breaks in a cage, the spray is contained by to the engine compartment.

Just like McDonalds can't make cold coffee so you can safely spill it in your lap, Harley can't make a cool engine so that you can safely touch the pipes after it has been running.