Very well said Steel.

 

Slow down there bud you are about to wake the anger M8 owners. You didnt know you can not form an opinion about the m8? They are great bikes and maybe not to everyone's liking but i repeat dont form and express an opinion or you will start a bike war lmao

 

Since this thread now only has 320 replies and is not several hundred pages long, looks like Harley did some homework and put out a great new product. Just wish I could currently afford it

 

Well IMO the M8 is about the same motor noise as an early twin cam say 2007 / earlier.. The TCs I've owned were quieter until I messed em up..

I would say it's only a 80 year old design. The reason for smoother is not because the old ones vibrated, it more because the newer rubber mount with bigger motors bounce around more. They make more power..

With EPA they need to cool the motor.. I hate radiators but sneaking in an oil cooler is OK..

If you look at what HD did, they figured out that the single cam evo idea wasn't that bad other than having to had fit the gears. I like like pretty much every big twin motor they made. It's and old design.. They change too much and I'm back to probably buying something else.

 

10,000ks on the 114 sg... MAGIC!
Ride it hard, mostly two up.
Zero issues
Torque for Africa
Time to open up pipes and dyno tune..

 

As an actual mechanical engineer, degreed and licensed, and as an avid motorhead (why I went into mechanical engineering), I can say without hesitation that I think some of the changes made to the M8 are truly ingenious. Not one thing about the new design seems in the slightest as "desperate". You're certainly entitled to your opinion about the new M8, but your opinion about the engineering is just flat incorrect.

 

Welcome to the forums!

 

I'd be real interested to hear what impressed you on this bike. While I think the fork damping design is really cool / innovative and the 4 valve head with 2 plugs helps with meeting emissions plus providing the opportunity from more performance, the rest is pretty much a simple progression to improve the product. Things like oil cooled heads and a single counter rotating balancer have been used on other bikes with success.

Since Showa likely did the fork design, I wonder if the damping setup will be carried over to Honda of if they are not already using this stuff. I'd bet the implementation has been patented. I guess it would be interesting to see who owns the patent.

Single cam made more sense to me and I wondered why HD went to 2 on the TC.

 

Frankly, the ability to get a 107-inch motor that is air-cooled to both make better horsepower and torque while meeting EPA emissions requirements is a feat unto itself.

Also, I love the four valve, pushrod design with hydraulic lifter and a forked rocker idea. While not "earth-shattering", it maintains the nostalgic look and feel of an old Harley V-twin while incorporating a maintenance-free 4-valve design.

Finally, just the ability to make a modern engine continue to operate on 100-year old design that produces more power, more torque, less emissions, and can still be the giant jewel on a motorcycle that prides itself on their timeless and traditional lines is quite a feat, IMHO.

ETA: For several years now, I've been sure - positive, almost - that HD was going to have to move to water-cooled to manage the EPA. When the wet-head designs came out, I was even more sure this was the transition step - that the next HD motor was positively, for sure going to have water cooling.

But it didn't. I was impressed.

 

Thanks for the reply.. I do think the valve covers look a little big compared to the older bikes.. I suspect that a mat black PC will reduce the look a little..