First, the MoCo could get away with air-cooled the last 100 years because the EPA was less strict. As others said, coming years may see water-cooled. I also heard they were going to put the v-rod water cooled engine in more of their product-line.

Second, have always had air-cooled bikes (even metrics) - nothing against tradition, but would buy a water-cooled Ultra in a second. Maybe a combination of getting older and the need for a "Touring Bike"- just would rather not have the heat. Ideal would be to keep the sound and lose the heat.

 

Trust me, it can seem like stop and go traffic @ 5mph sometime. Get stuck in a holding pattern, or takeoff with Max Gross Weight on a hot day. You are watching all your temps, CHT/EGT/TGTs. How about those God awful long taxis to the Active? I fly both pistonAirplane and tubine Helicopters and you have to watch it all. Hey its all good and fun, heck I gotta watch the temps on my boat and it is water cooled!

 

 

I've been riding Harley's for almost 30 years and have done many long >2K trips in hot weather and never had a heat related engine failure, whether that was on a Shovel, EVO or TC. I did have an oil cooler on the shovels and EVO butnot the TC.Aside from crawling at a parade for 1/2 hr and feeling the heat on your thighs (does anyone really do that?), it's not an issue. When I got my '07 UC, I did notice significantly more heat in stop and go traffic due to the EPA mandated factory lean settings. I did the stage 1 and changed the EFI map and it's now similar to the '02 RK I had -meaning normal. Porsche made air cooled engines in their flagship cars until '99. They didn't change to water cooled for reliability but for emissions and they held out as long as they possibly could due to the same loyal following of air cooled die-hards that HD has. Call me old school but when Harley retires the air cooled V-twin in favor of a water cooled one, I won't be buying any new ones. If my choice is to pay the "Harley tax" and have to dick with the EFI to cure the lean issue, OR settle for a water cooled HOG, it's a simple choice. If I wanted the most technologically advanced motorcycle, I wouldn't buy a Harley. However, I want my Harley. I need my Harley.

 

personally I bought HD because of tradition and it's still mostly american made and profits stay here in the USA.
Same can not be said of the Metrics.
But water cooled is so much better.
But HD is stuck in the proverbial mud.
They know and have known for years that the air cooled is no longer a viable option. They're whipping a horse that has already died.
The v-rod engine in and of it self probably won't be used in the baggers. Even though it's about 400cc smaller, more hp and torgue than the TC.
That was an experimental testing motor.
Hd had to get a real world working model and they knew it.
Designed to get the bugs out, compete against others in the class, get the newbies and yes the old timers used to the fact that there is a liguid cooled HD and there will be more.
I would expect it to at least be an option in 2009 model years as in 2010 new EPA emissions regulations come out and you can see on the 2007's the problems with meeting 2006 Regs.
High heat, pinging etc.
If I have the cash then I just might have to buy one.

 

Don't even talk about watercooling the old VTwins.We old Harley riders do not want it any other way.Man,half the fun of owning a Harley is the mechanicalness of the beasts.

 

Comparing stock engines, the TC96 has ~12lbs more torque than a Revo - and more importantly to many (if not most) HD loyalists, the TC delivers that torque at 3500rpm. First time I rode a V-Rod, I felt like I was riding a metric. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Personally, I would consider an HD water-cooled engine only if it's designed with self adjusting valves and eliminates the radiant heat of the TC. Otherwise, I'll look to the metrics if I'm going to take on the added maintenance and complexity of a water cooled engine.