Hey guys if you got to have a air cooled bike there is always Yamaha..They have a 1850cc with no heat engine issues.The Stratolinear and host of smaller ones.

 

I can see lots of upside to water cooled. I'd buy one to get the up sides. As long as it still came from the MOCO, it'd still be a Harley.

 

This is a hard question for me to answer as I'm not exactly sure what I'd do if and when the time comes. That said, if the only Harley touring bikes available in the future are water-cooled, I'd be very tempted to try out a BMW K 1200 LT.

 

If I liked the bike, sure, why not? It is still a HD. For those of you who said no, I'll bet that is what those guys said way back when they did away with the suicide shift. I'll bet there were even some nay-sayers when they went away from solid rubber tires!!!. And, there are STILL some hold outs from the days of the rigid frame. Things change, always have, always will.

 

I rode a V-Rod Muscle last fall and liked the speed. The power was all on top though. They would need to make it a single crank pin to keep the sound, and about 120ci. Most metrics are bigger then the stock Harleys now and that is stupid. Harley Davidsons are looked at as the big badass bike, but it has a little bitch motor compaired to the top of the line metrics. Its sad that you can't even try to race a metric because you may look stipid. If Victorys were not so fugly I would have one because of the power. I have a Street Glide because it's a sexxy bitch, but it is a dog, and I refuse to spend 5k to keep up with the other bikes out there. If Harley can make a liquid cooled SG with some *** for around what my 09 cost I'm in.

 

Thats an interesting perspective, but I wonder if Harley Davidson would have survived in the late 80s if they had used a new liguid cooled engine to save the company. I wonder if Honda, Yamaha or Kawasaki would have copied the new Harley liquided cooled bike.

Change may be on the way, but I'm not sure Harley could survive long enough for hold outs to change their mind.

Other than the dedicated Harley riders, I'm just not sure why anyone would pick an expensive Harley when they can get the same bike cheaper down the street from a different maker. As of right now, Harleys have a distinctive engine that everyone else wants to copy. What happens when they switch to a new engine that everyone else already has? For that reason, I think the aircooled shaker will hang around awhile even if Harley does come out with a new engine.

Beary

 

I might not be happy with a v-Rod based bagger. I'd probably be happy with a V-Rod motor in a touring frame although I'm afraid I'd miss the low end tourque of the Twin Cam.

Honestly, the days of the air cooled, push rod engine are numbered. The days of the liquid cooled overhead cam bagger are coming.

Maybe we'll see something in a week.

MY PREDICTION - We'll see a V-Rod Muscle bagger with a fixed fairing . . . saw it in my crystal ball!

 

I just purchased an 09 UC after 25 years of not riding. I looked at 3 bikes, BMW K1200LT, Goldwing, and HD Ultra classic. The BMW was real nice, with sleek lines, well designed placement of the gauges and controls. The Goldwing was well...a Goldwing, very nice bike. What sold me on HD was the tradition, sound, and image of the American motorcycle. There may come a time when HD is water cooled, thats when I'll buy a BMW.

 

Yep. I think it would be an improvement. Not sure why Harley is still holding out.

 

In a heartbeat