New Big Twin

[trex]

In the past, about every 14-15  years or so HD would introduce a new Big Twin. That time is getting close so I wonder what if anything they have planned. My bike is just about perfect for me now. 95in. with bore so it's close to a square motor, revs quick, makes over 100 hp with the Mondello heads and Wood gear drive cams. But to be perfect I needed to send the crank to DarkHorse to true, balance, plug, weld, H beam rods and Timkin bearing in the left side.It's real fast. Any new Big Twin should address the scissoring crank issue, when lots of power is added, and try to find a simpler valve train to quiet things up. Like to hear comments and suggestions for a new motor. They should update the Sporty motor too, Buell had some great plans for big HP short stroke Sporty but Harley didn't allow it.

[q1svt]

Thought the MoCo did all of that… believe it was a water-cooled VRod motor.

There was speculation the last couple of years that the 2012 touring bikes (due to EPA Reg's and the heat issues), that the company was going to convert.  Some conjectured the 09 frame changes were in preparation for both the trikes and a bigger VRod like motor.

Believe going to the 103” motor was a better choice...  But with the great HTT thread on piston speed, any more stroke may not be an option
   

something different than a oil thread...

[hd06myway]

The "MoCo" didn't invent or design the V-Rod motor, Porshe did with HDs $...and it won't ever be Harley's main power plant for 2 reason, it's metric, water cooled, radiatored, and it doesn't fit Harley styling in terms if asthectics... it other words, it would make Harleys look butt ugly... ain't gonna happen, no matter how much some of the "converted" metric riders want to see it, Harley isn't going to become Honda or some other vanilla brand.  Ever.  The engine they have right now is fine, it meets and exceeds EPA regs, any change to it would be internal, hardley noticable to the naked eye.  45 degree push rod activated V-Twin 4-EVER baby!  Don't let anyone tell you anything else.

[Princess Butt]

A new motor? I doubt we will see anything radical. If anything, we will see oil cooling added to the existing air cooled platform, and perhaps some type of 3 valve or 4 valve head, with pushrod activation.

I doubt we will see much more done with the V-Rod. As much as I (and others) saw the potential for HD to use this motor in a touring bike, it just isnt' happening. They may have developed a test mule prototype, just to make sure they had something available if the air cooled TC wouldn't meet emissions standards.

Personally, I've become very comfortable with the '97 Road King and the '06 Ultra I already have. I'm feeling more the need to do something with the Panhead that I'm currently storing in the basement.

[tomcat64]

new motor,, not really, the Knuck came out in 1936 and everything from there on till the twin cam is upgraded versions of previous motors, i think the twinkie is here to stay for a long time, altho there have been several changes to it already and i'm sure more to come.

[sharkoilfield]

I can see "extra cooling" especially for the heads; otherwise they're not going to kill the goose as long as it's laying golden eggs...but they also know no goose lives forever...just like there current customer base.

[truck]

The MoCo applied for a patent for a liquid cooled motor in 2009 and the patent was published in 2011. So, who knows.
The file is too big to post on HTT. If you want to see it, PM me and I'll email it to you.

[q1svt]

Truck someone posted it to youtube...
2012 Harley-Davidson patent cylinder head liquid cooled system to future engines

[truck]

Thanks q1svt. Just goes to show, they are looking.

[trex]

Is my question that vague. I don't mean something like a 3 or 4 cylinder water cooled, I'm talkling about the same kind of change that was made when they went from Knuckle to Pan to Shovel to Evo to TwinCam, of course I mean 45deg aircooled Vtwin, but if you guys don't think improvements can be made your crazy. That kind of thinking they'd still be trying to sell VLD's. By the way hd06myway I've read the story on the VRod from more than one source and Harley Davidson did design the VR1000 race motor, not Porsche. Porsche was used to take a VR race motor and make it EPA compatible and a more suitable street motor. Harley engineers were busy with the TwinCam at the time.

[hd06myway]

Is my question that vague. I don't mean something like a 3 or 4 cylinder water cooled, I'm talkling about the same kind of change that was made when they went from Knuckle to Pan to Shovel to Evo to TwinCam, of course I mean 45deg aircooled Vtwin, but if you guys don't think improvements can be made your crazy. That kind of thinking they'd still be trying to sell VLD's. By the way hd06myway I've read the story on the VRod from more than one source and Harley Davidson did design the VR1000 race motor, not Porsche. Porsche was used to take a VR race motor and make it EPA compatible and a more suitable street motor. Harley engineers were busy with the TwinCam at the time.

10-4 good buddy... but let's hope they don't put one in a real Harley, it'll look like a Virago if they do... (at least the Virago was air cooled). 

[runamuck]

the first thing I do when I get an ultra is remove the fairings and put them in a bag on a shelf...guess that would be tough to do with the new motor..that water cooled patent may just be an attempt to cover their ass sometime in the future...I think the typical touring bike buyer has just about maxed out age-wise and the younger buyers coming up are not going to be buying those kind of bikes anyway..

[tomcat64]

the first thing I do when I get an ultra is remove the fairings and put them in a bag on a shelf...guess that would be tough to do with the new motor..that water cooled patent may just be an attempt to cover their ass sometime in the future...I think the typical touring bike buyer has just about maxed out age-wise and the younger buyers coming up are not going to be buying those kind of bikes anyway..

really.. seems around here the top selling bike to the young guys are streetglides and roadglides. by young i mean the under 35 crowd. if your talking about the 18-22 yr old they are buying xl's but have there sights set on an HX or flt in the future...