I guess it depends on what the goal is. How many cylinders an engine has is only one part of the story. Just as important are cams, valves, cooling, configurations, etc....just putting more cylinders onto a Harley engine makes the bikes even heavier and you basically end up with a huge and cumbersome torque machine like the Boss Hog. If the goal is to produce more HP, there are more efficient ways to do that. But the next question is, why? If the goal is to produce sports-bike performance numbers, your'e going to have to also shed lots of weight, replace metal with plastics, change the overall profile etc...Basically build a sport bike instead of a cruiser.

 

V4 Harley..

 

True enough. I'm just wondering where HD goes from here. They've made a lot of improvements to the V-twin over the years in their quest to give us better performance while still maintaining (somewhat) the old school Harley vibe. Just thinking out loud. I guess they've got several years before they'll need to make any more major changes. After all, the TC lasted 20 years before it got phased out. If they can squeeze 20 years out of the M8 then what? There was a time when a Harley was the most powerful bike on the road but that hasn't been true for a very long time. Other manufacturers are not tied to a particular design the way HD is. A good example (I think) is Triumph. They still make an old school air cooled twin but they also make large displacement liquid cooled twins, sport bikes and the most powerful cruiser you can get in the Rocket III and (as far as I know) the Triumph loyalists are not screaming bloody murder about them turning Jap.

 

The new 4-valve headed engine is the one that should have followed the EVO, as there was 2 companies that offered 4-valve heads for the EVO.

 

I'm 58 and and my earthly body is going to hell in a hand basket, so I don't figger I'll get a chance to.

 

Harley will make whatever sells. The goal is profit, not keeping purists happy. If it takes keeping purists happy to make this profit, they will stick to the script. But there are only so many buyers out there and the overall riding population in the North American market has been shrinking, not growing. If Harley could market a sport bike and make money off of it, they would. But they already tried that route with the Buell line and to a lesser extent, they offered a muscle cruiser with the V-Rod. Neither really garnered the level of interest to bring in profits.

 

The V Rod (R.I.P) Destroyer Revolution engine made 160 HP/97 lb-ft out of 1300 CCs. So as a platform, the V-twin configuration still has a lot of life left in it. Ultimately, CARB/EPA will force the decision on which way HD goes. Air-cooled just doesn't have the tolerances needed for future emissions standards. If Porsche couldn't do it, I doubt HD has the science or technology either.

 

He's talking about the VROD, GRWHD

 

If you have ridden a V4 Aprilia Tuono or RSV4, then Hell Yeah I would buy one. The only downside is the bad MPG you get from V4's

 

Bad *** motor,and yes..stupid expensive..crap maybe even harley could underprice them...lol

https://www.motusmotorcycles.com/americanv4