It is very true that the current M8 bikes and the twin cam have a bad sound. Many riders who have been riding for many decades say that the original and strong sound of the Harley has been lost over the years. In this way it forces the pilots to modify their exhaust pipes to their current bikes to achieve that pure and very strong sound.
So my question is?
Which motor or motorcycle models have that strong and original sound that does not need to make modifications?
Where they make you say "this is a true harley davidson"

 

To me, it is the Knuckle, Panhead & Shovelhead.

 

M8s & Twin Cams don't sound bad; they sound a little different than Shovels or earlier. Actually, I think they sound stronger because of the higher idle.

 

 

I'd agree with pretty much anything pre-evo but for me... the ShovelHeads had that patented "Potato" thump that still sends a tingle down my spine. Doesn't hurt that I grew up on the back of a Shovel Dresser and my first hog was a Shovel too. I love my 88B. Most reliable bike I've ever owned but she's got a different soul to her that I'll just never really feel is the same as what I was raised to cherish. Nostalgia is funny like that I suppose.

 

The original sound was produced by a small displacement single cylinder engine.

But to get to what you are really asking about

Knucklehead sounded good, very raucous

Shovelhead had what most think of when they think classic Harley sound. Very slow idle with a heavy flywheel

Carbureted Evo's sounded different than a Shovelhead, especially with the light flywheel. It was still a sound that was an echo of the Shovelhead. A well tuned carbureted Evo can sound as good as a Shovelhead.

Fuel injected Evo's have a higher idle and the sound is different.

I have never heard a carbureted Twin Cam.

Fuel injected twin cams, particularly the 88", sound very different. Some of the sound was gotten back with the larger versions of the twin cam and with some good tuning, but still wasn't the same.

Touring M8. In stock form, sounds an awful lot like a VROD to me. It's not a bad sound, but is not what I think of when I think Harley.

Softail M8. Now this is the one that I have a problem with the sound, especially in stock form. The volume of the exhaust varies with the model because of different mufflers but they mostly have exhaust that sounds like the touring version but somewhat quieter. Some are so quiet I had ask if the damn thing was running. The big problem for me with the M8 Softail sound is there is a lot of whining / whirring noise that I presume comes from the dual counter balancers. The touring M8 has a single counter balancer and does not produce this overwhelming whine. While I was at the dealer they started a Street Bob on the sales floor while I was talking to one of the ladies. I just looked at her and said "Are you shitting me?" My understanding is the M8 Softail whine subsides after break in. I have not heard one that had any kind of mileage on it.

VROD-I don't care for the idle sound but twisting the throttle sounds kind of like a race car but not really. It's a satisfying sound but not classic Harley sound. It is easy to make a VROD loud and the loudness sounds like ****.

500/750 Street- the sound is indistinguishable from anything else out there and is not memorable at all. That also describes these bikes in general. Indistinguishable and not memorable. Hardly a characteristic one would expect from a Harley.

What do I ride? 1995 Heritage Softail Classic with minor head work, mild cam, dynojet carb kit etc. It sounds good. It's not loud but louder than stock. The tone is deep. The usable power is good. I like it.

I am sure a fair amount of people are butthurt because I may have insulted their favorite bike. An opinion about sound was asked for and so this is what my opinion is.

 

Pre-EVO had heavier Flywheels. This allowed the maintenance of a much lower and still stable, Idle speed. ~600 RPM vs ~1,000 RPM. (at the expense of slower engine rpm acceleration). That's how you get the Potato-Potato sound.
I have a TTS MasterTune on my 2015 and can specify the Idle RPM that the ECM will try to hold. I can specify an Idle RPM as low as 600 RPM. However, there seems to be a consensus that setting the Idle RPM to low can cause problems with low oil pressure/volume and/or the scavenging side of the oil pump. I don't think anyone has actually studied this very much. LOL The cost of discovering that the Idle RPM was set to low is probably more pain than most folks, myself included, care to experience on purpose. Also there may be a charging system issue as the Idle RPM drops while still running Lights, Fuel Pump, ECM, instrument Cluster, ABS Brakes (if equipped), etc.

 

Agreed.
I liked my M8 114. The sound improves when the engine warms up, and got even better after a few thousand miles, and would have been better still with aftermarket pipes. I love my TC 110 even more, but running a 2-1 with no baffles probably helps a lot. I have friends with Evo's and Sportsters, and they sound great too. They all sound a little different, but none of them sound "bad".

 

Well running carbed Harleys misfire 2 our 3 timed outta 10. That was in a book about high performance tuning. It's why Hsrleys have that sound like it has skipped a beat. That missed beat Harley sound doesn't occur with fuel injection. Hence a huge sound difference.

 

Regarding the bolded, when my Evo Sportster (carb) is fully warmed up, the idle is low and the sound it makes is more like a BUT DA BUT DA BUT DA than a potato potato. I don't have a tach but it's well less than a 1000, barely high enough to keep running probably. The Evo EG was the same sound at the same rpm. For an Evo is that too low for the engine long term? I don't idle it any longer than I have do nor do I rev it up at lights since I don't need to in order to keep it running.