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I was perusing the latest issue of The Enthusiast today (which I guess is digital only now?) and came across "A History in 12 Engines". Pretty interesting bite size info about the engine line-up over time, including sound bites. When I got to the M8, I noticed this....
Nice thing is they are basically simple engines . HD may abandon them but aftermarket will keep them going another 20 plus years . The new engines are going to be expensive to work on and parts harder to come by.
Nice thing is they are basically simple engines . HD may abandon them but aftermarket will keep them going another 20 plus years .
Agree, ^ the aftermarket is still supporting engines far older than 20 yrs
H-D hasn`t built a knuckle in 75 yrs but you can still rebuild one or buy a complete repop engine
Yes, the "logical conclusion" of the "traditional, 45-degree, air-cooled V-twin".
Which still leaves plenty of room for a traditional, 45-degree, liquid-cooled V-twin.
Or a traditional, 45-degree, air-cooled V4.
Or a traditional, 60-degree, air-cooled V-twin.
Or a nontraditional, 45-degree, air-cooled V-twin.
That statement of theirs has a ton of wiggle room. I don't think it's reasonable at all to think that they're declaring the gas engine dead, or the V-twin dead.
It is my opinion that the M-8 is the last air-cooled engine they'll produce. It might be around for many years. Maybe it'll last until electrics take over. Or maybe it'll be supplanted by a liquid-cooled engine, which is what I would bet heavily on.
Agree, ^ the aftermarket is still supporting engines far older than 20 yrs
H-D hasn`t built a knuckle in 75 yrs but you can still rebuild one or buy a complete repop engine
I still have a 1996 FB EVO . I will never part with. HD does not support it even for tail light anymore . But I can still get parts.
I wish someone would come up with something new and innovative like maybe a V4, no that’s been done, V6, no, V8, DONE, maybe a inline 4? DONE and DONE, opposed horizontal twin, DONE, rotary, DONE, half knuckle-half Pan, DONE, supercharged, turbo charged, nitrous, done, done and done. Well screw it, throw in an ELECTRIC motor, damn that’s been DONE. I dream of a day, when we can all get along, have the pound, that hit’s the ground with all the right sound! Well okay, I got that with my air cooled HD V-twin.
Since last century I've been hearing peole say that no one will be able to make an air-cooled motor because of environmental regulations, and in that time H-D, Yamaha, and Indian have all come out with new, big, air-cooled V-Twins, and BMW has come out with new air-cooled boxer motors. It might happen someday, but that is the key word: "someday."
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.
"The Logical Conclusion"?
