When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
While stopped at a red light on the RKC, a lady in a cage next to me said I was riding a potato bike.
I asked what she meant and she explained when the bike is idling it sounds like potato..potato..potato..potato.
In 45 years on a Harley, I never heard this before.
It's the classic PATENTED Harley exhaust sound! The nicknamed "potato" sound has been a sound associated ONLY with Harley Davidson and the company has gone to great lengths to make sure it stays that way! The exhaust pattern (uneven repetition,low growl, potato -potato sound) IS OWNED BY MOCO! Any attempt to replicate it by another manufacturer has in the past been legally pursued by moco as a trademark infringement!
I thought everyone knew about this!
It's not patented, trademarked, or in any other way legally protected. They knew they were going to lose the legal battle, which is why they withdrew in 2000.
Any 45-degree V-twin at approximately the same idle and displacement is going to sound exactly the same. Yamahas have 48-degree V-twins and you can't tell the difference without looking.
I can sure tell the difference between a Shovel and a Twin Cam. So just because they are both 45 degree engines, there is a difference to me anyway. Lots of other things to take into account, like hemi heads, and if they use one crank pin instead of two. I have never heard another bike that sounds like a Shovel or an EVO with a carb. And I wear a hearing aid. LOL
I can sure tell the difference between a Shovel and a Twin Cam. So just because they are both 45 degree engines, there is a difference to me anyway. Lots of other things to take into account, like hemi heads, and if they use one crank pin instead of two. I have never heard another bike that sounds like a Shovel or an EVO with a carb. And I wear a hearing aid. LOL
I'll be the first to admit I don't get out much any more but when did Harley ever use two crank pins?
It's the classic PATENTED Harley exhaust sound! The nicknamed "potato" sound has been a sound associated ONLY with Harley Davidson and the company has gone to great lengths to make sure it stays that way! The exhaust pattern (uneven repetition,low growl, potato -potato sound) IS OWNED BY MOCO! Any attempt to replicate it by another manufacturer has in the past been legally pursued by moco as a trademark infringement!
I thought everyone knew about this!
Yeah-what she said. I head this years ago and i'm only 33.
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.