Hi I'm Peter I live in Curacao and as a hobby I build boats, the latest project I'm working on is a 15' 1930's Bruce Crandall FLYER, I like to power this little boat with a Harley engine cause I like the sound of it.
Knowing nothing about Harley Davidson bikes brought me to this forum, obvious I'm searching the net for a good salvage bike but what model bike should I look for? I need a liquid cooled engine around 150 HP or at least above 100 HP, what Harley models carry those? I'm planning to use it with a heat exchanger a extra raw water pump and a marine F-N-R gear box like for example a velvet drive
I'm also not sure turning the engine 90 degrees toward driving direction would cause problems with the oil pan and supply? so all tips and tricks are more than welcome also other things a should be aware of.

Thank you for your time

Peter

 

Boats need RPM. You may want to look at a VROD engine . Of course when it comes to HD anything can be done.
Good luck post pictures.

 

you definitely need a big twin engine without the tranny. finding a stocker from hd is not happening, you will need to build that power level.
although rpm is needed, not necessarily so with the right gearing and power. the issue i see is the hd engine will prove to be a wrong choice because they are mid rpm cruisers and will not last cranked up which a boat engine will be doing. now if you are doing a slow moving party barge and keep it around 5k then you are talking.
i once thought about one in an ultra-lite tri-axis but then if she went one lung, a world of hurt.
they are hard to find but a very good engine would be the old VW diesel found in the old rabbits, high rev'ing and good match for a velvet drive.

 

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You only chance is the Vrod motor. It's the only one HD makes that is water cooled. Some later model big twins are partially liquid cooled but they also require air cooling. The Vrod doesn't sound like the typical HD though.

 

Thank you! yes the VRod is what I thought until I did read about the later 2013? big twins, this got me confused thx for clearing that out, any one can point me in the right direction on this site?https://www.copart.com/search/motorc...ch%22:false%7D

 

I don't know, but it has been done before, as you can see in the 2 YouTube links.

 

Thank you you can find some build pictures here https://www.facebook.com/peter.hagen...3353215&type=3

 

Swamp type boats have been using the hd v twin for years perfect choice only trouble i see is coupling with correct transmision for application but really two three or four inlines would serve the purpose very well

 

Boats usually have a max rpm like 4500 with cruising around 3k. Velvet drive makes a 1.1 drive and I suspect a custom bell housing would be needed. I think 90 hp should push a 15' boat to warp speed. With the hull being enclosed a few vents would be needed with maybe a fan assist. A custom oil sump heat exchanger with water cooling may keep it cool enough.
That is an awesome project, great job.