And don't get me wrong, I love the sound and feel of my Twinkies, but if Harley wants to survive and compete, that engine will have to be included in future models. I just hope it lives up to the promise it seems to have in the platforms it has been introduced in.

 

That's not the way it's going to go though. Liquid cooled is almost certainly coming, but we've already had Steve Cole confirm that Harley is far from done with 45-degree big twins.

The Revolution Max has been stated as 500 to 1250cc. It will power the new Sportster line, and we will certainly see that line expand, possibly as early as January.

But the Rev Max is not the engine for a 900 lb bagger.

I expect a new generation of 45-degree Big Twin to power the next revamp of the touring bikes, with huge pistons, long strokes, low RPMs and at least some degree of water cooling. Something more like the Indian Challenger engine, although I would be shocked if it wasn't 45 degrees.

The Revolution Max is a high-RPM, high-horsepower engine. 150 hp at 9,000 RPM and peak torque of 94 ft/lbs at 6,750 RPM. That's not a touring bike engine, and that's not heritage and tradition. Compare that to the Indian. The Challenger is instead a low-RPM, high-torque engine. 122 hp at 5,500 RPM, 128 ft/lbs at 3,500 RPM. That performs like a Stage 4 M8. That's a touring bike engine.

The Rev Max is a highly over square engine, the bore is 1.46x as big as the stroke. The M8 is an undersquare design.

Summing it up: the Revolution Max is a great engine for high revving sporty bikes like Sportsters and Adventure bikes and sport-tourers. But for the touring bikes, yes, someday they will evolve toward liquid cooling, but I strongly doubt they will move to the Rev Max. Instead I expect something closer to the Twin-Cooled M8 meets the Indian Challenger engine.

 

I bet they are nice bikes, but ALL Harleys ride smooth, from flatheads to latest.


Jeff

 

So you are saying that because it's not a stroker it won't make any TQ? Displacement makes TQ.. The advantage of shorter stoke is that you can rev it higher.. HD could take that motor and grow it equally both bore and stroke.. Probably easier to stroke it since the old guys don't like to rev the motors.

 

cylinders look plastic?

 

22 Sportster s , my first HD , and this engine , kicks *** , just sayin'

 

I’ve gone through a 2020 Road Glide Special, a 2021 Pan America Special, to a 2022 Nightster. The Milwaukee 8 is perfect, in a Touring bike. But for me, based on my personal experience of 52 years on various bikes & engines, the Revolution engine is absolutely a keeper. I hope Harley never drops their big air-cooled twins, but the Revolution engine gives them a tool to be competitive in the marketplace.

 

As with all 1st gen release of basically anything it has some quirks to work out & also if they want to make it the new Sportster class motor they need come out with more accessories & mod support. The Sportsters were wanted for the multitude of endless builds a person can do to them. These need to start building on that before they lose that fanbase as well. But as far as motor goes. This rev max is a solid base to build on. They are snappy if you want or need or they can dull back throttle response. They have huge potential tbh. As someone that loves both Harleys (my old man had panheads, knuckles, ect.) & rockets (owned a few from 600 up to a liter bike.) this motor is close to combining the 2 perfectly.

 

Best motor for me, got me to come over to try Harley from the Honda/KTM world.

 

All of what fatbob posted was on point. Been riding 50 years all manor of bikes. Currently own 4. I’ve ridden the revolution max in Pan Ams a Sporster S and the nightster. Great engine. It’s here to stay. Best they have done. I also have a 140WHP 124ci M8 and love it in my softail.

MoCo will certainly come out with another large 45 degree finned V twin. It will probably also benefit from liquid cooling designed to be hard to see or aesthetically pleasing. Unless radically stepped up by over reaching government MoCo should still be able to meet emissions for a number of years. So very little risk of the large long stroke 45 degree V twin going away.