Coming from a water-cooled Honda, my first few experiences with my 88 in standing traffic in the summer, I was like "Holy WTF?!?!". Can't imagine what you guys with 96's and 103's with cat converters are feeling.


Funny thing is, now that I'm riding to work in the morning and it is in the 40's, where the hell is that engine heat when I could use it?

 

Bet not.

People said the same thing about fuel injection, the TC engine, the switch to the Shovel/Pan/whatever, AMF, using plastic instead of fiberglass, and putting on an electric starter.

Guess what? Every single one of them was wrong.

I'd go so far as to say, based on the fact that HD could market a dog turd stamped with the bar-and-shield and someone would buy it, there will be little to no negative effect on sales or even image when they switch to liquid cooling.

 

Try setting on Valkyrie in a traffic jam in the middle of August...
when the fan kicks in to pull in fresh cool air to cool things down,
where do you think all that heat goes ???
I roasted my nuts more than once on that behemoth engine....
Atleast with my R/G I can roll the throttle forwards and shut the
fuel off to the rear cylinder.....

 

if they go completely water cooled (not just liquid cooled, oil is a liquid) and no longer have any traditional air cooled motors left for sale, we'll see what sales do. if there is no negligible effect, then i'll buy you a beer. but if sales drop significantly, then you owe me a beer.

btw, i like guiness

 

It"s air cooled!!!!!!!!

 

Doesn't air cooled mean air moving over it cools it?So when not moving,not getting cooled?Just me i don't know.

 

I'm sorry, I didn't see this question until just now.
My wife & I have been looking for a touring bike for a while. I rode an Ultra at a bike rally here in Knoxville this past June. It feels lighter than my Yamaha even though it weighs about the same. The low speed handling is much better, the brakes are better. I like the sound system. The seats are more comfortable than the Royal Star, and the ride is smoother.
I thought I would hate the vibration, but it smooths right out once you start moving. I was really wanting a Road Glide (I rode one the same day as the Ultra), but I found a fair deal on a used Ultra and jumped on it.
I'm just trying to be honest. I could say the heat doesn't bother me, but after riding a 4 cylinder, water cooled bike for a couple of years, this thing feels like sitting on a wood stove. I am getting used to it though, and I've learned how to aim the vents to blow the heat away while I'm moving. I am enjoying the ride, but anyone who says this bike doesn't feel hotter than a water cooled bike.... well I think the heat's getting to them.

 

I'm usually with you but not this time. I think most people who buy these bikes buy them because they are a "Harley" and look like what a "Harley" should look like. Not because they are air-cooled. Air-cooled was not even a consideration when I bought my last 6 Harleys... it was simply how they came

Bring on water cooled but make it sound and look like a Harley but with 20 more ponies... I'm buying it.

lp

 

Yeah, what he, what i said...

 

I have a 2010 Ultra Classic completely stock with the cats in place which I took in this summers heat wave down to the Dragon and onto Key West. Daily temperatures were from 100 to 105. We got caught on the interstate for and hour in 102 degree temps waiting for an accident to get cleared out. The bike never went into the mode where it shuts off the rear cylinder. I may have went to the phase where it dumps a little more fuel to the rear cylinder. We would move 10 - 12 feet and stop. This went on as I said for an hour. I had absolutely no problem with being too hot on my feet, legs or anywhere else.

In the traffic through Florida to Key West then across the Everglades and onto Louisiana the temps held at over 100. Still no problem.

I have an 07 FXSTC that I have ridden for four years now. Nada on any heat issue. I have an 010 Super Glide with cats. No heat issues. Well unless you grab onto the mufflers with your bare hands. Don't try that at home kids.

I think it's just a case where owners like to bitch about what they have to show that they are cool enough to do that. The same thing happens on the Vette forums.

I'm 70 so if I can ride in a heat wave on a stock bike without any trouble then you little girlie boys should be able to.

Stop whining and start shining.

A side note about Harley motors. They are not air cooled they are air/oil cooled. The Evo motor relied on oil more than air to cool it. With the TC88 motor HD increased the fins quite a bit to add more cooling. So former Evo riders will notice more heat than they had been used to. With 09 the TC96 in the touring models didn't just get a new frame. The oil pan was changed to be like a maze the oil drains across the pan then back then across until it reaches the pick up. Why? To loose as much heat as possible to the pan which then looses it to the air.

Now those that think the bike must be moving to loose heat no. If a radiator in your house had to move for you to get heat it would not work. The heat radiates off raising while it does and pulling more air behind it. The oil cooler will dissipate heat while not moving also. The hot oil is pumping through it and it pulls it off and puts it into the air. Of course not as much as it does when speeding down the road.

Fins and oil are giving off heat. That TC88 or 96 can run a long time in 100+ temps. Remember 100 degrees seems cold to a 400 degree motor. Brrr.

EPA keeps giving HD more heat causing solutions to pollution (phony in my opinion) and HD engineers keep providing solutions. The engine idle heat management system, the oil routing in the pan, increased fin surface area, rerouting exhaust pipes, standard oil coolers on some models. There are a multitude of other strategies still on the table.

The TC96 is far and away the best motor HD has made.