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Keith , I guess we will just have to disagree on whether a Harlay can be or needs to be improved.
I don't remember saying that it can't be improved and you can think it "needs" to be improved all day long; but, it does not alter the other facts that you seem to be ignoring: the millions of miles put on thousands of Harleys. Believe it or not, Harleys are not just for looking at or being seen riding on.
i don't have a chart, nor a memory that allows me to remember which years the shovel, flathead, evo, etc came about or the time span they occupied. but i know that the length of time that the twin cam has been in use is for the past 11 years? if the history of harley davidson is right, it's time for a new breed of motor. that's okay, i'll gladly stick with what i have.
Harley will hold tight to the present air cooled 45 degree V-Twin with its cold dieing fingers for as long as it can. They are rooted in this myth of the legendary V-Twin power and keep beating that drum. Most buy a Harley for looks and realize the power has to be worked on to achieve and their ok with that. Right now the present demographics Harley has is older folks who want their fathers V-Twin. In 10 - 20 years when the present Harley buyer taste dictate change and they can't meet the EPA standards you'll see the changes take place.
actually I am on my 7th Ultra Classic actually, presently a 09 in Red Hot Sunglo...... thank you...... & yes I also own 2 japanese bikes but they are motorcross bikes.... the other american bike I have is a Buell it's so much fun........ you probably already new that though.
Even spending $6K on all the Screaming Eagle stuff the improvement isn't that big at least not w/o making long trips unbearable to the ears.... & even then not really worth it, I looked & took a few for a spin
With the governments EPA ratings I figured they would be forced to change to a water cooled engine vs leaning the engine out, making them larger displacement & making them run hotter. This is actually why I mentioned this, figuring people on this site might have a idea about the future & if the government was pushing them one way or another.
You should have worded your thread a little different. You should have known you would get hammererd. I think HD has met their "obligation" with the V-Rod engine. Yeah they "could" put it in a bagger. They have also met their EPA obligations with the air cooled engines. Of course most buyers quickly make performance modifications that don't meet EPA standards.
Threads like this always kill me. People always have to "defend" their purchases. Go to a truck forum and you will see similar posts from people debating why their Ford truck is better than a Chevy or Dodge etc. In this case the Limited and the GW are both great bikes. They are not designed the same and people will always be able to find fault in both models. There is nothing wrong with someone who prefers a GW over a Harley. There also isn't anything wrong with people who prefer Harley's over Honda's. Its all personal preference.
Buy the bike that you like and enjoy riding it. If there is something you don't like then spend the money to change it. There is no better brand of motorcycle in my opinion. Every bike on the road has good and bad features. Just enjoy riding.....
i don't have a chart, nor a memory that allows me to remember which years the shovel, flathead, evo, etc came about or the time span they occupied. but i know that the length of time that the twin cam has been in use is for the past 11 years? if the history of harley davidson is right, it's time for a new breed of motor. that's okay, i'll gladly stick with what i have.
The changes have been incremental though. Its interesting too. The panhead only made about 60hp, but people drove the hell out of them. I have never been able to understand the mentality that more hp = better.
Harley will hold tight to the present air cooled 45 degree V-Twin with its cold dieing fingers for as long as it can. They are rooted in this myth of the legendary V-Twin power and keep beating that drum. Most buy a Harley for looks and realize the power has to be worked on to achieve and their ok with that. Right now the present demographics Harley has is older folks who want their fathers V-Twin. In 10 - 20 years when the present Harley buyer taste dictate change and they can't meet the EPA standards you'll see the changes take place.
Was their dyno wheel or crank power from that link? I always thought I read they developed more then that... pretty impressivs doing a wheelie on one of those..... I would say looks & image, even with all the screaming eagle stuff these aren't powerful engine's. I do not like a loud exh which seems to be the only option when you want to increase HP so mine remains stock.
Originally Posted by cromagnon
You should have worded your thread a little different. You should have known you would get hammererd. I think HD has met their "obligation" with the V-Rod engine. Yeah they "could" put it in a bagger. They have also met their EPA obligations with the air cooled engines. Of course most buyers quickly make performance modifications that don't meet EPA standards.
Yea, probably should of but I think it's pretty comical the attitudes many people have on this thread. I was just was wondering when it might get replaced by h20 cooled engine & someone posted 2015.
If Yamaha can stick an 1854cc air cooled big v-twin in their Stratoliner, it's seems ridiculous that you have to pay $35K+ or sink $$ into a 20K+ bike to get to not even that level in most cases.
If people didn't think or care about their HD were lacking power, they wouldn't be spending $$$ on upgrading their bikes to get more power out of them.
I think the problem is the CVO's. To ME...they're not nearly worth the price of admission for a bike I want to put lots of miles on (no I don't buy bikes for resale value).
I personally could care less about extra chrome, paint jobs and all the cosmetic upgrades on the CVO's. Just put the 110 engine in the regular touring line up where it belongs. Honestly I think it's kinda of a dick move my the MoCo not to do it. Yeah I know about supply/demand/profit...yada yada. But it just seems like the right thing to do.
With that said, I'd STILL take an HD bagger over a Wing. I owned a Wing for 2 years. Yes, it's powerful.....it's not a rocket though. Unfortunately it's got very little personality or character. I just prefer a v-twin personally.
Then you'd have a bike that gives a you little jolt when you twist the throttle rather than it just being decent (103") or barely adequate (96"). And it would make it a lot easier choice at least for me to buy American.
exactly..... which is why I do now own a japanese car.... completely void of any character. Most US cars are the same way.... but they are getting a lot better
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