More torque....quicker of the line.

 

We seem to have covered pretty well every way of describing these as you requested! Has it helped?

Essentially you only get horsepower once you have torque. As sgdiesel said, at the most basic level Power = Torque x RPM. Torque is the twisting force the engine applies to the driving wheel and the more of it you have the faster it will accelerate the rotation of that wheel.

So torque gets you off the line from standing still and accelerates you ever faster. But the faster you go the more rolling and wind resistance you experience and that requires power to keep you moving. As the torque accelerates you to ever higher speeds, the more power you need to overcome those resistances.

There comes a time when the resistances are so great the engine can no longer accelerate you and you achieve maximum speed. Most Harleys have stock gearing that their maximum speed is pretty low and acceleration is also poor. Reducing ovedrall gearing can improve both significantly, which is probably the most ignored way of improving Harley performance.

 

Horsepower is how fast you can go and Torque is how deep!

 

Dash, possibly the best explanation of this I have ever seen. Technical is great, simple is better.

 

Dawg, sorry I butchered your name - auto spell check.

 

Torque is what makes you hang on leaving the light, horsepower gets you there faster.....

 

Well heres the way I learned way back in trade school. Torque (turning force usually measured at the flywheel or also at the ground) is what you feel, and makes the vehicle move. Horsepower make the flywheel turn, the more horsepower you make the faster it makes the torque, which moves the vehicle faster.

 

And isn't torque more of a lower RPM thing, with HP more of a higher RPM thing?

 

+1 yeah, what he said......

 

The Twin Cam is a torque engine and Harley's are all about torque.