Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[tazmun]

 I've always liked what Willie designed. New can look old, and still have the
latest and greatest under the skin. As for people saying the bike won't sound
the same being water cooled, wrong! The only have to put water jackets around
those big buckets! The sound out of the pipes will always be the same!

 As someone else said, styling can only go so far, when the corporate
team tells you what they are going do do!

Taz

[RedDevil]

I've always liked what Willie designed. New can look old, and still have the
latest and greatest under the skin. As for people saying the bike won't sound
the same being water cooled, wrong! The only have to put water jackets around
those big buckets! The sound out of the pipes will always be the same!

 As someone else said, styling can only go so far, when the corporate
team tells you what they are going do do!

Taz

Sorry Taz, gotta disagree with you on that one.  If it were that simple, the MoCo would have done that a long time ago.  Saved then a lot of grief with EPA rules and regs and trying to conform.  There's just a touch more engineering involved than that.

[tazmun]

Sorry Taz, gotta disagree with you on that one.  If it were that simple, the MoCo would have done that a long time ago.  Saved then a lot of grief with EPA rules and regs and trying to conform.  There's just a touch more engineering involved than that.

Really!!!!!! They JUST don't know where to put the radiator!!! The 4-stroke configuration
that HD has, will never change with water jackets around the cylinders!

Taz!

[RedDevil]

Really!!!!!! They JUST don't know where to put the radiator!!! The 4-stroke configuration
that HD has, will never change with water jackets around the cylinders!

Taz!

They could have put the radiator right in between the down tubes in the front and integrate it into the lowers...there's more to it than just location of the radiator...again, they would have done it years ago.  They had no problem with locating the radiator on the V-Rod, but if you notice that V-Twin does not sound, nor act like the air-cooled HD standard and it wasn't just a design of simply putting water jackets around the venerable old v-twin.  Just sayin'

[tazmun]

They could have put the radiator right in between the down tubes in the front and integrate it into the lowers...there's more to it than just location of the radiator...again, they would have done it years ago.  They had no problem with locating the radiator on the V-Rod, but if you notice that V-Twin does not sound, nor act like the air-cooled HD standard and it wasn't just a design of simply putting water jackets around the venerable old v-twin.  Just sayin'

Devil,
 The V-Rod is NOT the same 45 degree motor! That's why it doesn't sound the same!
Putting cooling on is very difficult without making the driver uncomfortable on an FLH bike!
Without covering the motor, the heat would move to the front of the bike.
"IF" they put the radiators in the lowers, with incoming air it the front,
and the exhaust air out the side that may work? BUT LOOKS IS THE PROBLEM! 

[CVOJOE]

Most of what I hear folks complaining about are design related.  I'm sure Willie would like to have designed new and different bikes for every year model, but he's got to work within the company's limitations...design costs, stockholders, bad economy, profits, etc.

He's getting up there in years, and aren't we all, and it's a good time for him to retire and enjoy the rest of his years and million$. His kids are still in the company and he clearly has left his mark on the motorcycle market. An icon.

Now can we move away from the skulls and berets? 

Enjoy your retirement WGD! 

[grc]

The "almost patented" sound of the Harley V-Twin is created by the 45° V angle and the common crankpin.  That is what determines the irregular firing pulses and the potato potato deal.  If they were to maintain the 45° angle and common crankpin, water cooling would not change the sound of the exhaust.  What it would change is the amount of mechanical noise emanating from within those cylinders and heads thanks to the damping of the water jackets, tighter clearances, and the lack of large cooling fins that resonate.  When you reduce the mechanical noise you can increase the exhaust flow and sound level and still maintain the overall sound levels mandated by the EPA.  Ever notice how the stock V-Rod exhaust is louder than the system on the Twin Cam bikes?


Jerry

[Buy early]

Sturgis 2010. He was kind enough to pose for a photo while the staff got his lunch. This was at the grocery store behind the HD display in downtown Sturgis. Seemed like a pretty regular guy to me for someone who has lived the life he has. I wish him well and hope he enjoys many years of riding as much as he wants!

[red ben59]

I wish him well and a happy retirement, say what you want but there is no telling where the MOCO would be today without his influence. 

[cvobiker]

i guess when you need two watches to keep up with time, it is time to retire....   

[skreminegul07]

We can only hope!

Now if the head of quality and head of service would retire!   

He did, 20 years ago!