I'm not sure I agree with this. The reason I don't is I just moved from a BMW 1200 to an 07 FXDSE. The beamers have had air/oil cooled twins for years and meet all EPA regs without all the stuff that has to be done to the HDs after the sale. I do love my SE ... and am putting pipes and a SERT on her in a couple of weeks but my last bmer ran like a scalded dog, ran cool, and was very, very reliable.
The question I have is why doesn't the MOCO put oil coolers on all the bikes?
JKH
I'll admit to not knowing anything about the workings of the cooling system on the BWMs, but have to believe there is more to that system than there is on the Harleys. The EPA regs got a lot stiffer in 2007 and will tighten another notch in 2010. It appears that HD is having trouble meeting the stricter requirements and still produce bikes true to their heritage.
It's no secret that the HDs are running hotter, and leaner, than ever. The 07s were the first HDs to have O2 sensors in the pipes. These are narrow band sensors used to lean out the mixture even leaner at part throttle cruise. I have heard AFR numbers of over 17:1. I can't substantiate that, but got this from the Service Manager at my local dealer.
Why don't they put oil coolers on all bikes? That's a great question, and one that has been asked since the introduction of the Twin Cam in 1999. I remember a whole lot of complaining back then about how much hotter the TCs were than the Evos. Now that we've gotten used to the standard TC88 heat, we're hearing the same comments about the new motors all over again. I don't know how hot they can crank it up and keep these things alive. Its possible we're finding out now.
When I went to the HD Town Hall Meeting at the Knoxville rally, there was a question posed to the panel on just this topic. Without giving away any future product information, Ron Hutchinson, a big wig in Production, said there will be air cooled Harleys for many years to come.
