Harley-Davidson unveils all-new engines

Harley-Davidson have developed all-new large capacity engines for the 2017 range, after having upgraded the suspension recently.

Developed in-house after a gap of 17 years, the new Milwaukee-Eight V-Twin engines are the ninth-generation, twin-cylinder, high capacity engines in the history of the company. There will be two 1745cc variants of the engine called 107 and 107 Twin-Cooled, along with an CVO Limited and CVO Street Glide custom-specific 1870cc unit, called 114. The lower capacity variants will be utilised on Street Glide, Road Glide, Electra Glide, Road King and Freewheeler range.

The V-twin, 45-degree design has been retained on the engines but the camshafts have been modified. All the engines will come with single cam (instead of twin-cam) and will get 4 valves, two for exhaust and two for intake. Also on cards is a higher compression ratio, which when combined with the added set of valves gives a torque output higher by 10 per cent than older engines, as claimed by Harley-Davidson. The construction is all-new but the weight of the engines remains the same, thanks to lighter materials being used for the construction, thus reducing the weight of the bike overall and resulting in better fuel efficiency and acceleration. The twin-spark technology is an added benefit too. Harley-Davidson also claims that heat management has now been improved for both, the rider and the pillion, as the engine is mounted on a rubber base along with a slimmer primary drive and the exhaust routing has been changed as well. The engines, staying true to Harley’s traditions are mostly air-cooled but have liquid-cooled heads(oil-cooled on 107), making the bikes even more efficient. Although, 2014 models had already been updated with liquid-cooling heads.

The 2017 range will be launched through Facebook, when the Milwaukee-based motorcycling giant will let the users take a virtual tour of the motorcycle factory.