https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harley-Davidson#Motorcycle_enginesOpen main menu
Search
2
- Edit this page
- Watch this page
- Read in another language
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D), or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer, founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1903.
 |
|
| Type | Public company |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NYSE: HOG S&P 500 Component |
| Founded | 1903; 114 years ago |
| Founder | William S. Harley Arthur Davidson Walter Davidson William A. Davidson |
| Headquarters | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Key people | Matthew Levatich, (Presidentand CEO) |
| Products | Motorcycles |
| Revenue |  US$5.25 billion (2013)[1] |
| Operating income | US$1.1 billion (2014)[1] |
| Net income | US$795.53 million (2014)[1] |
| Total assets | |
| Total equity | US$2.909 billion (2014)[1] |
| Number of employees | est. 6,400 (2017)[4] |
| Subsidiaries | Harley-Davidson EMEA Harley-Davidson Brazil Harley-Davidson India Harley-Davidson Asia |
| Website | www.harley-davidson.com |
US$9.170773 billion (2012) As one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression (along with Indian),[5] the company has survived numerous ownership arrangements, subsidiary arrangements (e.g., Aermacchi 1974-1978 and Buell 1987-2009), periods of poor economic health and product quality, as well as intense global competition[6] to become one of the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturers and an iconic brand widely known for its loyal following, with owner clubs and events worldwide as well as a company sponsored brand-focused museum.
Noted for a style of customization that gave rise to the chopper motorcycle style,[7] Harley-Davidson traditionally marketed heavyweight, air-cooled cruiser motorcycles with engine displacements greater than 700 cm³ and has broadened its offerings to include its more contemporary VRSC (2002) and middle-weight Street (2015) platforms.
Harley-Davidson manufactures its motorcycles at factories in York, Pennsylvania; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Kansas City, Missouri; Manaus, Brazil; and Bawal, India, and markets its products worldwide.
Besides motorcycles, the company licenses and markets merchandise under the Harley-Davidson brand, among them being apparel, home decor and ornaments, accessories, toys, and scale figures of its motorcycles, and video games based on its motorcycle line and the community.
History
Motorcycle engines
1,450 cc V-twin
Main article: Harley-Davidson engine timeline
The classic Harley-Davidson engines are V-twin engines, with a 45° angle between the cylinders. The crankshaft has a single pin, and both pistons are connected to this pin through their connecting rods.[7]
This 45° angle is covered under several United States patents and is an engineering tradeoff that allows a large, high-torque engine in a relatively small space. It causes the cylinders to fire at uneven intervals and produces the choppy "potato-potato" sound so strongly linked to the Harley-Davidson brand.
To simplify the engine and reduce costs, the V-twin ignition was designed to operate with a single set of points and no distributor. This is known as a dual fire ignition system, causing both spark plugs to fire regardless of which cylinder was on its compression stroke, with the other spark plug firing on its cylinder’s exhaust stroke, effectively "wasting a spark". The exhaust note is basically a throaty growling sound with some popping. The 45° design of the engine thus creates a plug firing sequencing as such: The first cylinder fires, the second (rear) cylinder fires 315° later, then there is a 405° gap until the first cylinder fires again, giving the engine its unique sound.[100]
Harley-Davidson has used various ignition systems throughout its history – be it the early points and condenser system, (Big Twin up to 1978 and Sportsters up to 1978), magneto ignition system used on some 1958 to 1969 Sportsters, early electronic with centrifugal mechanical advance weights, (all models 1978 and a half to 1979), or the late electronic with transistorized ignition control module, more familiarly known as the black box or the brain, (all models 1980 to present).
Starting in 1995, the company introduced Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) as an option for the 30th anniversary edition Electra Glide.[101]EFI became standard on all Harley-Davidson motorcycles, including Sportsters, upon the introduction of the 2007 product line.[102]
In 1991, Harley-Davidson began to participate in the Sound Quality Working Group, founded by Orfield Labs, Bruel and Kjaer, TEAC, Yamaha, Sennheiser, SMS and Cortex. This was the nation’s first group to share research on psychological acoustics. Later that year, Harley-Davidson participated in a series of sound quality studies at Orfield Labs, based on recordings taken at the Talladega Superspeedway, with the objective to lower the sound level for EU standards while analytically capturing the "Harley Sound".[citation needed] This research resulted in the bikes that were introduced in compliance with EU standards for 1998.
On February 1, 1994, the company filed a sound trademark application for the distinctive sound of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine: "The mark consists of the exhaust sound of applicant’s motorcycles, produced by V-twin, common crankpin motorcycle engines when the goods are in use". Nine of Harley-Davidson’s competitors filed comments opposing the application, arguing that cruiser-style motorcycles of various brands use a single-crankpin V-twin engine which produce a similar sound.[103]These objections were followed by litigation. In June 2000, the company dropped efforts to federally register its trademark.[104][105]
Big V-twins
- F-head, also known as JD, pocket valve and IOE (intake over exhaust), 1914–1929 (1,000 cm³), and 1922–1929 (1,200 cm³)
- Flathead, 1930–1949 (1,200 cm³) and 1935–1941 (1,300 cm³).
- Knucklehead, 1936–1947 61 cubic inch (1,000 cm³), and 1941–1947 74 cubic inch (1,200 cm³)
- Panhead, 1948–1952 61 cubic inch (1,000 cm³), and 1948–1965, 74 cubic inch (1,200 cm³)
- Shovelhead, 1966–1984, 74 cubic inch (1,200 cm³) and 80 cubic inch (1,338 cm³) since late 1978
- Evolution (a.k.a. "Evo" and "Blockhead"), 1984–1999, 80 cubic inch (1,340 cm³)
- Twin Cam (a.k.a. "Fathead" as named by American Iron Magazine) 1999–present, in the following versions:
- Twin Cam 88, 1999–2006, 88 cubic inch (1,450 cm³)
- Twin Cam 88B, counterbalanced version of the Twin Cam 88, 2000–2006, 88 cubic inch (1,450 cm³)
- Twin Cam 95, since 2000, 95 cubic inch (1,550 cm³) (engines for early C.V.O. models)
- Twin Cam 96, since 2007. As of 2012, only the Street Bob and Super Glide Custom Models still use the 96.96 cubic inch (1,584 cm³)
- Twin Cam 103, 2003–2006, 2009, 103 cubic inch (1,690 cm³) (engines for C.V.O. models), Standard on 2011 Touring models: Ultra Limited, Road King Classic and Road Glide Ultra and optional on the Road Glide Custom and Street Glide. Standard on most 2012 models excluding Sportsters and 2 Dynas (Street Bob and Super Glide Custom). Standard on all 2014 dyna models.
- Twin Cam 110, since 2007, 110 cubic inch (1,800 cm³) (engines for C.V.O. models, 2016 Soft Tail Slim S; FatBoy S, Low Rider S, and Pro-Street Breakout)
- Milwaukee-Eight
Small V-twins
Evolution Sportster
- D Model, 1929–1931, 750 cc
- R Model, 1932–1936, 750 cc
- W Model, 1937–1952, 750 cc, solo (2 wheel, frame only)
- G (Servi-Car) Model, 1932–1973, 750 cc
- K Model, 1952–1953, 750 cc
- KH Model, 1954–1956, 900 cc
- Ironhead, 1957–1971, 883 cc; 1972–1985, 1,000 cc
- Evolution, since 1986, 883 cc, 1,100 cc and 1,200 cc
Revolution engine
V-Rod on the show room floor
The Revolution engine is based on the VR-1000 Superbike race program, co-developed by Harley-Davidson’s Powertrain Engineering team and Porsche Engineering in Stuttgart, Germany. It is a liquid cooled, dual overhead cam, internally counterbalanced 60 degree V-twin engine with a displacement of 69 cubic inch (1,130 cm³), producing 115 hp (86 kW) at 8,250 rpm at the crank, with a redline of 9,000 rpm.[107][108] It was introduced for the new V-Rod line in 2001 for the 2002 model year, starting with the single VRSCA (V-Twin Racing Street Custom) model.[109][110]The Revolution marks Harley’s first collaboration with Porsche since the V4 Nova project, which, like the V-Rod, was a radical departure from Harley’s traditional lineup until it was cancelled by AMF in 1981 in favor of the Evolution engine.[111]
A 1,250 cc Screamin’ Eagle version of the Revolution engine was made available for 2005 and 2006, and was present thereafter in a single production model from 2005 to 2007. In 2008, the 1,250 cc Revolution Engine became standard for the entire VRSC line. Harley-Davidson claims 123 hp (92 kW) at the crank for the 2008 VRSCAW model. The VRXSE Destroyer is equipped with a stroker (75 mm crank) Screamin’ Eagle 79 cubic inch (1,300 cm³) Revolution Engine, producing more than 165 hp (123 kW).
750 cc and 500 cc versions of the Revolution engine are used in Harley-Davidson’s Street line of light cruisers.[112] These motors, named the Revolution X, use a single overhead cam, screw and locknut valve adjustment, a single internal counterbalancer, and vertically split crankcases; all of these changes making it different from the original Revolution design.[citation needed]
Düsseldorf-Test
An extreme endurance test of the Revolution engine was performed in a dynometer installation, simulating the German Autobahn(highways without general speed limit) between the Porsche research and development center in Weissach, near Stuttgart to Düsseldorf. Uncounted samples of engines crashed, until an engine successfully passed the 500 hour nonstop run. This was the benchmark for the engineers to approve the start of production for the Revolution engine, which was documented in the Discovery channel special Harley-Davidson: Birth of the V-Rod, October 14, 2001.[113]
Single-cylinder engines
1928 Harley-Davidson single-cylinder motorcycle
IOE singles
The first Harley-Davidson motorcycles were powered by single-cylinder IOE engines with the inlet valve operated by engine vacuum.[114]Singles of this type continued to be made until 1913, when a pushrod and rocker system was used to operate the overhead inlet valve on the single, a similar system having been used on their V-twins since 1911.[115] Single-cylinder motorcycle engines were discontinued in 1918.[116]
Flathead and OHV singles
Single-cylinder engines were reintroduced in 1925 as 1926 models.[117] These singles were available either as flathead engines or as overhead valve engines[118] until 1930, after which they were only available as flatheads.[117] The flathead single-cylinder motorcycles were designated Model A for engines with magneto systems only and Model B for engines with battery and coil systems, while overhead valve versions were designated Model AA and Model BA respectively, and a magneto-only racing version was designated Model S.[118] This line of single-cylinder motorcycles ended production in 1934.[117]
Two-stroke singlesSee also: Harley-Davidson Hummer
Model families
Custom Vehicle Operations
Environmental record
Brand culture
See also
References
Further reading
External links
Last edited 2 days ago by InternetArchiveBot
RELATED ARTICLES
Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted.
Solar 