Harley-Davidson engines are a line of engines manufactured since 1903 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by the Harley-Davidson company for use in its motorcycles. Harley-Davidson engines are now made at Harley-Davidson Motor Company's Pilgrim Road Powertrain Operations facility in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.
The company's founders started making smaller flathead motorcycle engines individually by hand and fitted to bicycles in the 10ft x 15ft wooden barn in Milwaukee that was the Harley-Davidson workshop of the time, prior to that in 1901.
That first engine was a single cylinder model, based on the French developed De Dion-Bouton internal combustion engine.
The company was soon fully committed to producing its own proprietary engine designs, and by 1909 the first Harley-Davidson V-Twin engine had been designed and made, setting a template for engine design that continues today.
Harley-Davidson, Inc. is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with its historical rival, Indian Motorcycles. The company has survived numerous ownership arrangements, subsidiary arrangements, periods of poor economic health and product quality, and intense global competition to become one of the world's largest motorcycle manufacturers and an iconic brand widely known for its loyal following. There are owner clubs and events worldwide, as well as a company-sponsored, brand-focused museum.
A chopper is a type of custom motorcycle which emerged in the US state of California in the late 1950s. A chopper employs modified steering angles and lengthened forks for a stretched-out appearance. They can be built from an original motorcycle which is modified ("chopped") or built from scratch. Some of the characteristic features of choppers are long front ends with extended forks often coupled with an increased rake angle, hardtail frames, very tall "ape hanger" or very short "drag" handlebars, lengthened or stretched frames, and larger than stock front wheel. To be considered a chopper a motorcycle frame must be cut and welded at some point. I.e. the name chopper. The "sissy bar", a set of tubes that connect the rear fender with the frame, and which are often extended several feet high, is a signature feature on many choppers.
A softail motorcycle intentionally looks like vintage motorcycles with a rigid hard-tail frame that has a triangle of steel tubes at the rear axle, as on a bicycle frame, but on a Softail these tubes are actually a triangular swingarm, with the shock absorber(s) hidden, as opposed to clearly visible regular twin shocks on both sides of the rear wheel on standard bikes. Since the introduction of the Harley-Davidson FXST Softail in 1983 as a registered trademark of the Motor Company, softail has become a genericized trademark for other models of cruiser motorcycles with rear suspensions hidden for retro style reasons. This was done even though the rear wheel was often hidden behind bags or exhaust pipes.
The knucklehead is a retronym used by enthusiasts to refer to a Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine, so named because of the distinct shape of the rocker boxes. The engine is a two-cylinder, 45 degree, pushrod actuated overhead valve V-twin engine with two valves per cylinder. It was the third basic type of V-Twin engine used by Harley-Davidson, replacing the Flathead-engined VL model in 1936 as HD's top-of-the-line model. The engine was manufactured until 1947 and was replaced by the Panhead engine in 1948. The Knucklehead-engined models were originally referred to as "OHVs" by enthusiasts of the time and in Harley's official literature; the nickname arose from the California chopper culture of the late 1960s.
The Panhead is an overhead-valve Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine, so nicknamed because the rocker covers resembled cooking pans. The engine is a two-cylinder, two-valve-per-cylinder, pushrod V-twin, made in both 61 c.i. (EL) and 74 c.i. displacements. The Panhead engine replaced the Knucklehead engine in 1948 and was manufactured until 1965 when it was replaced by the Shovelhead.
The Harley-Davidson Sportster is a line of motorcycles produced continuously since 1957 by Harley-Davidson. Sportster models are designated in Harley-Davidson's product code by beginning with "XL". In 1952, the predecessors to the Sportster, the Model K Sport and Sport Solo motorcycles, were introduced. These models K, KK, KH, and KHK of 1952 to 1956 had a sidevalve engine, whereas the later XL Sportster models use an overhead valve engine. The first Sportster in 1957 had many of the same features of the KH including the frame, fenders, large gas tank and front suspension.
The intake/inlet over exhaust, or "IOE" engine, known in the US as F-head, is a four-stroke internal combustion engine whose valvetrain comprises OHV inlet valves within the cylinder head and exhaust side-valves within the engine block.
The Evolution engine is an air-cooled, 45-degree, V-twin engine manufactured from 1984 by Harley-Davidson for the company's motorcycles. It was made in the 1,340 cc (82 cu in) displacement for Harley-Davidson Big V-twins bikes, replacing the Shovelhead engine until 2000 when the last EVO was placed in a production factory custom FXR4. In 1999, it was replaced by the Harley-Davidson Twin Cam 88 in the Touring and Dyna model and in 2000 in the Softail models. Also available in the Sportster model beginning in 1986, it was made in the 1,100 cc (67 cu in) displacement until 1988 and is still made in the 883 cc (53.9 cu in) and 1,200 cc (73 cu in) displacements for the Harley-Davidson Sportster, replacing the ironhead Sportster engine.
The Shovelhead engine is a motorcycle engine that was produced by Harley-Davidson from 1966 to 1984, built as a successor to the previous Panhead engine. When the engine was first produced, the Shovelhead had a shallower combustion chamber, larger valve drop for both intake and exhaust, better porting, and stronger valves and pistons. This gave the new engine an extra 10 horsepower, along with a different appearance. The engine gained the nickname “Shovelhead” because its rocker covers look a little bit like an upside-down coal shovel. While the engine did have problems, it gave Harley-Davidson a 26% sales increase during the early part of its timeline.
The Harley-Davidson Twin Cam are motorcycle engines made by Harley-Davidson from 1998 to 2017. Although these engines differed significantly from the Evolution engine, which in turn was derived from the series of single camshaft, overhead valve motors that were first released in 1936, they share a number of characteristics with nearly all previous Harley-Davidson engines. Both engines have two cylinders in a V-twin configuration at 45°, are air-cooled, and activate valves with push-rods. The crankshafts have a single pin with a knife and fork arrangement for the connecting rods. These are sandwiched between a pair of flywheels.
The Harley-Davidson Museum is an American museum located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin celebrating the more than 100-year history of Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The 12,000-square-meter (130,000 sq ft) three-building complex on 81,000 square meters along the Menomonee River bank contains more than 450 Harley-Davidson motorcycles and hundreds of thousands of artifacts from the Harley-Davidson Motor Company's 120-year history.
Harley-Davidson FL is a model designation used for Harley-Davidson motorcycles since 1941, when F referred to the new large capacity 74 cui (1200cc) variant of the V-2 Overhead valve engine (″Knucklehead″) that was introduced in 1936 as Model E with 61 cui (1000cc). The presence of an additional letter L indicated higher compression, offering more power but requiring higher octane gasoline. In 1950s, the low compression version was discontinued, and in 1952 also the low capacity EL, making FL the standard engine and model designation for decades to come.
The Harley-Davidson XA was a flat-twin, shaft drive motorcycle made by Harley-Davidson for the US Army during World War II.
The Harley-Davidson Servi-Car is a three-wheeled utility motorcycle that was manufactured by Harley-Davidson from 1932 to 1973.
S&S Cycle is an American motorcycle engine and parts engineer and manufacturer. The company was founded in 1958 by George J. Smith and Stanley Stankos in Blue Island, Illinois. The company started by selling high performance pushrods for Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and today they still make parts for a variety of V-Twin bikes. The company's current president is Paul Skarie.
The Harley-Davidson XR-750 is a racing motorcycle made by Harley-Davidson since 1970, primarily for dirt track racing, but also for road racing in the XRTT variant. The XR-750 was designed in response to a 1969 change in AMA Grand National Championship rules that leveled the playing field for makes other than Harley-Davidson, allowing Japanese and British motorcycles to outperform the previously dominant Harley-Davidson KR race bike. The XR-750 went on to win the most races in the history of American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) racing.
The Harley-Davidson Model W, also known as the Sport Twin, is a motorcycle made by Harley-Davidson from 1919 to 1923. Unusually for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, the Model W had a flat-twin engine and a trailing link fork. The Model W set speed records on runs from New York City to Chicago and from the Canada–United States border to the Mexico–United States border. Slow home market sales led to the end of production after four years.
The Harley-Davidson Fat Boy, is a V-twin softail cruiser motorcycle with solid-cast disc wheels. Designed by Willie G. Davidson and Louie Netz, Harley-Davidson built a prototype Fat Boy in Milwaukee for the Daytona Bike Week rally at Daytona Beach in 1988 and 1989. Fat Boys produced from 1990-2017 are coded FLSTF, and FLFB from 2018.
Flathead motorcycles are a type of bike that was a standard for pre-war motorcycles, in particular US V-twins such as Harley-Davidson and Indian, some British singles, BMW flat twins and Russian copies thereof.
The Harley-Davidson Model 1 was the first motorcycle produced by the American manufacturer Harley-Davidson. The purchase price was 200 US dollars; 38 copies were made.
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