V Rod Motor On Tri Glide

[lco155]

I was talking to a young man today who was riding a V rod .He was polite and walks up and says he likes the look of the trikes and the baggers and if harley put a V rod motor in a trike he would buy one. So after our conversation it got me thinking is harley missing out in the market place with the younger generation? I mean it seems like to me a lot of people like the water cooled motors like the v rod. What would happen if Harley said we have to motor options for you the water cooled V rod motor or the Air cooled traditional V twin it just seems that when you buy a car you get motor options and if you by a bike)trike you should have some options. I think Harley might pick up more of the market if they tried it . Just wanted to get some input as I am no guru and don't want to get people mad but would like to see what other people think.:xzqxz:

 

[J.T.M.]

If he wants a vrod motor on a trike he needs to let Hannigan trike his vrod. A vrod is so different from a regular Harley it doesn't even resemble a Harley. The buell was closer to a Harley. I am not trying to put the vrod down. I plan on owning a vrod in the near future.

 

[rhino 2]

Sometimes Harley is like God... They both work in mysterious ways.:Shrug:
Using a football saying,[Real football not that other stuff that foreigners play] You run the same play, Till it stops working, Harley sells Tri's And Freewheeler's as fast as they can make them...So why compete against themselves..... But it is an intriguing idea.ThumbUp

 

[tfdeputydawg]

I thought the new Tri's were water cooled!
Twin-Cooled™ High Output Twin Cam 103™

 

[lco155]

Thats is a sharp trike kit wow thanks for sharing going to print it and show him .The harley heads are water cooled not the block. I know what you guys are saying about sales the dealer get one in and it is sold that week.:Coffee:

 

[Texan]

Back in '03 there was a lot of discussion/talk about Harley going to water cooled motors. When we were at the 100th anniversary get-together in Milwaukee I made comment to some of my fellow riders that at the end of the concert Harley should roll an Ultra, covered, with a V-Rod motor in it, out on the stage. Uncover it and not say another word. Just leave it sit there for people to wonder. Any of you that were there know they have 5-6 huge Diamond Vision screens set up so they'd just have to zoom in on it and say NOTHING.....

But as it turned out probably wouldn't have had the impact that I thought it would, because when the "mystery" guest, that short fat $%#$% from across the pond, who'd probably never even sat on a motorcycle, walked out 3/4 of the crowd left, including us.

8~\o

 

[wingit]

Sometimes Harley is like God... They both work in mysterious ways.:Shrug:

God created the earth a long long time ago
and like hogly hasn't made many changes since.
Thrashing machines are fun with numb hands and ear plugs.
Its a USA tradition, but must we hear when they pass a mile away all hours
of the night ? Some day it will change. HP proportionate to noise

Tiltingmotorworks did a leaning V Rod and might do yours.

 

[Catfish]

I always thought that Harley was ahead of the game engineering their own trike so in time I think it will happen knowing the largest market will be the boomers. I'd like to see Honda engineer their own trike.

 

[Texan]

I always thought that Harley was ahead of the game engineering their own trike so in time I think it will happen knowing the largest market will be the boomers. I'd like to see Honda engineer their own trike.

You have to remember that Harley had a lot of sleep overs with Lehman in Spearfish, SD.. Then they bought the engineering from Lehman and developed their own version. The way I understand it, the 2009 trikes were basically Harley versions with Lehman holding their hands.

8~\o

 

[Catfish]

I wasn't aware of the history, but stands to reason that there is a lot of collaboration within the industry.

 

[mhgoldwing]

I thought the new Tri's were water cooled!
Twin-Cooled™ High Output Twin Cam 103™

Only the heads are cooled. When idling they still have to shut off front cylinder I think.

- - - Updated - - -

I always thought that Harley was ahead of the game engineering their own trike so in time I think it will happen knowing the largest market will be the boomers. I'd like to see Honda engineer their own trike.

Harley didn't engineer their own trike. Originally, they had Lehman(?) putting the kits on at Lehman's plant. Then they moved assembly to the Harley plant; I think this is correct.

 

[J.T.M.]

Thats is a sharp trike kit wow thanks for sharing going to print it and show him .The harley heads are water cooled not the block. I know what you guys are saying about sales the dealer get one in and it is sold that week.:Coffee:

I ride a Hannigan trike and love it. When we were there we had the opportunity to see a vrod trike. It looked sharp and fast. The vrod makes a beautiful trike in the right hands. You can find more about Hannigan at www.hannigantrikes.com

 

[rhino 2]

Back when Harley first came out with the V-Rod, The Harley fateful wound't even walk near a V-rod...
Let alone buy one, It's not a Harley[They say] what with its Porsche designed engine.....As far as Honda doing a factory Trike, They are very careful about getting into the Trike game, Even though there not the same by a long shot, Honda is still burning from their experience with ATC's.....

 

[Phu Cat]

A Triglide kind of favors the torque a big twin, hence the 103" engine at least for me. But the V-rod? Kinda peaky for a trike, don't ya think? While I do like to make all my bikes faster, for me a Vrod just won't "fit". And it sure doesn't have the look.

PC

 

[trike lady]

Honda has a prototype trike called the NeoWing, the only thing I see in common with the Wing is the flat 4 engine and the rest looks like something from a Transformers movie. :AGGHH:

 

[lco155]

What I cant figure out is all my life I have head no replacement for displacement.OK I have the 103 in my tri glide and my 1985 goldwing aspencade is a 1200 so why does all my harley friends get mad when we discuss power and i tel them that well i got aftermarket head pipe and tips stage one air cleaner and tuner and the goldwing will suck the harley up and spit it out .So then hear it come wait for it yes you cant say that you are comparing apples to oranges !Really ???my wing has been rode like it was stolen sense i got it and 68000 miles later and 31 years later I still like the 1200 over all the bikes i rode so far as 2 wheelers go. Its fast and you can hang in on the corners and yup the rear and front brakes are linked that was 31 years ago .So then you look at the 1500 to big to bulky then you look at the 1800 omg really you got to be a midget to ride it a buddy of mine has spent over 2000 on his and he cant get comfortable but that us tall guys issues. But I will admit when in a group and I got the wing there is always one guy that got to try and it funny when I blow by his 25000 dollar two wheeler with my old beater. By the way the goldwing i believe was made in usa or at least put together here.Sorry to ramble but can you guys explain this to me .:xzqxz:

 

[bigfish_Oh]

HD isn't capable of marketing and producing enough new recammed vrod powered 2 or 3 wheelers. Performance is keeping many with BMW and Honda. A Road Glide/Vrod(Road Rod/V Glide) or Shark Tri Glide/Vrod? They can't produce enough of the current slugs we have, why step into the 20th century(not a misprint).

the old wing? We miss our Valkyrie and will always miss the CBX's, made 18 miles from our doorstep.

 

[lco155]

Well think I am also going to find a 1200 goldwing trike and take a ride and maybe have two as I was told by someone today (Doc ) I should be on three wheels at least .So another chapter in midlife lol

 

[Phu Cat]

Well Lco155, ya sure can't beat Honda for dependability. .......................................But there's just somethin about a Harley.

PC

 

[HDHoggly]

HD isn't capable of marketing and producing enough new recammed vrod powered 2 or 3 wheelers.

Having worked for Harley for many years before I retired, I can tell you capability isn't the issue. They are quite capable. There are no V-Rod trikes for the same reason there are no V-Rod dressers ... they don't want to scavenge from one successful product to build another. Not only does it take profits from the already successful product but it also takes awhile to recoup monies spent for tooling and added inventory of the new product before realizing a profit. So they take the conservative route when discussing similar products that could affect sale of a established product.

 

[cjmitch]

I always thought that Harley was ahead of the game engineering their own trike so in time I think it will happen knowing the largest market will be the boomers. I'd like to see Honda engineer their own trike.

Harley did not engineer their trike... the Blueprinted (ie reverse engineered ) Lehman, then kicked Lehman to the curb when the had it down pat...
Ergo Lehman went out of business

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Only the heads are cooled. When idling they still have to shut off front cylinder I think

HArley has a full line ( 2 or 3) bikes that are totally liquid cooled
here is a video of one of them

 

[lco155]

They look like the old concours kawasaki made well after i got ahold of a wrecked one we gave it street fighter look similar to these. Well it a learning cure for me on harley but so far its way way easier to work on than goldwing . But power is getting better get happier the more money i dump in to it but was also reminded the other day that epa from 1985 compared to 2010 is big difference.I would have gotten it to were i wanted but it was 5000 for turbo so it will wait as im not working yet. But man would love to ride one with turbo on it.

 

[tfdeputydawg]

Harley did not engineer their trike... the Blueprinted (ie reverse engineered ) Lehman, then kicked Lehman to the curb when the had it down pat...
Ergo Lehman went out of business

Not sure where your info came from?
My version, This was a joint venture and Lehman knew going in it was only a couple years before HD took the build to one of their plants.
Lehman was sold for "other" reasons, did not go "out of business."

 

[consitter]

Not sure where your info came from?
My version, This was a joint venture and Lehman knew going in it was only a couple years before HD took the build to one of their plants.
Lehman was sold for "other" reasons, did not go "out of business."

There's several things I'm not a big fan of the MoCo for, but I've heard the same rendition of the story as the Dawg.

 

[Retired Army]

Anyone know what Harley did about their Live Wire project? For those that are unfamiliar it is a totally electric motorcycle.

 

[ol' school]

Texan, Dawg and mhgoldwing are all right in their accounts of Harley and Lehman holding hands with the development of the Tri-Glide.

 

[Gorilla]

The last I knew the Live wire is a live and well. They said it was a project several years down the road

 

[Mykneesbehurtin]

You have to remember that Harley had a lot of sleep overs with Lehman in Spearfish, SD.. Then they bought the engineering from Lehman and developed their own version. The way I understand it, the 2009 trikes were basically Harley versions with Lehman holding their hands.

8~\o

This is my understanding also.

- - - Updated - - -

A Triglide kind of favors the torque a big twin, hence the 103" engine at least for me. But the V-rod? Kinda peaky for a trike, don't ya think? While I do like to make all my bikes faster, for me a Vrod just won't "fit". And it sure doesn't have the look.

PC

A long time dealer and i had this similar discussion about the V-Rod engine,his opinion was that it doesn't have enough low end torque to be suited for a heavy bike.

 

[roadking2]

If he wants a vrod motor on a trike he needs to let Hannigan trike his vrod. A vrod is so different from a regular Harley it doesn't even resemble a Harley. The buell was closer to a Harley. I am not trying to put the vrod down. I plan on owning a vrod in the near future.View attachment 35295

Or MotorTrike. They have a VRod conversion too

 

[cjmitch]

I wasn't aware of the history, but stands to reason that there is a lot of collaboration within the industry.

Lehman ceased operations... IE closed their doors.. out of business...
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