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Harley-Davidson Debuts Liquid-Cooled Engines for Tourers

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Harley-Davidson has debuted its 2014 touring and trike motorcycles, which would normally be an event that we’d forgo even mentioning here at Asphalt & Rubber, after all “brand new” to Harley typically means new paint and chrome pieces to bikes that already exist in the line-up — that’s not entirely the case this year though.

Rolling out eight “new” motorcycles for enthusiasts, Harley-Davidson has listened to customer feedback and made changes to the following models in its line-up: Road King, Street Glide, Street Glide Special, Electra Glide Ultra Classic, Ultra Limited, Tri Glide Ultra, CVO Ultra Limited, and CVO Road King. Nothing crazy there, right?

However what was called “Project Rushmore” inside the motorcycle company, we now know refers to the company’s effort to bring more technology to its two-wheeled midlife crisis machines… the most drastic change being a liquid-cooled engine design. We’ve got your attention now, don’t we?

Debuting two liquid-cooling engine configurations, the Twin-Cooled High Output Twin Cam 103 motor will be used on the 2014 Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited and the Tri-Glide Ultra trike, while the Screamin’ Eagle Twin-Cooled Twin Cam 110 will be featured on the 2014 Harley-Davidson CVO Limited.

The design philosophy is similar to the one used by BMW, where the coolant is used to precision-cool parts of the motor, while air-cooling is still the primary method of heat transfer. To achieve its precision cooling, Harley-Davidson has routed the coolant through the cylinder heads and around the exhaust valves, where the coolant then goes to radiators on either side of the motorcycle.

The Milwaukee brand says that the new design allows for a bump in engine compression: 10.1:1 (up from 9.7:1) on the 103ci Twin Cam motor, which makes 105.5 lbs•ft of peak torque (compared to the 104.7 lbs•ft on the 2014 air-cooled version and 100 lbs•ft on the 2013 model).

The Screamin’ Eagle Twin-Cooled Twin Cam 110 actually makes less power than its predecessor, though both models have reduced emissions according to their CARB filings.

Other changes from Project Rushmore include front integrated front and rear anti-lock brakes, as well as an integrated audio, communications, navigation, and vehicle information system that is displayed on a touch-screen display. Other changes have also been made for increased rider style and comfort.

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Source: Harley-Davidson

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