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Re: Why are Harleys cool?

Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 11:53 am
by Kingshead
Markg1 wrote:
Kingshead wrote:Cars with air cooled engines have been around for a long time, Porsche just to name one. And yes, I know their new models are water cooled, but that doesn't invalidate the fact air cooled engines have worked in cars just fine.

Martin
So did VW and they lasted about 60,000 miles.
Funny how many 60-70yr old ones are still running. Oh, and by the way, they are made by porsche also. This is why I didn't bother to mention them and said Porsche just to name one, there have been many. All motorcycles used to be air cooled and the reason for the shift has nothing to do with reliability. The EPA mandates are causing the manufacturers to run the engines hotter and hotter, resulting in water and oil cooling in an attempt to keep our engines from blowing up. Harley has mastered the air cooled engine to still meet these standards for now, but will eventually have to succome also as the requirements get tougher.

Martin


Despite heavy lobbying in favour of one of the existing projects, Hitler chose to sponsor an all new, state owned factory. The engineer chosen for the task was Ferdinand Porsche. By then an already famed engineer, Porsche was the designer of the Mercedes 170H, and worked at Steyr for quite some time in the late 1920s. When he opened his own design studio he landed two separate "Auto für Jedermann" (car for everybody) projects with NSU and Zündapp, both motorcycle manufacturers. Neither project come to fruition, stalling at prototype phase, but the basic concept remained in Porsche's mind time enough, so on 22 June 1934, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche agreed to create the "People's Car" for Hitler.[citation needed]

Re: Why are Harleys cool?

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 2:40 am
by totalmotorcycle
I have always like the idea "The simplier the better", or K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid rule. Less to break, less to worry about, less cost and more reliablility.

It's doesn't work for everything, but it does work.

I'll even take a car with roll up windows and manual door mirrors in standard transmission... but they don't sell many of those new anymore. (Our last car had all that and was a 2004 Chevy Aveo5)

Re: Why are Harleys cool?

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 7:47 am
by Kingshead
totalmotorcycle wrote:I have always like the idea "The simplier the better", or K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid rule. Less to break, less to worry about, less cost and more reliablility.

It's doesn't work for everything, but it does work.

I'll even take a car with roll up windows and manual door mirrors in standard transmission... but they don't sell many of those new anymore. (Our last car had all that and was a 2004 Chevy Aveo5)
Agree totally, automatic transmissions are way to complicated and expesive to repair when down, and I've had way to many problems with electric windows. We could all use the small amount of excersize required to roll our own windows up and down anyways. We ride bikes because it puts us closer to our machine as if being a part of it. This is why I find it hard to understand why any rider would like the idea of self driving cars.

Martin

Re: Why are Harleys cool?

Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 3:30 pm
by JC Viper
Kingshead wrote:
totalmotorcycle wrote:I have always like the idea "The simplier the better", or K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid rule. Less to break, less to worry about, less cost and more reliablility.

It's doesn't work for everything, but it does work.

I'll even take a car with roll up windows and manual door mirrors in standard transmission... but they don't sell many of those new anymore. (Our last car had all that and was a 2004 Chevy Aveo5)
Agree totally, automatic transmissions are way to complicated and expesive to repair when down, and I've had way to many problems with electric windows. We could all use the small amount of excersize required to roll our own windows up and down anyways. We ride bikes because it puts us closer to our machine as if being a part of it. This is why I find it hard to understand why any rider would like the idea of self driving cars.

Martin
To most people nowadays the Automatic Transmission is all about keeping it simple... for the operator not for the car company. Twist and go is why scooters are popular, especially in cities. Same with cars. Just push the gas pedal to go, brakes to stop and steer using the wheel. If something breaks let the mechanic deal with it. Maybe a Wall-E type future is in store for us...

Re: Why are Harleys cool?

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 1:46 am
by totalmotorcycle
JC Viper wrote:
Kingshead wrote:
totalmotorcycle wrote:I have always like the idea "The simplier the better", or K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid rule. Less to break, less to worry about, less cost and more reliablility.

It's doesn't work for everything, but it does work.

I'll even take a car with roll up windows and manual door mirrors in standard transmission... but they don't sell many of those new anymore. (Our last car had all that and was a 2004 Chevy Aveo5)
Agree totally, automatic transmissions are way to complicated and expesive to repair when down, and I've had way to many problems with electric windows. We could all use the small amount of excersize required to roll our own windows up and down anyways. We ride bikes because it puts us closer to our machine as if being a part of it. This is why I find it hard to understand why any rider would like the idea of self driving cars.

Martin
To most people nowadays the Automatic Transmission is all about keeping it simple... for the operator not for the car company. Twist and go is why scooters are popular, especially in cities. Same with cars. Just push the gas pedal to go, brakes to stop and steer using the wheel. If something breaks let the mechanic deal with it. Maybe a Wall-E type future is in store for us...
It is interesting how the automatic transmission caught on with Scooters but not really with motorcycles. It's not like the manufacturers didn't try it in the recent past.

Take Honda and the 1978 Hondamatic 750A (also made in Hondamatic 400A)

Image

Now before you say... well, Harley-Davidson would never make an automatic classic cruiser you would be right, but that has been done too by Ridley Motorcycles... so it's possible you might see an Automatic Harley-Davidson cruiser in the future.

Image

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2 ... Ridley.htm

Re: Why are Harleys cool?

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 4:15 am
by JC Viper
I thought the Yamaha FJR AE was doing well in terms of sales. Then there's the DCT Honda VFR 1200 and Aprilia Mana.

Re: Why are Harleys cool?

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 4:31 am
by gsJack
The Ridleys are full automatics along the same lines as the scooters are with the infinetely variable belt type transmissions but the Hondamatics were really semi-automatic transmissions. They had a manually shifted 2 speed gear box coupled to the engine with a torque converter. After my CB400T and CB750K bikes I found a like new 82 CM400A Hondamatic with only 2k miles on it and thoroughly enjoyed it for another 96k miles and then gave it a friend returning to riding. That CM400A had over 100k miles on it last time I saw it, a very durable bike indeed. I did pick up a low milage 85 CB650SC and rode both the CB-SC and CM-A for a number of years, could be why I enjoyed that Hondamatic so much for so long. :)

Re: Why are Harleys cool?

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 5:20 am
by jstark47
JC Viper wrote:I thought the Yamaha FJR AE was doing well in terms of sales.
Apparently not in North America. Yamaha discontinued it in the US and Canada for the 2010 model year. My local Yammie dealer had one sitting around for a couple of years that he could not sell.

Re: Why are Harleys cool?

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 3:28 pm
by Grey Thumper
totalmotorcycle wrote:I'll even take a car with roll up windows and manual door mirrors in standard transmission... but they don't sell many of those new anymore. (Our last car had all that and was a 2004 Chevy Aveo5)
The extinction of the roll-up window annoys me, actually. How hard is it (and how often do you have to) roll up your windows or adjust your door mirrors? Doesn't make sense to have them powered, given the weight, complexity, and expense of all those motors. Power seats are another annoyance (especially since adjusting your seat manually is often faster). Even Land Rover has given up on roll-up windows for the Defender, a vehicle that's supposedly designed with as few failure points as possible (at least it still has manually-adjusted mirrors).

Re: Why are Harleys cool?

Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 8:20 pm
by waterbuffalo750
Grey Thumper wrote:
totalmotorcycle wrote:I'll even take a car with roll up windows and manual door mirrors in standard transmission... but they don't sell many of those new anymore. (Our last car had all that and was a 2004 Chevy Aveo5)
The extinction of the roll-up window annoys me, actually. How hard is it (and how often do you have to) roll up your windows or adjust your door mirrors? Doesn't make sense to have them powered, given the weight, complexity, and expense of all those motors. Power seats are another annoyance (especially since adjusting your seat manually is often faster). Even Land Rover has given up on roll-up windows for the Defender, a vehicle that's supposedly designed with as few failure points as possible (at least it still has manually-adjusted mirrors).
You can still get manual windows and locks in most compact cars. My '04 Mazda 3 has everything manual. The only part I really don't like is manual locks on a 4 door car. and manual mirrors suck, too. My wife and I both regularly drive, so the passenger mirror just never gets adjusted.