{"id":1515,"date":"2016-08-23T10:07:45","date_gmt":"2016-08-23T10:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/american-v.cso2w.com\/?p=1515"},"modified":"2018-02-28T11:22:07","modified_gmt":"2018-02-28T11:22:07","slug":"inside-harleys-new-milwaukee-eight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/american-v.cso2w.com\/hub\/inside-harleys-new-milwaukee-eight\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Harley’s New Milwaukee-Eight"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the biggest roll-out of technology since Project Rushmore, The Motor Company\u2019s 2017 tourers will have an all-new heart, and in classic Harley-Davidson style it is very much an evolution.<\/p>\n

\"MY17\"Milwaukee\"MY17\"MY17\"Milwaukee\"Milwaukee\"Milwaukee\"Milwaukee\"Milwaukee\"Milwaukee\"Milwaukee\"MY17<\/p>\n

With its single camshaft \u2013 chain-driven off the crankshaft \u2013 it will be seen by many as more an evolution of the Evo, and few details of the internal engineering are available at the moment, but the nose cone and the close-fitting lifter blocks of Harley’s newest 45\u00b0 v-twin will be familiar to traditional fans.<\/p>\n

Harley famously switched to a Twin Cam design in 1999 to get better valves angles for the cylinder heads they wanted to use, but with a change to 4-valve heads, that\u2019s changed again: partly to reduce the weight of components in the valve train and their complexity as well as reducing friction and noise, but also because it can run leaner with higher compression ratios.<\/p>\n

Basically, two smaller valves can flow better than big one, providing that you can operate them efficiently \u2013 always a headache on a hemi, getting the rocker angles right \u2013 but by using a pent roof combustion chamber they have made life easier on themselves, and have given themselves an opportunity to fit a second spark plug to get a quicker, cleaner burn. They have also fitted an electric decompressor to make life easier on a more powerful starter motor, and have managed \u2013 they say \u2013 to design a roller rocker that activates both valves in a pair that is set at the factory and is set-for-life. Each rocker is still activated conventionally by a pushrod with a hydraulic lifter between that and the cam to keep the valve-train quiet.<\/p>\n

And with the single cam, the tighter V as defined by the pushrod tubes \u2013 barely visible on the stock engine with its dragstrip-inspired air-cleaner \u2013 has returned. So too have the tall pushrod tubes, running almost to the new split rocker boxes with echoes of the Panhead and Shovel, producing the most sculpted engine of Harley\u2019s new age. Indeed, probably the best looking Harley-Davidson engine since the Shovel\/Pan\/Knuck*.<\/p>\n

And Milwaukee-Eight?<\/p>\n

Eight-valves.<\/p>\n

If the intention was to create a new visual statement, it has succeeded in its goal, but Harley wanted \u2013 needed \u2013 more from it that that, and they\u2019ve got that too:<\/p>\n