captain chaos
Well-known member
Your statement isn’t necessarily wrong but I think it might be “off” a little.
One thing for you to keep in mind; A Harley’s longevity is more a result of the fact that their enormously under stressed more than anything else. A Briggs and Stratton will run for 40 years even with poor maintenance (I have such a creature in my shed right now) I would hardly attribute its longevity to its valve in block, oil pump-less “technology” but more to the fact that for its displacement, it makes very little power
A typical Harley makes about 50hp per liter of displacement (.8hp per cubic inch) from the factory. Even modified ones don’t get much past 60hp/liter. Consider that a modern 600 and 1000cc sportbikes make right around 200hp per liter (3.3hp per cubic inch), 2 stroke dirtbikes can approach 300hp/liter (they sure as heck won’t go 100k mi though)! Harleys last for 100k mi + because they don’t make enough power to hurt themselves. Look at it this way, if a new 103” Harley made the same power per displacement as a liter sportbike it would be cranking out about 340hp. How long do you think it would last at those power levels?
You’re Mom’s VRod is certainly the exception to this as its longevity is absolutely a result of a modern design and technology. Even still, the VRod is making about 100hp/Liter so for its design it also is also somewhat under stressed. The VRod shares absolutely no commonality with any air cooled Harley or Buell though so you really cannot compare the 2.
Unfortunately with any air cooled engine (not just Harleys), the more power you make the fewer miles you’re going to get from it for a given displacement. I would be surprised to see a Buell make it past 100k because of the power level their at with an air cooled engine. However, they are so cheap and easy to rebuild 100k is plenty long enough as less than $1000 can get you everything you need to go another 100k. [up]
