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captainwhoopass · 07-27-2004, 08:48 AM

Wouldn't that be an interesting story? Harley makes an air-cooled, pushrod V-twin. Yamaha (and later Kawasaki, but LC) makes one as well and are cursed for copying H-D. Yamaha (and Honda, in the past) make V-4 cruisers that don't exactly set the world on fire. Harley then makes a V-4 cruiser, proving the idea can work.

sarnali · 07-27-2004, 09:21 AM

They HAVE been thinking about a V4 for along time. Rumors and spy photos of the Nova project have been around for years. The R&D for this took place in the mid '70's, about the same time Soichiro and the boys were developing the Interceptor and Sabres.

The differance is that Honda was making money and could afford to go out on a limb, AMF Harley couldn't. At that time V4's were the Next Big Thing and predictions of UJM fours fading away were pretty common

seruzawa · 07-27-2004, 09:27 AM

Sort of like how V-twins are completely passe' today!!

Smart predictions!

nokneedragin · 07-27-2004, 09:31 AM

Check the article again, HD was making money. Money AMF used to prop up the rest of its business.

HDs money problems came after the buy-out, with the excessive debt they had to aquired.

If I remember right (please correct me if not) HDwas in the red when AMF bought them, then went into the green afew years after the takeover.

triumph900 · 07-27-2004, 09:36 AM

Or....

He says...

Potato

Potahto (long 'A' here)

Potato

Potahto

Potato

Potahto

Let's call the whole thing off...!

mscuddy · 07-27-2004, 10:12 AM

Miserable commie s*****.

Like all those poor souls who had to polish the insides of CZ cases...

You know, I've seen that engine somewhere before...funny even back then, they went to Porsche, for the design.

maxriderdon · 07-27-2004, 10:28 AM

How many times will this story get replayed???

Yep Harley missed an opportunity to show they could design and build what had the potential to be a bike with a real motor. Perhaps they could not get Porsche or some other company to show them how, like they had to do with the V-Max wannabe, the world renowned Discovery channel special V-Rod. Good thing I guess since Yamaha came along with the real deal, yep you guessed it 20 yrs, and still kicking a$$ V-Max. Long live V-boost.

sarnali · 07-27-2004, 10:28 AM

The artical is pretty specific about the timeline, my take is that when Tom York became CEO of AMF he changed the corporate focus away from recreation including HD, and shifted more towards industreal products, leaving Harley flapping in the breeze. That led to the situation that allowed Beals and his partners to buy HD off AMF, though with limited rescourses they had to choose between developing the Evo or the Nova.

When AMF bought Harley in '70 they were pretty far in the hole, AMF saved their bacon at that time. After the buyback in '81 Ronnie Raygun put the import tariff on the Japanese manufacturers giving Harley enough wiggle room to get back to profitability and they've been off and running ever since.

mscuddy · 07-27-2004, 10:29 AM

You ride the Beemer enduro, right? How's that thing holding up?

I've got a line on an '80 GS. Has yours got 'zokes up front? This one does.

Just hope I don't get the cylinders stuck between some trees, up on Alamo Mt. Maybe some cylinder guards... 15 to zero in 1 second.

07-27-2004, 08:48 AM	#21
captainwhoopass Founding Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 1,671	Re: My prediction Wouldn't that be an interesting story? Harley makes an air-cooled, pushrod V-twin. Yamaha (and later Kawasaki, but LC) makes one as well and are cursed for copying H-D. Yamaha (and Honda, in the past) make V-4 cruisers that don't exactly set the world on fire. Harley then makes a V-4 cruiser, proving the idea can work. __________________ <blockquote> \"I knew it. I\'m surrounded by a$$holes.\" [b][i]Lord Helmet, Spaceballs

07-27-2004, 09:21 AM	#22
sarnali Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 3,416	Re: Well, yeah. They HAVE been thinking about a V4 for along time. Rumors and spy photos of the Nova project have been around for years. The R&D for this took place in the mid '70's, about the same time Soichiro and the boys were developing the Interceptor and Sabres. The differance is that Honda was making money and could afford to go out on a limb, AMF Harley couldn't. At that time V4's were the Next Big Thing and predictions of UJM fours fading away were pretty common

07-27-2004, 09:27 AM	#23
seruzawa Robby Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: 8501 ft. Posts: 16,803	Re: Well, yeah. Sort of like how V-twins are completely passe' today!! Smart predictions! __________________ I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tanhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.

07-27-2004, 09:31 AM	#24
nokneedragin Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 771	Re: Well, yeah. Check the article again, HD was making money. Money AMF used to prop up the rest of its business. HDs money problems came after the buy-out, with the excessive debt they had to aquired. If I remember right (please correct me if not) HDwas in the red when AMF bought them, then went into the green afew years after the takeover.

07-27-2004, 09:36 AM	#25
triumph900 Founding Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 183	Re: HAha! Or.... He says... Potato Potahto (long 'A' here) Potato Potahto Potato Potahto Let's call the whole thing off...!

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07-27-2004, 10:12 AM	#27
mscuddy MODERATOR X Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Next to my still checkin the temp. Posts: 5,444	Re: The V-Four Harley You Never Saw, thankfully Miserable commie s*****. Like all those poor souls who had to polish the insides of CZ cases... You know, I've seen that engine somewhere before...funny even back then, they went to Porsche, for the design. __________________ A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.

07-27-2004, 10:28 AM	#28
maxriderdon Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 323	Re: The V-Four Harley You Never Saw How many times will this story get replayed??? Yep Harley missed an opportunity to show they could design and build what had the potential to be a bike with a real motor. Perhaps they could not get Porsche or some other company to show them how, like they had to do with the V-Max wannabe, the world renowned Discovery channel special V-Rod. Good thing I guess since Yamaha came along with the real deal, yep you guessed it 20 yrs, and still kicking a$$ V-Max. Long live V-boost. __________________ Lean Into It!

07-27-2004, 10:28 AM	#29
sarnali Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 3,416	Re: Well, yeah. The artical is pretty specific about the timeline, my take is that when Tom York became CEO of AMF he changed the corporate focus away from recreation including HD, and shifted more towards industreal products, leaving Harley flapping in the breeze. That led to the situation that allowed Beals and his partners to buy HD off AMF, though with limited rescourses they had to choose between developing the Evo or the Nova. When AMF bought Harley in '70 they were pretty far in the hole, AMF saved their bacon at that time. After the buyback in '81 Ronnie Raygun put the import tariff on the Japanese manufacturers giving Harley enough wiggle room to get back to profitability and they've been off and running ever since.

07-27-2004, 10:29 AM	#30
mscuddy MODERATOR X Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Next to my still checkin the temp. Posts: 5,444	Re: MO just ran a cool bike review... You ride the Beemer enduro, right? How's that thing holding up? I've got a line on an '80 GS. Has yours got 'zokes up front? This one does. Just hope I don't get the cylinders stuck between some trees, up on Alamo Mt. Maybe some cylinder guards... 15 to zero in 1 second. __________________ A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.