#vvt

A couple of days ago, we were tipped off by Harley-Davidson blogger Dr. Dan Morel about photos of an alleged new CVO Road Glide and CVO Street Glide taken from the factory floor. Morel has since sent us another photo, offering a clear look at the CVO Road Glide’s right side, including evidence that the new 121ci engine uses variable valve timing.

Harley-Davidson has filed a patent for a new engine design that uses variable valve timing. Officially, the patent is not specifically for a VVT system but rather for a modular engine balancer that mounts on either side of a crankshaft. The patent does however describe how the VVT phase timing is incorporated into the balancer module.

Newly released filings from the California Air Resources Board confirm the BMW S1000XR is getting updates for 2020, likely including the ShiftCam variable-valve timing system added on the new S1000RR. Those looking for similar updates to the S1000R may be disappointed, however, as CARB documents suggest the naked bike is not getting the same updates.

In April, Motorcycle.com broke the news that Indian is about to introduce a new liquid-cooled V-Twin engine originally developed for Victory Motorcycles. The new engine is expected to power a new fixed-fairing tourer and likely several other models, leaving some to wonder about the future of Indian’s air-cooled Thunder Stroke 111 engine.

After CARB filings and a leaked video tipped the world about their existence, BMW has officially announced the 2019 R1250GS and R1250RT featuring a 1254cc Boxer engine with a “ShiftCam” variable-valve timing system.

UPDATE: the leaked video has been taken down, but the news is now official, as BMW has announced the Shift Cam system for the 2019 R1250GS and R1250RT. We expect they’ll be joined by the R1250GS Adventrue, R1250R and R1250RS at Intermot.

The California Air Resources Board has certified a new BMW engine, confirming an entire new range of 1254cc R models for 2019. According to the new CARB executive order, the engine will be equipped on five models: the R1250GS, R1250GS Adventure, R1250R, R1250RS and R1250RT.

Ordinarily, a recall affecting 29,281 motorcycles would be big news, but in this case, the news is overshadowed by confirmation that the next-generation of BMW R motorcycles are on their way.

TFT displays are a type of LCD flat-panel display screen in which each pixel is controlled by one to four transistors, which can combine to yield full-color readouts. Not only does this type of display offer great resolution, it allows manufacturers full customization of how the user interface interacts with the rider. In more performance-oriented bikes, we see normal street-riding displays, while more track-focused screens can be made available at the push of a button. Track-specific screens generally focus on tachometer, lap timers, and gear indicators to give trackday enthusiasts an easier intake of information that is important while spinning laps.