More power. More comfort. More control. Today, Harley-Davidson unveils the all-new Milwaukee-Eight engine, the ninth Big Twin in its history, plus all-new front and rear suspension for its Model Year 2017 Touring motorcycle lineup.
“These are the most powerful, most responsive and most comfortable Touring motorcycles ever offered by Harley-Davidson,” said Scott Miller, Harley-Davidson Vice President of Styling and Product Development Strategy. “You truly have to ride one to feel the difference, so we’re inviting all riders to visit a Harley-Davidson dealer and take a test ride.”
The new Milwaukee-Eight engine is a ground-up design that combines the classic look, sound, and feel of Harley-Davidson Big Twin engines with improvements in performance, comfort, and control.Retaining the classic 45-degree V-Twin cylinder angle, the Milwaukee-Eight engine produces 10 percent more torque and features four-valve cylinder heads that offer 50 percent more intake and exhaust flow capacity than previous year models. The Milwaukee-Eight engine is counter-balanced to cancel 75 percent of primary vibration at idle, retaining the classic feel of a Harley V-Twin engine while being very smooth at highway speeds. A new heat management strategy improves rider and passenger comfort.
New Engine and Much More for Model Year 2017
Along with the Milwaukee-Eight engine unveiling, Harley-Davidson also announced:
• New Touring Suspension: All-new front and rear suspension components enhance the comfort, control, and performance of all 2017 Harley-Davidson Touring models.
All 2017 Touring models, including the Road King shown here, have new dual bending valve front suspension technology providing the performance of a racing-style cartridge fork with linear damping characteristics and reduced weight. New emulsion-technology rear shocks offer 15 to 30 percent more pre-load adjustment than previous standard Touring shocks, with a single, hand-adjustable knob to hydraulically dial in pre-load.
• Screamin’ Eagle Performance: Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle Performance will offer a full selection of street-legal performance components for the Milwaukee-Eight engines, including Screamin’ Eagle Milwaukee-Eight engine Stage kits that deliver up to a 24-percent increase in torque over the stock engine (availability varies by market).
• Harley-Davidson Custom Vehicle Operations: Harley-Davidson Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO) models combine prestige and performance in three limited-edition factory-custom motorcycles for 2017. The CVO Limited and CVO Street Glide models feature the refined performance of the new Twin-Cooled Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine, while the CVO Pro Street Breakout motorcycle is powered by the Screamin’ Eagle Twin Cam 110B air-cooled V-Twin engine.
Milwaukee-Eight engines are offered in two displacements: the Milwaukee-Eight 107 (107ci/1750cc) and Twin-Cooled Milwaukee-Eight 107 (107ci/1750cc) for standard motorcycle models and the Twin-Cooled Milwaukee-Eight 114 (114ci/1870cc) for Harley-Davidson Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO) motorcycle models, including the CVO Street Glide shown here.
• 2017 Harley-Davidson Street 500/750 Motorcycles: 2017 Harley-Davidson Street motorcycles are now available with ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) and the Harley-Davidson Smart Security System with hands-free, proximity-based security fob, each as a factory-installed option.
The ABS option on the Street 500 and the Street 750 (shown here) costs $750, and the Smart Security option runs $395.
• Powerful Cruiser Lineup: With the High Output Twin Cam 103 standard for all 2017 Softail models and Dyna models (U.S. models only) except the Street Bob model and the S Series cruisers with the Screamin’ Eagle Twin Cam 110 engine, Harley-Davidson continues to offer its most powerful cruisers ever.
“We want all riders to save the date of Sept. 23,” said Dino Bernacchi, Director of U.S. Marketing at Harley-Davidson. “That weekend, Harley-Davidson dealers across the country will host open house events so riders can throw a leg over our Model Year 2017 touring motorcycles and feel the difference of the all-new Milwaukee-Eight engine for themselves.”
To experience the transformation of the 2017 Harley-Davidson models now, visit h-d.com/testride to schedule a test ride.
Heres more on the development and details of the history-making engine courtesy of our friends at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
