Sitting at the very heart of this new machine is the 1252cc Revolution Max engine, which produces 150bhp @ 8750rpm and 94lb.ft @ 6750rpm. How have Harley done it? They’ve built a whole new engine from the ground up.
For a start the engine architecture has changed considerably, with Harley’s propensity for long-stroke (undersquare) design chucked in favour of a short-stroke (oversquare) design. This means they can rev the engine much harder to chase power – the rev limit of the Revolution Max is twice that of a stock Milwaukee-Eight.
It’s also got a nifty variable valve system to help chase both power and torque, while in the interest of weight saving it acts as a stressed member, which helps to bring overall weight of the standard model down to 245kg and the S model to 258kg.
The frame is your standard steel tubed affair, with the front frame, mid frame and subframe bolting directly to the engine. The advantage to this is that if you take the thing off-road, which they’re really hoping you will do, and you totally muck things up it’s not the end of the world. Bend the subframe and it’s just a case of unbolting it and sticking on a new one. No costly write-offs for a 5mph drop here.
That’s not the only thought Harley have given to off-roading because they’re really designed it to zoom around in the rough stuff. All the drain bolts have been recessed, so nothing gets wrecked by a mean looking rock, while that ‘letterbox’ headlight has been designed to cast a wide beam across the trail. Even the brake pedal can be adjusted without tools to swap between seated and standing riding positions, while the petrol filler cap has been placed right at the front, so you don’t need to remove your tank bag to fill ’er up.
Look forward to some real world reviews from the world's M/C press, but overall it doesn't look any more ridiculous than a GS ADV etc. I hope it brings them good fortune...
