Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Harley-Davidson


Harley-Davidson Motor Company (NYSE: HOG, formerly HDI) is an American manufacturer of motorcycles based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company sells heavyweight (over 750 cc) motorcycles designed for cruising on the highway. Harley-Davidson motorcycles (popularly known as "Harleys") have a distinctive design and exhaust note. They are especially noted for the tradition of heavy customization that gave rise to the chopper-style of motorcycle.
Harley-Davidson attracts a loyal brand community, with licensing of the Harley-Davidson logo accounting for almost 5% of the company's net revenue ($41 million in 2004). Harley-Davidson supplies many American police forces with their motorcycle fleets.
In 2003, the Buell Motorcycle Company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, the same year that Harley-Davidson celebrated its 100th birthday. In August 2008, Harley-Davidson purchased the Italian motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta.
[edit] The Revolution engine
The Revolution engine is based on the VR-1000 Superbike race program, developed by Harley-Davidson's Powertrain Engineering team and Porsche Engineering in Stuttgart, Germany. It is a liquid cooled, dual overhead cam, internally counterbalanced 60 degree V-twin engine with a displacement of 69 cubic inches (1130 cc), producing 115 horsepower (86 kW) at 8250 rpm at the crank, with a redline of 9000 rpm.It was introduced for the new V-Rod line in 2001 for the 2002 model year, starting with the single VRSCA (V-Twin Racing Street Custom) model.
A 1250 cc Screamin' Eagle version of the Revolution engine was made available for 2005, and was present thereafter in a single production model from 2005–2007. In 2008, the 1250 cc Revolution Engine became standard for the entire VRSC line. Harley-Davidson claims 123 horsepower (92 kW) at the crank for the 2008 VRSCAW model. The VRXSE Destroyer is equipped with a stroker (75 mm crank) Screamin’ Eagle 1,300 cubic centimetres (79 cu in) Revolution Engine, producing over 165 horsepower (123 kW).

References
Wikipedia