harley davidson

[Fox Pass]

What about Harley davidson? Now this engine interest me and the price seems vary reasonable ,204 pounds 100 hp and 120 or so torque, a little heavy compared to others ligther than some but neat, I'd go to the stripe just to listen to my plane idling on the ramp.
Actually I hope that you guys here don't hate me as I want to build a 701, but so far can't find a good forum like this for zenith without have a tail #. You guys have really hammered out a lot of issues here, been interesting just surfing around the various topics.
Thanks James.

[cap01]

keep hanging around and youll get converted . ill admit there was a nice jab powered , i think 701 , at arlington . a friend over at thun field built a 701 , since sold it . youve got to be good with sheetmetal skills or they can look like crap when your finished .

[Fox Pass]

Ok Chuck, I may convert but prefer to work in metal. I've found several pictures of 701s with harleys mounted on them and no mention here of harles as an engine option was wondering what others had to say?

[rwaltman]

What about Harley davidson?...204 pounds 100 hp ...

Like any other car or motorcycle engine, that is 100 hp maximum with an average power output much lower.

Will it produce 100 hp for 5 minutes at takeoff followed by 75 hp continuously for the duration of a 3 hour flight?

Will it do it reliably, time after time, and still have a reasonable life expectancy?

There is a large number of HDs out there, I've never heard of one powering an airplane, so I guess the answer to the previous questions are "no."

I have read about a couple or conversions using Suzuki (or was it Kawasaki?) and BMW engines.

But again, comparing the large number of inexpensive motorcycle engines easily available, and the large number or skilled tinkerers out there, with the almost complete absence of these engines in the aircraft powerplant arena, tells me that they suffer from fundamental problems (power to weight ratio at sustainable power levels, cooling, etc.) that can not be easly solved.

Roberto Waltman.

[Iceflyer]

Nice Harley and aircraft combined, that´s great.

Also would consider Harley VRSC V-rod engine. 125hp Porsche designed watercooled engine. Screaming Eagle version 145hp and Turbo is 160hp.

I´m not sure about the torque/hp curve but if I remember right max torque about 3500rpm and hp peak @ 6000 rpm.

This is a very reliable engine that will last 100K miles easily.

Lots of aftermarket parts available like computer controllers and performance parts.

Wealth of information here: http://www.1130cc.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uP2ylkyCWo

[Rodney]

http://www.skyray.us/engine.htm

Take a look at this -

My co-worker is a hog fan - rides all the time.
Says HD stands for "High Dollar"

Another really interesting conversion is going on with the
rotor head guys
http://www.rotaryforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25098

Several have converted Yamaha 3 and 4 cylinder engines (120 hp and 150 hp respectively) for use with their gyrocoptors. Even though I'm planning on another engine in my kitfox, if it doesn't work out, I'm going to have a really hard look at the Yamaha engine. These engines are almost bullet proof and seem to be building a following with the gyrocoptor guys. (FYI - they come out of snowmobiles).

Regards
Rodney

[MotReklaw]

Ok Chuck, I may convert but prefer to work in metal. I've found several pictures of 701s with harleys mounted on them and no mention here of harles as an engine option was wondering what others had to say?

Hi,
Larry Martin in Arkansas put a HD engine in a 701 several years back. He eventually took it out without ever flying it I'm told. Here's a link to his website: http://www.skyhawg.com/

Thanks,
Tommy Walker in Alabama