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atsaubrey

Harley airplane?

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You're right of course, the EVO does shake less that previous models but still a touch too much for a plane, I suspect. But I would sound great.

Alass, also, it's not the lightest engine around but it does have loads of torque .... is that good for a aircraft engine?

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

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My wife says thet the Sportser shakes better than any washing machine .... not too sure what she means



Pull one plug wire off and she may like it even more!B|

THe 88B engine from Harley still sounds the same, but has two couterbalance shafts that cancel out the inherent vibration. A very smooth-running engine. I believe it came out in 2001 or 2002. A regular Harley engine would shake a plane to bits in no time.

Easy Does It

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I've owned a Suzuki 100, a Yamaha 305, a Kawasaki 500 MachIII, a Kawasaki 750, and a GoldWing, in that order ... been riding for 36 years :$ They were all fine motorcycles, and fortunately I've been lucky enough to have never owned a lemon. My MachIII was the most fun - used to leave Harley's behind in a cloud of blue smoke:ph34r: The GoldWing lasted forever, and was absolutely reliable, but all it could do was to take me comfortably, in a straight line, 90 mph, ALL DAY LONG ;)

I have derived great pleasure over the years denigrating Harley D's :D:D

Now I own a 2002 Dyna LowRider AND a 2003 Softail Heritage Classic. I've already put 6000 mi on the LowRider and more than 10000 mi. on the Softail. Last June, I drove the Softail out to San Diego and back (from Champaign, IL). It was AWESOME! More comfortable than the Goldwing, totally reliable, burned no oil, sounded great, and handled beautifully. Got passed by lots of squids on cheap, but VERY fast japanese crotch-rockets. BFD! I can go faster, assholes - head down!! :D:D

Anyway, I love my Harleys. They are well-built, solid, and reliable. The engines are smooth, and sound great! Most importantly though, they are WORKS OF ARTB|:P

Irony: This August, in Rantoul, I made the mistake of parking the Softail too close to Drop Zone Row, so it got hit by a sofa on the final night :o:S:P Rear fender got wrinkled up. It was very sad:( But that's a whole 'nother story ...


************************

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I dunno. Rotax (4 strokes) fall into the top end of that category. Jabiru does as well. My personal favorite, the Rotec radial ('cause it sounds "right") also falls into the top end of that category.

Yes but these are WAY more expensive than a used certifiable ( but not yellow tagged, overhauled by the experimenter ) 200 horse aircraft engine used in an uncertified airframe. So now you have an airframe with an overpowered and overweighted engine at a fraction of the cost of the Jabiru, rotec., rotax and other new examples, with many parts available cheap as long as you don't plan to use it in a certified application.

>You also have the option of using variations of the Continental or Lycoming 65-90 hp aircraft (or GPU)engines that have been around since the late 30's......without some of the limitations placed on you by FAR's that regulate their use in certificated airframes.

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Yes We know of them, now good luck finding some to use in your aircraft application. Those small Lycs and conts are getting more expensive used due to their rareity than engines in the 320/360 & 540 size. Same for the GPU stuff. All of this is having an explosive effect on the fast glass and the new clean rivet home rocket category of kits which will set you back 100K and several years of building and have nothing to do with the sport plane genre that is struggling to emerge.

>When you're talking about aircraft engines, keep in mind that they spend all of their life running continuously at anywhere from 75-90% of their rated horsepower. Most automotive and motorcycle engines (especially Harleys?) never see continuous operation at that power range for any length of time.

It's just a thought.



I know this and about a hundred other facts of trying to convert non-aeropower for use in aviation application and can give you three decades of a failing track record with those experiments.

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I'd fly it. As long as it has a slow enough stall speed and reasonable glide ratio, seems like it could be fun. That's the one feature of most light aircraft that redeems their lack of redundancy. Ever notice that most twins & turbines, while very reliable, are designed to glide like bricks?

Then again, I'll fly most anything that will get me off the ground, given the chance.

Lance

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I was thumbing thru the January issue of Private Pilot and noticed they built a plane using a Harley-Davidson motorcycle engine. Would anyone in their right mind fly in this thing without a rig? NOT ME!

let the flaming begin:P



This is the same model airplane I built. The one with the reliable Subaru engine that crapped out on me over the forest a year and a half ago. I'd go with the Rotax over the Harley (or Subaru) any day.

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Harley's are complete garbage. Overpriced, unreliable, generic pieces of shit. They can't hold a candle to Japanese cruisers.



Oh YEAH???
Well check out this Harley D lawnmower my folks bought me for Christmas. Sure, it's a bit more power than I need, but it's a classic and rocks!!!!! (Neighbors are always asking to borrow it)

Try getting your typical "rice-burner" to do this! ;)

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mhmyers/skycutter40-1.wmv
“Keep your elbow up!"

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