2007 "Indian" Motor (S&S)

[HarleyCreation]

I know it's a new motor, but when I opened a current motorcycle mag yesterday and saw this new proprietary S&S engine my first thought was: "INDIAN."

That is, if Indian had built an OHV V-twin motor in the late 1930s like Harley did and the Springfield brand had survived as a result, this could have been the Indian motor of the present day!

Wonder what the camshaft-train looks like in this thing? Little blurb said camshaft is "belt" drive. From the shape of the cam-chest, I'm guessing two camshafts.

All this motor needs is the Indian head embossed on the cam cover!

[yhprum]

Actaully there are three cams! http://www.cycleworld.com/article.as...article_id=240
In the mag, they had a photo of the belt drive, pretty clever.
Steve

[HarleyCreation]

Originally posted by yhprum
Actaully there are three cams! http://www.cycleworld.com/article.as...article_id=240
In the mag, they had a photo of the belt drive, pretty clever.
Steve

Oh yeah! (I went to the link). I also see it has side-by-side rods and offset cylinders. Too bad I let my sub to Cycle World lapse.

This seems like a nice motor with classic looks. There's nothing freak or stupid looking about it. Simple and clean. Ageless looks. Of course, it was built in Wisconsin. To me it seems wasted in a chopper style motorcycle, but just the ticket for a bike with traditional American styling.

Too bad Floyd Clymer wasn't around yet. If he saw this motor he'd have some ideas for it!

[AdminGuy]

It is beautiful! Hats off to them.

I guess you could try sticking one into a Kiwi bobber frame with some engine mount mods and a six speed trans. Someone will certainly do it.

Maybe Roger Goldhammer my neighbour to the east.
http://www.goldammercycle.com/hispeed/main.php

He would be my number one bet. As the smooth lines are right up his alley.
I'd like to see what he would do with the engine.

[HarleyCreation]

Originally posted by AdminGuy
It is beautiful! Hats off to them.

I guess you could try sticking one into a Kiwi bobber frame with some engine mount mods and a six speed trans. Someone will certainly do it.

I agree, that new S&S motor is beautiful, an INSTANT classic, and no mistake!

It's just right!

Personally, I'd put mine into the oldest chassis styling possible. Best would be a stone-stock 1936 Indian look with little or no chrome.

My tribute to the 1936 Indian that might have been...

Then I'd add a THREE-speed transmission with high top overall gearing and an all-purpose 2nd gear.

With that baby and all its inches, I could lug down to a crawl in 2nd in with the Harley riders, then launch this sleeper and wind it WAY WAY WAY out in SECOND while the Harley guys with their Jap-like 6-speeds would be wearing their ankles out desperately shifting thru all those gears!

I'd shift just once....into HIGH.

Second gear would be super strong from like 1 mph to 100 mph.

Third would be my loafing 50 mpg freeway gear.

Oh yeah, it would have to be hand-shift too altho I'd put it on the left-side of the tank.

That's my "Indian."

I wonder if a TWO-speed gearbox would be even better?

[HarleyCreation]

Looking at the new S&S motor again, I'd restyle the valve covers with fins so it looks more like a flathead.

Can anyone say Indian?

This motor brings back the compact overall perfect proportions of the old-time big twin side-valve engine.

It looks mighty like a locomotive!

I gotta admit: the Knucklehead in all its many incarnations appears to have met its match.

Finally a motor for the rest of the world!

[cheifrider]

i can say indian

granted, all us motorheads appreciate a lot of stuff ,but,are we stretching here,....................very very new stufff
to get all worked up about(*sorry, have to voice it)ANTIQUE motor cycle club of america = antique= being the key word ....................pardon my intrusion this thread but i keep seeing a trend(in general) to accept all the new stuff to readily

[AdminGuy]

Ahhhhhh.... were just shoot'in the breeze. Little puffs of smoke from many mufflers.

hummm..... will HD try to design another "good looking" engine? Will the far eastern market beat them to it? Will HD dump all R&D into the V-Rod?

I'm pretty excited anbout the new S&S engine. Can't wait to see someone do something really creative with it. I'm gunna barf if I see it bolted into another hack chopper frame. What a waste.....they should give a whack of them out to good builders just to see what they'll produce.

It does have a retro Indian look. Well- time will tell.

Oh YA- We got the 4 speed overdrive for Chiefs now. That would work well.

[rousseau]

I don't post very often on this forum because I seem to always be negative about about almost everything. This is what my wife tells me and I have learned, finally, not to disagree with her.
But --- having said all that--- are you guys looking at the same motor I am? I thought this thing was strait out of a V-Star Yamaha. To me it screams Metric Cruiser. 60 degrees and offset cylinders. Take a look at a 10 year old honda shadow and/or a Suzuki marauder.
Sorry guys

[HarleyCreation]

Re: i can say indian

Originally posted by cheifrider
granted, all us motorheads appreciate a lot of stuff ,but,are we stretching here,....................very very new stufff
to get all worked up about(*sorry, have to voice it)ANTIQUE motor cycle club of america = antique= being the key word ....................pardon my intrusion this thread but i keep seeing a trend(in general) to accept all the new stuff to readily

It's my fault, but when you like ALL motorcycles of all ages it's tough to keep things straight.

Besides I have gone to other motorcycle forums, but IMO the AMCA forum is best. No profanity. No swaggering tough guy bravado. Just guys that like old motorcycles and an occassional new one.

[HarleyCreation]

Originally posted by AdminGuy


I'm pretty excited anbout the new S&S engine. Can't wait to see someone do something really creative with it. I'm gunna barf if I see it bolted into another hack chopper frame. What a waste.....they should give a whack of them out to good builders just to see what they'll produce.

It does have a retro Indian look. Well- time will tell.

Yes, this thing would be wasted in a chopper when it looks so traditional right out of the box.

[HarleyCreation]

Originally posted by rousseau
I don't post very often on this forum because I seem to always be negative about about almost everything. This is what my wife tells me and I have learned, finally, not to disagree with her.
But --- having said all that--- are you guys looking at the same motor I am? I thought this thing was strait out of a V-Star Yamaha. To me it screams Metric Cruiser. 60 degrees and offset cylinders. Take a look at a 10 year old honda shadow and/or a Suzuki marauder.
Sorry guys

To each his own opinion, but I strongly disagree.

What I literally see in this new S&S motor is a ULH or Chief engine put thru Henry Melk's "Magical Lathe" time machine with OHV update and no mistake!

Your Jap metric American-style wannabe engines are just that. This baby (far as I know) is an authentic American engine and designed and built right here in Wisconsin by an established home-grown outfit.

But what really makes this motor "traditional" and a not a metric wannabe is that it's a pushrod motor of NON-unit construction.

It is a traditional stand-alone engine unit that that in concept and practice goes back to the early 1900s!

That is has side-by-side rods and offset cylinders is not a cop-out either. For one thing that takes it out of Harley clone class and makes it its own engine from the ground up. Plus, if you go back and study early American motorcycles of the teens and earlier you will find that offset cylinders, overhead-valves, side-by-side rods, and greater than 45-degree angle V-twins were AMERICAN features back then.

Features of bikes that died out after WWI.

Those are NOT modern Jap features at all!

For 2007 this S&S mill retains incredibly "traditional" American motor features and looks IMHO.

Of course some purists hate the very concept of modern old-looking bikes, just like other purists hate the notion of replica "antique" bikes. But what is wrong with combining modern engineering with traditional styling and traditional design concepts for new bikes that can ridden in the real world? It seems to me this should be an industry in itself that we have not yet seen burst into full being as almost EVERYTHING aftermarket and modern seems to be slanted to the over-chromed, useless, and nearly unrideable LSD chopper crowd.

That's why I'd restyle those shiny valve covers and put on some finning....

[HarleyCreation]

Originally posted by AdminGuy
Ahhhhhh.... were just shoot'in the breeze. Little puffs of smoke from many mufflers.

"Auspuff" Bill Davidson called 'em....

[rousseau]

For 2007 this S&S mill retains incredibly "traditional" American motor features and looks IMHO.


That's why I'd restyle those shiny valve covers and put on some finning....



I'm really confused now.

[HarleyCreation]

Originally posted by rousseau
For 2007 this S&S mill retains incredibly "traditional" American motor features and looks IMHO.


That's why I'd restyle those shiny valve covers and put on some finning....



I'm really confused now.

You gotta learn to think both "modern" and "traditional" (antique) at the same time and then combine them.

At least it works for me....

;-)