Water cooled vs. Air cooled
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Good question. Water cooled are quieter, able to tolerate a wider temp range without overheating, will last longer. Air cooled are lighter, noisier and a little less complex.
I agree with cshaw07 about the less stuff to go wrong on an air cooled, and I had older air cooled Hondas years ago. But I also read of a guy who used to have Harley's and talked about them getting hot and damaging the rear cylinder and piston. So now I am happier with my old shadow water cooled that I have. Melted pistons are not my thing.
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650 Posts
There are a lot of high mileage Harleys out there still running. When I had my 750 ACE, the only thing that went wrong with it was a leaky cross-over tube for the cooling system. Just sayin'.
It was an easy fix. I traded it for a Sportster! :mrgreen:
In the old air cooled days most of the engines were inline and all cylinders got wind across the fins, when they went to V that's when they went to water cooled to keep the rear cylinder cool. Honda that is. Harley's had a "Parade fan" for the read cylinder you could add, some models would drop off the rear cylinder when it got too hot. Ride a Harley downtown on a 90 degree day just once and you will LOVE water cooled bikes from then on.
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23,171 Posts
ridden many a Harley under just such circumstances even in stop and go Laconia bike week traffic..
I've had my Vic just crawling in 95F traffic for 45 minutes, never a complaint from her and the heat wasn't bad. The Shadow of course can handle it, but honestly, the Vic was more comfortable, especially when the Shadow's rad fan would cut in ... now that was hot!
Lots of good options out there, and lots of reliability with proper maintenance.
Lots of good options out there, and lots of reliability with proper maintenance.
i just had my first worry this weekend. got caught in stop and go traffic on the harley and watched my liittle oil cap temp gauge get up to 250 (i need to ask on the harley forum when i should start worrying) before i could get rolling again. everything seemed fine, but it did make me wonder.
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5,811 Posts
All other things being equal, liquid cooled engines are better than air cooled at almost every thing.
LC engines last longer, run better in varied environments, are higher performance, and are more able to run cleaner, than AC engines. This last is exactly the reason HD is trying limited Liquid Cooling.
Under current technology none of the motorcycle factories can meet the coming government engine emissions laws with AC engines. Inconsistent engine temperature across varying load demands plays hell with fuel delivery requirements..
Even out those temperature and you solve a whole range of problems.
Yes, AC engines are simpler and slightly lighter...but those are pretty much their only attributes.
LC engines last longer, run better in varied environments, are higher performance, and are more able to run cleaner, than AC engines. This last is exactly the reason HD is trying limited Liquid Cooling.
Under current technology none of the motorcycle factories can meet the coming government engine emissions laws with AC engines. Inconsistent engine temperature across varying load demands plays hell with fuel delivery requirements..
Even out those temperature and you solve a whole range of problems.
Yes, AC engines are simpler and slightly lighter...but those are pretty much their only attributes.
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23,171 Posts
True to a point. despite all that goes against the AC, with proper maintenance it will still last a very long time..one of the main advantages of liquid cooled for the masses is that it will better take neglect, but all things neglected will eventually bite one in their ass.
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1,082 Posts
My current Shadow is the only bike I've ever owned with a WC'd engine, and I've had at least ten bikes on last count. Never had any heat related problems on any of the AC engines. Yeah, I took pretty good care of them but never any heat related problems to engine components or overall bike performance.
Your mileage can and will vary. ;-)
Your mileage can and will vary. ;-)
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546 Posts
i had a crotch rocket, it would over heat in city traffic. They're made to go fast and the tiny rad (with perfectly operation cooling system) wasn't enough to take the heat off in a 95* day in traffic. That day was the only day I illegally "split" traffic (rode in the berm).
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1,159 Posts
Many of the Air Cooled bikes now are actually Air/oil cooled.
My Liner was air/oil cooled with an additional oil sump and it had ceramic lined cylinders which kept the 113ci engine within limits even in summer stop and go traffic.
The one thing I do notice about liquid cooled bikes sitting in traffic is when you think its getting a bit warm, the fan kicks on just to warm you even more. lol
My Liner was air/oil cooled with an additional oil sump and it had ceramic lined cylinders which kept the 113ci engine within limits even in summer stop and go traffic.
The one thing I do notice about liquid cooled bikes sitting in traffic is when you think its getting a bit warm, the fan kicks on just to warm you even more. lol
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725 Posts
Water cooled, more weight, more cost, more parts, more maintenance. Better cooling, lower temperatures, longer engine life, less likely to overheat.
Air cooled, less weight, less maintenance, cheaper cost, less parts. Shorter engine life, less control of engine temperature, more likely to overheat on warm days and stop and go traffic.
If you were riding through town on a 90 degree day in stop and go traffic would you rather have an air cooled motor that is not cooling down not moving or water cooled that turns on a fan and tries to bring down the temp of your engine?
Air cooled, less weight, less maintenance, cheaper cost, less parts. Shorter engine life, less control of engine temperature, more likely to overheat on warm days and stop and go traffic.
If you were riding through town on a 90 degree day in stop and go traffic would you rather have an air cooled motor that is not cooling down not moving or water cooled that turns on a fan and tries to bring down the temp of your engine?
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5,282 Posts
I've run my Shadow 1100 through 95*F days in traffic and when the fan kicked in I didn't notice anything other than a fan noise. I'll tell you what though, I could have sat there all day and I knew I wasn't going to overheat.
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