Cavi Mike
Member
Harleys shake because they are narrow-angle V-twins. They sound cool because of the firing pattern. Instead of alternating the firing pattern which creates more power and runs smoother, they both fire at basically the same time. That's why you get the quick pop-pop sound and then such a long pause between the next pop-pop because both cylinders have to go through their power stroke, exhaust stroke, intake stroke and then when #1 gets up top you finally get another ignition and then, 45 degrees later, #2 fires again. pop-pop-pause-pop-pop-pause-pop-pop.
Pretty much you can only hear the separate ignitions at idle. Once the engine is at speed the ignitions are so close together it sounds like one large explosion. It's also why HD's have a thunder-like sound.
Pretty much you can only hear the separate ignitions at idle. Once the engine is at speed the ignitions are so close together it sounds like one large explosion. It's also why HD's have a thunder-like sound.
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