These are interesting times over at The Motor Company. And it looks like they’re about to get interesting-er.
On the heels of a few other fresh designs, Harley-Davidson’s newest model just caught our eye—but not really because of the bike itself, rather its new powerplant.
Dubbed the “Nightster,” this new street bike is propelled by a smaller-displacement (975cc) version of the Company’s Revolution Max 1,250cc engine released last year (and found in the Pan America and Sportster S models).
The new engine is simply called the Revolution Max 975T.
As you might’ve guessed, the Revolution Max series shares some things with the earlier Revolution 60 degree V-twins we first saw in the V-Rod well over a decade ago. With features like dual overhead cams and liquid cooling, those motors were a pretty big step forward in Harley-Davidson engine tech at the time.
While its bigger brother can crank out around 150 horsepower, the new 975cc motor makes 90 hp and 70 lb.-ft. of torque. If you’re keeping track at home, that’s still a significant upgrade from other Sportster models running the earlier 883cc and 1,200cc Evolution engines.
And Harley-Davidson assures us that, despite reduced engine vibrations and its role as a stressed member of the frame, the Revolution Max 975T will still retain the unique personality Harley motors are known for.
The smaller-cube Harley Nightster slots-in below the more powerful Sportster S, which carries the aforementioned 1,250cc Revolution Max powerplant.
Our hope is that this new smaller-displacement engine will wind up in some new low-buck streetfighter inspired by the legendary XR family.
We’ll find out soon enough, as the new Harley-Davidson Nightster (and its Revolution Max 975T engine) is already on its way to dealerships.
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