These Popular Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Are Liquid-Cooled

Harley-Davidson has a lot of bikes to pick from, even if you're specifically looking for a liquid-cooled motorcycle. The Revolution 1250T engine is one of the flagship liquid-cooled motor in the Harley-Davidson lineup, and it had big shoes to fill replacing the outgoing Evolution Twin, one of Harley-Davidonson's best engines ever made. This Revolution engine powers the current Sportster S motorcycles and Cycle World argues it's possibly the best part of the bike.

If that bike isn't what you're looking for there's plenty more available with a liquid-cooled engine. The H-D CVO Street Glide and CVO Road Glide bikes, for example, come with the liquid-cooled Milwaukee-Eight VVT 121 engine, and it's one of Harley-Davidson's biggest engines ever. The Milwaukee-Eight 117 engine is another liquid-cooled option and it can be found in both the base Street Glide and Road Glide bikes. Closing out the lineup is the Ultra Limited. This motorcycle comes with a twin-cooled Milwaukee-Eight 114 motor that's a blend of both air and liquid cooling, so it's somewhere in between.

So what are the pros and cons of air versus liquid-cooled engines, anyway? The main difference between the two is as simple as the name suggests: Liquid-cooled engines use a liquid to cool the engine and air-cooled ones rely on air flow. There's no need for you to rush out and ditch your current motorcycle in exchange for a liquid-cooled one, but there are some advantages that can potentially sweeten the pot for your next purchase.

Outside of the more consistent temperature while riding, which is arguably the most important feature, you can get some additional comfort out of a liquid-cooled engine. If everything's going according to plan, your engine will be cooler and that means it'll emit less heat. As a possible downside, the internal liquid cooling loop has more parts that could potentially break including a water pump and radiator. This makes air-cooled engines a better pick for somebody looking to do as little maintenance on their bike as possible, but both are perfectly fine options.