Shineray's latest V-twin is a confusing Harley-Davidson replica
The Chinese manufacturer Shineray seems to be building a V2 engine which can be traced an old motor of an American brand.
The Harley-Davidson Evolution engine was used to power the Sportster for some time. That motor is no longer available in the Sportster in Europe thanks to emissions regulations, but in China the engine appears to be somewhat reborn.
Motorrad reports that Shineray’s V-twin will produce similar numbers, as the Harley-Davidson version: A 9.1:1 compression ratio compared to 10:1; 60 horsepower compared to 67 horsepower; and 90Nm compared to 99Nm.
So, comparable performance, if not quite matching that of the original from America.
One of the less ‘technical’ curiosities about the Shineray V-twin is the location of its development: Italy.
Shineray owns SWM Motorcycles, and decided to task them with reconstructing this Harley V-twin. It is a curious choice, though, because, as Motorrad notes, the Italian brand is bound by European copyright regulations.
Copyright laws are not an issue for the Chinese manufacturers, as we have found out over the past two decades or so, and the industrial capabilities are surely stronger in China than Italy.
So, yes, the choice of location for the development of this engine is not one that makes much sense.
Additionally, the question remains where this engine will fit in. Shineray has previously set out its plans for liquid-cooled V-twins, but this air-cooled motor strays from that path in a quite obvious manner. Furthermore, the motorcycle, or motorcycles, which this engine goes onto power is unlikely to be one we see in Europe.
As previously mentioned, Harley stopped putting the Evolution engine in the Sportster for emissions reasons. Those regulations are only getting tighter, so it is difficult to see how Shineray can make this engine work outside of, pretty much, its home nation.
Perhaps, though, that is its target. There is certainly a degree of arrogance in Europe, Britain and America that assumes all motorcycles will arrive in the West (certainly not one that I have avoided especially effectively). This is not true in all cases, of course, but for this Shineray motor it makes the decision to develop it in Italy even more confusing.
Images of the Shineray V-twin courtesy of Motorrad.
