How Much Horsepower Does The Harley-Davidson 117 Engine Have?
The Harley-Davidson 117 engine (also known as the Milwaukee-Eight 117) is a big and powerful V-Twin. Harley squeezes it into the frames of some of its biggest and most expensive bikes. Why call it the Milwaukee-Eight? Well, it definitely doesn't have eight cylinders. Instead, the big V-Twin is an eight-valve engine. It also has different power ratings depending on the Harley motorcycle it's used in.
The 117 cubic inches of displacement works out to about 1,917cc — almost double what you get in hyper-fast liter bikes like the Honda CBR1000RR or the Yamaha R1 — but it's not a high-revving sportbike engine designed with top speed in mind. Instead, this V-Twin is a torque-focused powerplant. In every application where Harley uses the 117, its torque numbers outshine its horsepower output. For instance, the 117 is rated at 105 hp and 130 lb-ft of torque in Harley's Street Glide and Road Glide bikes.
The 117's power output differs between bikes
As mentioned, different bikes using the 117 engine have different power ratings. The Harley-Davidson Breakout has impressive horsepower and top speed, but is rated lower than the Street Glide and Road Glide. It checks in with 104 hp and 126 lb-ft of torque from the 117. The Fat Boy matches the Breakout with 104 hp and 126 lb-ft, but the Fat Boy Gray Ghost drops to 101 and 122, respectively. The Heritage Classic takes a dip just a bit further, with the Milwaukee-Eight 117 engine producing 98 hp and 108 lb-ft of torque.
To put those numbers into perspective, we can look at something like the Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250, which uses a much smaller engine but makes significantly more horsepower. It has a 76.4-CI (1,250cc) engine, which produces 150 hp. Torque is down significantly, though, with the Pan America 1250 only having 95 lb-ft of torque. Harley-Davidson's 117-powered bikes are all about torque and how that defines the riding experience. That said, competitors like the Indian Chieftain and Challenger also offer big torque via the PowerPlus 112 engine and are certainly worth checking out.