The unique sounds that a Sportster makes comes from the Harley Davidson 45 degree V-Twin cylinder design. The design was originally just a matter of simplification and reducing cost than of necessity.
The ignition is designed to run with only one set of points and does not have a distributor. The twin cylinders fire simultaneously, and the crankshaft has a single pin to which both pistons connector rods attach to. Its that combination which creates the unique potato potato sound. After the invention of electronic ignition, it was more a matter of principal to keep the unique and deliberate sound of a mis-firing engine.
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So unique are the sounds of the Harley Davidson that there are several US Patents protecting them, and there has been litigation involving another motorcycle company who developed a motorcycle that sounded too much like the sound of Harley Davidson.
Honda created a 45 degree V-Twin that used more advanced engineering techniques which created more power. Sales for the Honda Shadow were lacking because it didnt sound like a Harley, so Honda regressed and made a similar single crank-pin design that sounded more like a Harley, but had reduced horsepower than the original Shadow engine. They called it the Shadow American Classic Edition (ACE).
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