Barnett’s Magazine: PROCHARGER SUPERCHARGES A MULE

by Buck Manning
photos by Mathew Scott
Barnett’s Magazine

As a kid, I never got mules. I’d watch old cowboy movies and thought that anybody that rode a mule or had anything to do with a mule was an ass themselves. Mules were some ancient experiment of breeding a horse and a donkey gone wrong. They were obstinate (maybe because they’re all sterile?), slow, stupid looking, and ready to kick or bite for no apparent reason. Mules were often depicted as pack animals loaded with loud, rattling crap that the owner had to walk beside and constantly coax to even do that instead of dashing across a western landscape at speed on Silver or Trigger. If someone was actually depicted riding one at what looked like a pace slightly slower than walking (and constantly conversing with it), you knew they were a loser. As a kid, mules were none of my business.

Well that all changed when I started reading car magazines as a gawky pre-teen and discovered a whole new breed of mules called “test mules.” All of a sudden, here was a type of mule that was right up my foot-to-the-boards alley. The designers and engineers at Detroit’s Big Three would take a stock-looking vehicle and load it up with go-fast goodies for evaluation and testing and tease you with possible production intentions. “These are just for testing,” they would always say, but you could hope and dream. Yup, finally a mule I yearned for, a fast mule.

Fast forward to 2010 and that’s exactly what you’re looking at here, a supercharged 2004 FLHT test mule that’s become the personal ride of ProCharger’s V-twin Product Manager, Walt Sipp. Now why an “old” 2004 test bike and not a 2010? The answer is (to everyone but you sharp masters of Harley model nomenclature) there’s not an “I” at the end of FHLT signifying it’s a carbureted model. ProCharger understands that the performance world doesn’t only revolve around fuel-injected bikes, so they used this bike to make a bolt-on inter-cooled supercharger kit for carb-equipped Harleys.

Like any test mule, it was driven stock and dyno’d, then like the famous Olympic opening phrase, “Let the games begin,” it went through various modifications and dyno’d after each different phase. The TC88 became a 95-incher with hotter cams, mild head work, pipes and such until registering 92 rear-wheel horsepower. That’s pretty healthy and many people might be satisfied with that, but not everybody. With the intercooled-supercharger on top of those mods, it kicked out the jams with 167hp and 139lb-ft of torque at the rear wheel on regular old pump gas, not race fuel or something silly. Sweet Jebus, hold onto your hat when you wake up this bike to make a pass. “By 3,200 rpm, for instance, it’s already making 100 foot-pounds of torque,” said Walt. With that kind of power, shifting must be optional.

One interesting thing about all this is how little really had to be done to make this power and it’s not some kind of two-wheeled hand grenade. “We bought it used and I ride it a good bit, I’ve put about 25,000 miles on it. The bottom end has never been apart, we’ve never had any crank issues or any issues,” said Walt. “The transmission is 100% stock. The primary, other than our outer primary, and the clutch basket and plates are stock. We did use the AIM Variable Pressure clutch kit [The ProCharger kit comes with a billet pressure plate, stiffer spring, and variable pressure clutch kit]. The bike’s good, it’s been on several good trips since it’s been put together. It did the whole HOT ROD Magazine Power Tour [approx. 1,200 miles] last year with no issues. Those Power Tours are a parade the whole time and it went through any kind of rough duty you can imagine. And, it gets 41mpg.”

There’s more to this mule than just power, though as Walt said, “Our test mules are used a little bit different than some peoples’ as they go to shows on top of being ridden, so they’ve got to look good on top of being beaten on. I came up with a black theme for this one.” Now that’s a bit of an understatement, as this bike is as black as Newgate’s Knocker (a heavy iron knocker on the gate of London’s notorious old Newgate Prison). A complete Fat Baggers Inc. 200mm conversion adorns the back end and puts down a larger footprint to handle the power. RC Components Czar Eclipse wheels add a discreet bit ‘o bling along with chromed Bassani Power Curve True Duals to the otherwise dark bagger landscape. Walt explained show goers reaction to it in four words total, “They definitely dig it.” ProCharger’s inter-cooled supercharged test bike could make anybody change their mind about mules, especially me.

Up Close: RC Components Eclipse Wheels

RC Components has been a wheel manufacturing fixture in the town of Bowling Green, Kentucky, since the last century or 1989 to be exact. RC’s success didn’t come easy, but with a mainstay lineup of at least 27 different styles of forged wheels for your Harley featuring their exclusive seven-year chrome warranty, you can begin to understand why. And, they offer matching rotors and pulleys just in case you want to take it to the limit.

What we’re looking at here, though, is the latest RC wheels, the Eclipse series featuring a black powdercoat finish with raw metal finish highlighted areas that enhance the wheel design while adding its own tough look. It’s no big surprise why Walt Sipp picked RC’s Czar Eclipse as it has the look of understated elegance with the six-spoke design that evokes a feel of what’s happening now without dating itself in the future. Yeah, just like a classic five-spoke American Mag Torq Thrust wheel does for a hot rod or muscle car. Clean design will do that. This new series of wheels is presently available in nine different styles that are totally different and not just one design with a very slightly different piece on it to qualify as a “different” design. And, if I know RC at all, there will be plenty more to choose from in the future. They’re also available in sizes ranging from 16″ to 23″ in front and 16″ to 20″ in back with a variety of widths to perfectly suit your needs.

Be sure to check out their complete product line and neat-o online wheel selector where you can find your model of Harley and “mount” any wheel RC makes at www.rccomponents.com or call 888-721-6495 for info.

Builder: Walt Sipp, Procharger

One of the nice perks for Walt Sipp of being ProCharger’s V-twin Product Manager has to be putting oodles of test miles on a 167 horsepower bagger. Yeah, it’s tough racking up 25,000 miles of beating on a test bike, but somebody’s got to do it and Walt didn’t sound unhappy about having to be that guy. With a background as a serious and dedicated AMA and ASRA licensed road racer since 1999, he’s got the skills and mechanical abilities to test and evaluate ProCharger inter-cooled supercharging kits for use on carb-equipped V-twins so that they are as easy to install and reliable enough for real world use by everyday riders. Most riders seem to think that supercharging is only for the latest fuel-injected bikes, but Walt nips that idea right in the bud when explaining why ProCharger engineered kits for carb-toting Harleys. “We do a good bit of carburetor kits because a lot of the guys that have carb bikes are in a position where they can’t trade up or they just don’t want to. Or, they’re just getting started with a Harley and it’s a carb bike. This gives them that chance to just bolt it on,” said Walt. As far as any special tuning problems someone might run into with a supercharged carb bike, Walt said, “The tuning is fairly fundamental for the most part. It isn’t any different than if you were to do an engine build. On the carb systems we add an electric fuel pump and boost-sensitive fuel-pressure regulator as we have to pressurize the fuel system on gravity-feed bikes. We also utilize a Mikuni carb with a manually-opened slide that works better with the blow through.” If you’re missing the “I” in your Harley letter designation, check out www.procharger.com or call 913-338-2886 to supercharge your carbureted Harley.