Hi all, New guy here. I have an 89 FLHS that has become a little down on power. It is 80 c.i. has a Supertrap 2>1, Branch ported heads from back in the mid 90's and I believe a SE3 cam. This is my wifes bike now so I don't ride it much. On vacation she was having trouble keeping up this year. It has a stock CV carb from a 2000 model, by the way.
I assume it needs a top end freshening but I have done no checking yet. I would like some comments on perhaps a different cam, carb jetting and I am toying with the idea of a Rev Perf 85 kit. Any input would be welcomed. I need something with good torque and power up to about 80 mph. Thanks and sorry if this post is kinda lame. I did search but didn't find much.

Murf
P.S. This bike has over 100k on it. Should I be concerned about the bottom end? It doesn't seem to have any problems. It is a bit noisey though.

 

Hello,
That 100,00 on the lower end sorta scares me . You've already have what should be considered a Stage 2+ upgrade. I'd be afraid that a performance upgrade as you suggest would put the kabosh on a sloppy but functioning bottom end. Due to a tight top (more compression,
no top end slop. I'm not an expert by any means. Here's a thought: I'm hearing on this forum that a few riders are buying an evo longblock from HD for about $3000. Late 90's date motor. You can transfer all your chrome over as an added perk. My thoghts are that if you're willing to put $1500 or more into the top end, that a new motor (add a cam and/or carbprior to install) would last for years to come. good luck

Found link to motor, called "EVO Crate Motor" on page 1 of this forum

 

Do a compression and leak down test to find potential trouble.
I wouldn't worry about the bottom end if all checks out.

Not sure what you mean by down on power. I'd put the EV27 in it if you want more power.
I thought the H-D reman program was around $1900. It's probably cheaper to rebuild it.
You'll lose all your perf parts in the exchange unless you've got something else to fill in the blanks.

Good luck.

 

You say it has a stock CV carb. If that was recently installed then that may be the problem. That carb needs a Dynajet kit or something similar or a different carb and ac.

 

I would seriously to a compression test first see if the pistons are close to the same psi. If it was mine I still would rebuild the bottom end. Look toward bob woods cam for more tq. Talk to branch, and see if ya can get there 10:1 or 9.5:1 pistons for the heads. Or if the heads were designed around the stock pistons, see what choices are there. Great people to deal with.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone. I found part of the problem. Poorly adjusted throttle cable wasn't letting the carb open completely. I will do a hot and cold compression test but I think I will wait till fall to do anything.
It doesn't smoke or use any oil but there seems to be a lot of valvetrain noise. It sounds like it's up top, do the rockers wear on the evo's. It has adj. pushrods so I will adjust them. Is there anything else I cancheck out for the noise. Thanks again .

Later, Murf

 

The rocker shafts may be worn. I replaced mine around 100k and alot of my noise cleared up.
It shouldn't be too tough to check and it'll only cost you a few $$$ for the replacement gaskets.
If you plan on putting a few miles on it this year I would check them just for piece of mind.

How old are the lifters? Once you get past 100k miles the possibilities of what is worn out are huge.
If you heard the noises my '84 makes you wouldn't be worrying

Good luck.

 

Thanks, I'll look into the rockers. We just got back from vacation, put on about 4500 miles. It ran like a champ, used about .5 qt of oil. The lifters were replaced a few years ago. I swear they have always been noiser than the originals. I thought about the factory rebuild deal but it sounds like I would lose my ported heads and cam. Cam is no biggie. I may look into getting a stock set of heads to put on it, them send it in and change back to the ported ones when it comes back. I think I'll check into that with my dealer. Sorry for the ramble. Thanks again.

Later, Murf