Ok, I'm not super technical when it comes to motorcycles. I know I have an engine, two wheels, a seat, a handle bar and a throttle. Yeah, brakes too....

In any event, I have no friggin idea what this "Screaming Eagle" performance is all about. I know it's tuning and optimizing the engine, but how many stages does a bike need before it's a legit 110?

Here's the pick ticket my dealership gave me for the "Stage 1." Does this mean I have to get the other 3 to have the "real" Screaming Eagle performance?

Can someone give me the real scoop on this, and not refer me to the technical thread about cams? I just need the layman's explanation of what these stages mean, what Screaming Eagle 110 means, and if it's something I may want to invest in down the road to maximize performance.

 

You have a 103, so to get a 110, you need a big bore kit ($2K) which increases the displacement. Why? Are you power hungry? If so, you should have just got yourself a 110 from the start and avoid the big bore. What you are getting now is a better cam than stock, push rods, the tuner and that's it. The rest is just the necessary parts when you tear it apart as much as they need to for the new cams. You want full SE performance, you at least need pipes, intake, and heads. There is a whole SE catalog of parts. Everything from clutches, coils, throttle bodies, plug wires, to pistons, and flywheels. With what you have and are getting, you need to get some sort of better intake and a better exhaust. Those let your bike breath better to take advantage of that cam you are putting in. Do it now and save yourself a future tune down the road. Get the heads if you really want to max the performance. Most guys don't go that far, but many do. The exhaust and intake is almost a necessity. You need that just as much if not more than the cam. Many guys simply do those 2 and leave the cam alone. I go the cam, intake, exhaust route on my bikes.

 

I am not an expert on this but, I am not sure about SE259 cams without changing out the valve springs. Seems like I have read that in the SE catalog. You might want to check on that. 259s are pretty aggressive cams. I'm not gonna get into the whole which is the best cam thing. Stage I is generally considered open breather and pipes. Stage II is cams, generally done after or in conjunction with pipes and breather. If you can find it a guy posted really detailed expanation of the stages and the Google machine could probably tell you as well. I didn't see the pipes and breather on your ticket and like RK2000 says that really should be done to get your money's worth out of everything else you are doing.

 

I am jumping in here as well to add a another layer to the answers. How much does it cost and how much do you really gain?

Let's assume the dealer or tune shop does it because I don't have a dnyno laying around to confirm.

Does $3,000 get you 5% Torque and HP? 10%? If so on a bike (and me) that weigh this much, that is not a very good pickup for the price.

Thanks.

 

No, not power hungry at all but I am a big guy. Riding two up, we'll probably use the extra weight close to the max allowable. Bottom line, I want the power when I need it.

I should have mentioned in the original post that I had Vance & Hines pipes put on when I bought it, so I'm pretty sure I'm good there. Take a look and let me know your thoughts. I really appreciate the advice.

 

You're good to go. You got the pipes. You got the air cleaner and you got the cam. Don't worry about the power. It's a Harley that is going to be putting out enough power to haul you anywhere you want to go. There are plenty of big guys riding 2 up with full blown baggers weighing more than your bike that have no more power than you'll have and they have no problems. All you have to do is twist the grip.

 

Your good on the pipes and AC based on your last post ticket, and no reason not to carry on with cams. Look at this description: http://www.harley-davidson.com/store...9e-efi-cam-kit See the part about stock heads updated with race springs? They call them beehive springs. Your gonna want to check into that. What drove you to the 259 cam? You probably ought to read through some of the gazillion threads on cams. There are also some dyno stickies on the softail forum that can give some ideas on how the different cams perform. You will never get a definitive "best cam", but I would say the SE259 may not the best bet for the riding you described. Matching a cam to your riding style is very important, otherwise you can be very disappointed after spending a buttload of money. Choose the right cam for how you ride with a good tune and you will be happy happy.

 

Don't have the cam yet. That first attachment is the pick ticket. I do have the pipes though (second attachment invoice). I like twisting the grip. Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.



The parts guy recommended the 259. He showed me this line graph with a bunch gobbly gook. I have no idea what he was talking about, so I finally just said, "which one gives me the best performance for the buck?" So that's what he recommended. I had no idea there were cams for certain riding styles, so I'll definitely do some research. Thank you for your input.

 

I have a set of s&s 510 gear drive cams four bike there brand new in box.. I'll sell them cheap if u wanted to go gear drive cams

 

That line graph was a print out of a dynamometer tune, usually called a 'dyno tune'. One line shows the torque output, and the other shows horse power. The graph shows RPM and throttle position along the top and sides, to indicate how much of each is at what range.

Stage 1/2/3/4...
This is actually a combination of hardware upgrades, and software modifications downloaded to the ECM air/fuel mixture mapping.

Other than that, you can also modify your drive train to attain different ranges of performance.