I have a FLH from '70. 3 years ago I had the cylinder heads rebuilt but now it's soon time for the rest of the engine (plus clutch and trans) to be rebuild as well (original and never been rebuilt before).

I would like the bike to become more reliable, better for long trips and able to handle city traffic better so my plan is to take the old engine out and try to get an evo in it instead.

I know a lot of people have put evos in shovelhead frames before but the challenge for me is to get an evo engine in the shovelhead frame without cutting or changing the frame.

I've heard that some have used 1200 sportster jugs and pistons instead since they are shorter and will fit in the frame where the BT evos wont fit in the frame.

I'm really interested in hearing if any of you have done this before or know how it's done?


P.s. I'm keeping the old engine so it can stay with the bike so the option to make it original is still there in the future.

 

Call and check with S&S. They used to make a "short" cylindered EVO just for that purpose. But I have not seen it advertised in a while.

 

Yes, that's the 79" S&S I'm not sure if they still make them either. There are 2 issues with that engine as I see it. It has too much power (roughly 100 HP) and also I think it's very expensive ($5000+ before tax/vat).
Due to tax reasons we can only add 25% more power than the original otherwise we have to pay tax again for the bike (bikes are about 4x more expensive in Denmark than US due to taxes and VAT).

 

With those limitations you may be better off rebuilding your motor and adding reliability upgrades like evo oiling.

 

I was just hoping to be able to put an evo in it without cutting/changing the frame since I've heard some have done that.

If I could find a "79 S&S I would probably put that in since it's already made to fit and gimp the power so it's legal but I can't seem to find that engine.

 

I don't know where you got your HP figures from but 79" and 100 HP? No way.

 

That's what I've heard in the past which was the reason people couldn't use it. It's only good if it is closer to the 58 HP the shovelhead should have from new. But I still don't know where to find one.