13 SG, with a stage 4 installed last March. From the start it ran well but did not feel it was worth the money. Last week ran with some folks running two up with 88's and did not see I had much more than them. Took it to a different dealer for a tune as have had some trust issues with the original dealer. Almost finished with the tune the bike stalled and would not restart. Pulled and found a broken plug. Turns out the bolts from the backing plate attached to the 58 throttle body had worked loose and sucked into the rear cylinder. Two half way out and one sucked into the engine. Dealer who installed the stage 4 stepped up and offered to make everything right at no cost. What should I be wary of? Certain the rear cylinder, heads and piston will need replacing. Should I be worried about the front cylinder? Anything else? Pretty bummed as had a trip planned out West for mid August. First long adventure on a bike.

 

Not being critical, but this is exactly why I don't open the engine. Stg 1, yes, tuner, intake, exhaust.

Think of it this way... What is the most high performance engine you can think of?

8000HP top fueler maybe?

How long do they run?

1/4 mile, IF lucky. Then they get torn down, and rebuilt.

Stepping down... NASCAR engines? 800HP, they HOPE to get 500 miles out of one of them.

The other end... Toyota Camry 2.whatever liter, run for 400,000 miles.

On our bikes, we want something in between. The more HiPo you go, the less reliable you get.

If you want a bar slammer, something around town, a break down isn't really a big deal.
If you want to tour, dedicate precious vacation time to actually going somewhere on your scoot, a break down can be the difference between a great vacation and a nightmare.



I'm not preachin' just giving food for thought.

 

Yeah, Sorry but a HiPo motor is not going to be the best for reliability.

the sign at the Hot Rod Shop Said:

How Fast
How Long
How Much
You pick 2


Once you improve the power beyond design specs it is an unending search for the next weakest link in the chain. Failure after Failure.

In this case if the builder is taking responsibility then I'm sure they'll do a thorough job as they don't want you coming back either.


I use a Stage 1 bike for touring

Mike

 

SafetyMan hit the nail on the head with this one in my opinion. You want a fast bike, BUY a bike designed to go fast.

Ben

 

Could not agree more . We all put way to much money in our motorcycles a very little of that makes it more reliability. But if you would like a very fast bike a Harley is not it .

 

I think it is as much who does the install and how they do it as it is who takes care of the bike and how it's ridden. I'm not syaing this is your fault but it can;t hurt to check for loose bolts so often. You didn;t say how many miles are on the bike. Had 80K on my 95"softail, 70K on my 95" Road Glide and 55K on my 95" Dyna builds. Never a problem like bolts getting sucked into the a/c. No issues with the bike not lasting as long.

My 13 RG with 21K on it is just a stage one for now. We'll see what happens when my warranty ends.

The only time my bike has been to the dealer is for warranty work. If my motor is getting built, I'll do it. I can screw things up too, but I take calls from dealers all day long who are installing wheels and ask myself how these people even got a job at the dealer.

Let them pony up and fix both cylinders with brand new parts and then find someone else to work on your bike. It's not the parts, it who and how they were installed. It seems logical to talk to the Harley dealer for an upgrade on the motorcycles they sell however there are others who specialize in engines and such that will guide you in the right direction. I know, you want your engine work to be under warranty. That is the trade off on having a factory warranty on your engine build.

What has frustrated me about this thread is that everyone is saying "don;'t do it." I disagree. Do it but do some research and talk to a few builders before you let the dealer do it. Guys who work at the dealer have to know how to do 1000 thing which means that they do 1000 things satisfactorily. An engine guy has to do 1 thing which means he does it perfect.

 

wise man says, never tear down a running bike

 

Brilliantly said.

 

Yada, yada, yada...
The OP didn't ask for opinions about why/who/when to go to stage 4...

The work was done, as was requested. Parts came out, caused damage, builder steps up and accepts responsibility. Nobody is perfect, stuff happens. Could have been much different had the builder denied accountability...

I have trust issues, myself, but I would hope to believe the builder will be sure to double check everything especially due to the mishap that occurred. Taking them to court would be much more time consuming, than letting them try and correct a mistake. If that second build fails, then it's time to contact an attorney...

Just be sure to request loc-tite on all fasteners. Might even buy a tube and present it to them, just for the laugh!

 

Speaking of yada yada... he never asked for legal advice either.

He asked:
I answered honestly. IMHO, be wary of a "built" engine if you want to tour.

If you want to race and stay in town, build the **** out of it.

Interactive forum, I'm merely interjecting my 2 cents worth.