OK, I thought I had all these things figured out. But I made the mistake of reading here (and other places) and now I'm torn. Some of you may recall that my '97 turbocharged WG was stolen last month. Now I have to do all this research and figure out exactly what I want. Keep in mind that the bike I was riding made about 110 ft/lbs - at all altitudes. I live at 6,400 and often ride to >10,000. So torque and power are very important to me. I'm very spoiled.

I use the bike for commuting, and long distance touring. A 400 mile day is pretty common. A 3,000 mile round trip isn't too uncommon, either. For long distances I usually have a passenger, luggage, and a wind shield. Headwinds and steep grades are the norm here in CO. It's not uncommon to cruise along with the rest of traffic at 85-90mph. Weather ranges from snowing at 20*, to blazing sun and 100+*. My old Evo had no trouble at all accomplishing these tasks, and still got 45mpg. I don't want a race bike, a bar hopper, or a stop light drag bike. Other bikes will be faster/quicker than mine, and I don't care. I ride 10-12,000 miles a year; I need a comfortable reliable, all weather bike that I can get repaired anywhere in the country.

Seems like this subject just gets beat to death. But it's a difficult decision to make, and I can only afford to make it once.

I got first dibs on a '06 Superglide (red) coming in Feb. Lots of things I like about the '06. What I don't like is lack of secondary parts support, ie- heads, cams. So, here's the two paths I'm considering.

1. Let the dealer do some work before I pick it up.
- SERT
- SE 251 cams
- Mild head work
- Bore cylinders to 95"
- 10.4'ish compression
- SE slip on's

2. Bring the bike home stock. Then add the following.
- SERT
- SE 251 cams
- Axtel 97" cylinders and pistons
- 10.5 compression
- 2-1 headers
- Mail the heads off to a good porter

Both plans have their advantages - and disadvantages.

- Cost will be about the same.
- I've built a lot of engines, and done a lot of work on my Evo. But never even touched a TC.
- If I have the dealer do it, then it's ready as soon as I take it home. If I do it, it will take a month or more - with head porting taking the longest.
- The dealer will use good quality parts, but maybe not the best parts available.
- The dealer will cover all work and parts under the two year warrenty. If I do it, and mess it up........


Or, I could do nothing, and wait for Andrews, S&S, etc, to catch up.

 

You said it all "If I do it, and mess it up........ ".

Seems to me that you don't have too much of a choice, unless you REALLY enjoy getting down and dirty. If it was me then I would take the safe option (option 1) and then it is over and done with and I could get on with riding, but then again I am not a tinkerer.

 

3. Bring the bike home stock. Then supercharge it?

Instead of building the motor, why don't you just turbo/supercharge this one like the old one. It will keep the engine stock and give you the power you desire.

 

I would if I could. The turbo kit I had was from a company called Aerocharger. Great kit. But they are out of business. I can't find another kit for this bike, and I'm not smart enough to make my own.

There is currently only one blower kit available for this kind of riding, and that's about $5K, and adds about 40hp. But it's pretty expensive hp; and it all comes in at the upper rpm ranges. No extra power where I ride the most.