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Jul 18, 2012 | 05:21 PM

#11

Octavus

Thread Starter

Novice

Joined: Nov 2010

Posts: 23

Likes: 0

From: Melbourne Australia

Thanks everyone for the info. Soooo much info, and I might be more confused than when I started though. It seems that I should plan out what else I want to do to her, so from this thread and my other forums searchs I should also consider

1. Cams Upgrade
2. Heads Upgrades
3. Full Engine Upgrade (with a Bore kit?)
4. Anything else?

I'm sitting on a stock 96 and have $3-5k to spend from the sale of another bike. I'm mostly street riding as I commute on the bike 3-4 days a week, and then hit a longer ride on weekends (kid dependent as 2 small children put the brakes on much free time). Power on the lower end of the curve given I'm in 1-4th gear most of the time is what I think I should be looking for. Just to give her that extra kick and put a smile on my face.

Jul 18, 2012 | 05:58 PM

#12

kmontague

Tourer

Joined: Jun 2009

Posts: 422

Likes: 6

i spent less than 2500 bucks for my harley stage 3 103 kit installed it has everything u need, jugs, pistons, cams, springs etc. only need the manual compression releases but there only like 80 bucks or something. just had my bike dyno'd at almost 93hp and 101 torque very happy with its performance and i didnt have to think about it much. its set up to work with stock heads so you dont need to do them. my dealer doesnt mess with heads as i would have liked to do a port and polish on them but oh well. good luck with whatever you decide and happy riding.

Jul 18, 2012 | 06:57 PM

#13

SURFOR Chop

Elite HDF Member

Joined: Apr 2007

Posts: 4,919

Likes: 23

From: Seattle, WA

There are a few well-known vendors, some of which are HDForums sponsors, who do a mild 'street port' ... e.g., hillside, big boyz, deweys, etc. ...

The number one biggest improvement in the heads is mult-angle valve seats ... which may be done using the stock valves / valve seats ... should not be too expensive ...

The other reason head work is done is to replace the stock valve springs with springs more appropriate to the cams (to accomodate increased lift, typically) ... frequently, valve spring keepers and oil seals, (with improved design) are installed during this work ...

This type of work should cost somewhere in the neighborhood of ~$200 - 350 ... depending on where the shop is located, it could also require a nominal shipping/handling charge ...

When more extensive work is done in shaping the intake and exhaust ports, shaping / sizing the combustion chamber, and when oversized valves made of specialized materials are used, the price can escalate significantly ... then the question is whether it is as economical to buy replacement heads that are built to specification ... pricing can range between around $600 - $1,500 depending on how radical the design ...

Compression ratio is an important consideration ... it can be set either through piston selection (domed pistons) or via the heads (decreasing the combustion chamber volume by milling or "decking" the heads or by adding material to / builiding up the surfaces of the combustion chamber) ...

As you can imagine, some types of head work procedures are less labor / technology intensive and therefore less costly ...

For your purposes, though, I'd think that bumping the compression up a little (at or below10:1), and a mild street port / valve seat work would get you where you want to be ...

R/
'Chop

Jul 18, 2012 | 08:09 PM

#14

HeyYou

Cruiser

Joined: Sep 2011

Posts: 158

Likes: 1

From: Colorado

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaysonL

Well, I know they aren't Andrews, but if you want low end, in short bursts..... Look at the Woods 777 cams. Sound AWESOME, they seem like they will fit the way you ride.

http://www.woodcarbs.com/06-12cams.htm

I know I'm being **** as all hell, but I'll never spend a dime with Woods simply because they have auto-playing music/voice **** on their website.

Jul 18, 2012 | 09:36 PM

#15

Romark

Road Master

Joined: Apr 2007

Posts: 848

Likes: 0

From: Lake Jackson, TX

I'm having 255's installed in a couple of weeks along with 103 cylinders, 10.5 pistons and some head work.

I cant wait.

Jul 19, 2012 | 12:02 AM

#16

pdog

Intermediate

Joined: Dec 2011

Posts: 32

Likes: 0

From: shreveport la

I put the 37s in my 96 with a pc tuner i love it great sound and pulls good all the way through.

Jul 19, 2012 | 12:33 AM

#17

Romark

Road Master

Joined: Apr 2007

Posts: 848

Likes: 0

From: Lake Jackson, TX

I'm fortunate to have a very good dealer. Their top mechanic is well known in the drag racing. He knows his stuff and has for a long time.

Jul 19, 2012 | 12:42 AM

#18

HYPR

Road Master

Joined: Dec 2011

Posts: 1,020

Likes: 25

From: Valencia, CA

For what it's worth my tuner recommended the Dave Mackie 575L (it has slightly less lift than his famous 590's but doesn't reguire a valve spring modification). With the SE stage 1 AC, Bissani Road Rage Megaphone exhaust, SERPT with his Dyno tune, he said this combo on a stock 103 will kiss 100HP/107-110FT. It will smoke the tire and allow you some star gazing while delivering a smile to your face be very streetable and cruise nicely.
Specs are available here:
http://www.davemackie.com/cams.html
Bob

Last edited by HYPR; Jul 19, 2012 at 12:56 AM.