Piston options with Screamin Eagle HTCC Heads

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Dec 1, 2020 | 07:46 PM

#11

Ed Ramberger

Grand HDF Member

Joined: May 2015

Posts: 3,584

Likes: 1,213

From: Then Wisconsin, now North Carolina

Quote:

Originally Posted by djl

You may be familiar with the "Hippo" build but if not it was a bolt together combination of parts that hit the 100/100 mark every time with the right exhaust. This was back in the day, late 90s, early 2000 when those numbers were not as achievable and they are now. The combination was to bore to 95" (98" was years down the road), SE Performance heads out of the box, stock head gasket and S&S 570 cams. With early pistons down in the hole about .005" static CR was a bit above 10; corrected about 9.3/9.4 and CCP about 195psi which was fairly aggressive at the time. Of course hi-flow air filter and the right exhaust completed the package; the 570 is an exhaust sensitive cam. IIRC, Hippo also fly cut the valve reliefs in the flat tops and recommended compression releases.

The build was named after a member of the HTT forum who has long since passed; his forum name was Hippo; I have forgotten his true name. Hippo was the master machinist/builder with Short Block Charlie's in Phoenix. IIRC, Hippo did one of the first 98" builds sometime around 2004; it was quite the talk on HTT at that time; everybody worried about spigot thickness.

I am aware on the Kompressor heads but the OP was hung up on the SE label; just one way to do it.

EDIT: Just thought I would add that the early SE Performance heads flow as well as the '06 castings. I recall seeing a thread wherein WFO Larry confirmed flow. TC bathtub chambers and EFO ports and apparently there was enough metal to do almost anything a porter would want to do with those heads as well.

When I was at H-D, one of the SE engineers and I were talking. He said basically the same thing about the 06' castings and the original SE heads.

I think it was around 2000, I flew out to Arizona to do a build on a Softail for a guy I thought was a friend but was a user. Anyhoo, we blew 113hp. We were on Rolling Thunder's dyno at the time with John (passed) and Sandy Golden. Back then John only wrote a single fuel map (as opposed to each cylinder) and to this day I wonder how it would have been with both cylinders totally dialed. No one could believe the number because 100 was a big target in 1999/2000. It had a "unique" exhaust and an ugly dip, but it really didn't matter the bike was so fun at the time. 21 years ago, there weren't all the exhausts and perf. parts for TC, and this was me and my buddy in the shop putting it together and having fun experimenting.

The guy traded it in thinking he would have a motor built, and the dealer never got back to the number. Karma is a bitch!

Good times.

Dec 2, 2020 | 11:40 AM

#12

djl

HDF Community Team

Joined: Jun 2006

Posts: 12,776

Likes: 2,607

From: san antonio

Quote:

Originally Posted by 60Gunner

Curious if you remember the exhaust in that hippo build. Sporties still use the bathtub chambered Buell heads. Did they originate there or were they used before buell on these SE heads? Sporties started using them in 04 on the 1200s but buells before that. Not sure when tho.

Not really. Gotta remember this was about 20 years back and not nearly as many exhaust choices. The early V&H Propipe with the megaphone muffler was quite popular; it was a much better preforming pipe than the later versions. The White Brothers "E" pipe, the Thunderheader and the early Python 2:1 were also quite popular.

Dec 2, 2020 | 11:44 AM

#13

fxdx1985

Thread Starter

Road Master

Joined: Dec 2016

Posts: 855

Likes: 156

Lots of good conversation here ^

For inquiring minds, I snagged the heads haha. Going to get through the holidays and get some parts off to Hillside and hopefully be assembled in January/Feb 👍🏻

Thanks for the replies, fellas!