Got the bike on the lift today...in my house where I can work in comfort without all the condensation of heating the garage with a propane heater and freezing again then thawing again. You get the picture. So call me crazy but it's in my dining room and ready to pull the top end. I want to get everything shipped off early next week.
​​​ So here's the question...
OEM or S&S crank? and why? I had always just assumed I'd have Darkhorse do my oem. But Kirby thru the S&S crank in the mix. So I'm weighing my options.
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I got mine done through Darkhorse. They weld theirs and through on a Timken bearing if you want. I wanted the Timken. They will also rebuild your whole crankcase. The S&S would be cheaper if you just bought the crank. I've never heard of anyone having a problem with either of them. The guys at Darkhorse are really nice and helpful. They will chat with you on the phone and help you develop a strategy. I like that personal touch. Plus their reputation. I don't think you could go wrong either way. Call them both on the phone and see how they treat you.

 

Depends on what your building, a rider with a bit extra or a max ponies motor. Plan your build before selecting options for doing it.

 

My build is planned other than the crank details and whether or not to do the tapered bearing. Otherwise a well built 125ish HP 107 with a 30 tooth solid primary that does not get babied but doesn't get beat either.
Like I said, I never really considered the S&S crank til Kirby brought it up. I'm well aware of the reputations of both, talked to the Hoban boys several times over the years and grew up in S&S's back yard and talk with them as well.
Just looking for good points of each, or bad if there is any tho I doubt it, so I can make an educated decision of my own. I don't expect there to be a smoking gun either way. More a discussion on the design differences than the people behind them.
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the guys at darkhorse are great & they do good work,i just dont like using stock rods as they dont have races on the big end,we see many more cases of FW assy`s loosing rod rollers than shifting or scissoring.by the time you add rods a S&S crank is cheaper & made from much better material than a OEM crank no matter what you do with it.

 

I cant speak for S&S but my man-o-war has survived well with my solid sprocket. I went darkhorse because of the custom aspect. They did the works to it to make it solid, lighter, and balanced

 

You're running a big inch with that solid too if I'm not mistaken. 124" or 131"? Something like that? I keep having to remind someone here of the fact there's quite a few big motors running a solid when he says I can run one because I have no power. lol I guess my100hp/110+ torque is a dog. Haha! He'll be saying the same thing about my ride after this build too most likely.
I'm not looking to build the biggest and baddest engine. With the 30 tooth solid I don't have to to be quick as $h!+.

This is the kind of info I'm looking for. Design weaknesses and strengths of the two.


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Yet for the extra money for rods. You can get better rods. Or full compliance rods and not dick head style. Getting the correct pistons or having the ability to machine pistons will come into play. I don't remember what year you are dealing with.

 

2013.

I just fell into a pi!e of crap and came out...well you know. First I have to thank Kirby for putting me on the S&S path. After our conversation this morning I decided to give S&S a call directly and my friend Bob just happened to answer. Bob also has his own shop up by Lacrosse he's training someone to take over. To make a long story short, Bob is hooking me up big time. And on the whole build. The lower half with the S&S crank at a substantial savings. Like under $2000. But he also agrees the Timken is not necessary. He'll do the "lefties" tho. Even those he questions if they're really any better than the stock rollers.
However he does agree with Kirby about the main problem with the oem cranks being the rods and rod bearings. Not scissoring.
But my good fortune doesn't stop there. He's hooking me up with a set of SE CNC heads, all ready to go, without the SE price tag. Exact same heads for less than I could have my heads done for. And I can keep/sell my oem crank and heads.
He'll do my 107 BB using the best flat top pistons(forget which) that are a perfect balance to the crank.
But here's the thing. The crank is back ordered. No one has them in stock. So he's put himself in the front of the line but is still looking for one available right now. Also the .030 MLS head gaskets for the 107s are in extreme!y short supp!y but he happens to have 6 sets stashed away. One is mine now. He also happens to like the 570s in a 107 and agrees any bigger throttle body is not worth the cost for the very minimal gain so he'll throw in porting my stock 50mm to match the heads.
If that isn't enough, come spring he'll dyno tune this build using my SE Pro Super Tuner he happens to think quite highly of to this day and yep...I'll buy him lunch!
The roughly $5,000 I was looking at will end up being more around $3500 give or take and no shipping anything.
Thanks Kirby! I owe ya big time! Not sure why I didn't think to call S&S sooner and talk to Bob but I didn't know he'd hook me up like he is either. Must be the spirit of Xmas.

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Sounds like you got a plan.