Hello all, I’m putting together a rider Shovelhead, nothing crazy but will be ridden fairly hard. I want to build a solid engine . I have the opportunity to get a 4-1/2 stroke s&s crank, I don’t want to bore the cases to 3-5/8 so I will be running 80” barrels. I’m debating between the 4-1/2 stroker or a 80” crank. Would love to hear from people with real life experience with these engine combo’s. What are people’s thoughts? Thanks

 

the shovels have crappy heads. i would drop some coins there first and then decide what to do next. can they be made to run, ?, why sure.
also of note, the stock tranny is a slug so andrews 1 & 3 ratio change is a big boost. my 74 fxe with manual foot would smoke a few mc's that normally would leave it behind.
as far as boring the case, no biggie. also of note, the more you push it, the more reliability goes down.

 

No opinion on stroking but the OP would probably get more input if posted in the Shovelhead section of the forum.