I bet that gets plenty of attention!

Ok, so to remind you fellas, I bought a '95 Softail Custom with 19k miles a couple of months ago.

It's all stock mechanically to the best of my knowledge

has 14" apes, braided cables, stage 1 air intake,

my winter plans include

2:1 exhaust
Cam (most likely the EV-13 with bearing)
I will likely pull the jugs when I do the cam because the paint looks hideous and is in need of restoration.


questions I have:
1. Should I mess with the heads/lifters?

2. Will I need to rejet? (I am assuming that has more do with the first question than the simple cam swap, but should I either way?)

3. Which Exhaust??? I want the deepest sound/best torque, not interested in loud for the sake of loud.

And I am also doing a custom paint job that I am really excited about. My daughter is going to lay down custom pin-striping for me. Not that you guys care about that, but I like the idea of having a bike for years that my kiddo painted for me.

 

Pics man, we gotta have pics. Then we can spend your money!

Pinstriping is quite a skill. Congrats.

 

1. No..leave them alone however if you're gonna take the jugs off then replace the stock head and base gaskets with steel ones from either Cometic or James.

2. Instead of rejet I suggest you get an S&S E and also I suggest a Dynatek 2000P

3. The next exhaust I'm gonna try is a Bassani Road Rage. They look good and are ceramic coated inside and out to help with the heat.

 

1. If you're going to remove the heads, then consider getting them ported, raising CR a little and use a different cam. HDF sponsor Hillside Cycle can oblige with the work and supply all parts, as well give you a serious boost in performance.

2. Yes!

3. SuperTrapp Supermegs, tunable with baffles to be loud or discrete and gives excellent performance - Hillside likes them too!

4. Be aware that your bike suffers from the hand of EPA and will benefit from other changes, such as a new ignition system, as suggested by Texas above.

 

Great plan you have.

Our Thunder Torque Inserts™ will deepen the tone of your exhaust a bit, no matter what exhaust your run, be it stock or otherwise. Will give your bike a deeper, throatier growl.

The TTIs will also give you a gain in low and mid range torque.

The increase in torque is accomplished by reducing engine pumping losses, increasing exhaust gas velocity and increasing inertial scavenging.

They are completely adjustable for sound as well as performance, really allowing you to work with them until you hit your personal "sweet spot" as everyone's preference if different.

Here's a Dyno showing the gains with TTI with stock tune and air cleaner:



The TTIs are available in 3 different sizes, and the idea is to go with the largest size insert that will fit into your exhaust for the most optimal results in sound as well as performance.

Here's a LINK to our Thunder Torque Inserts™.

Hope this helps!

Give us a call or shoot us over an email if you have any questions.

 

She is one of those natural artists (didn't get it from me)... I am buying the brushes this weekend for her to start playing around. My guess is she will be ready for prime time by Jan.

I will most definitely be posting pics when done.

THC, I have read both swap the carb and don't swap the carb. What is the main benefit of the S&S E? Is it more tune-able? With $$ being relevant, could I put it lower on the list of things to buy? Why S&S over Mikuni?

I like the looks of Bassani also. Hurry up and get yours so I can hear it.

1. If I go with increased compression, what cam would you suggest? My riding is mostly 2up. I want it totally streetable, cool, and reliable. I like my power sooner rather than later Tq>Hp.

So, #4.. what else should I be aware of? Ignition.. and?

and since I am not afraid to ask a dumb question.. in comparing the S&S carb only against the complete kit.. what is this thing???

 

Intake manifold, Stock Lifters are known to fail also.

 

I recommend you talk to Scott at Hillside. They use Woods cams and are expert in getting the best out of them. They can port your heads and match them to CR and cam. Ask the experts, they will talk through the options available!

The inlet manifold, to match your S&S carb to the Evo heads, replacing the stock one.

 

Hey Matt after thinking about it your bike came with "A" lifters that were good for around 30-40k so yes go ahead and replace the lifters.

S&S E is very easy to tune and if you add the ignition module your bike will go from a cold natured bitch to a fast starting machine. That combination has done wonders for both my FXSTC and FLSTC and I will be doing it to any other Harley I happen to purchase in the future.
Yes it's pricy but worth every penny IMO.

 

My $0.02...

The CV carb that came on your bike from the factory is fine. THC is a big S&S fan, and I just put one on my Sportster build, but there's nothing wrong with the CV.

(I went S&S only because I had to have that teardrop air cleaner cover!!)

The S&S is generally considered a bit easier to dial in, but really, there's not much difference between tuning an S&S and tuning a CV.

Anyway, if money is a factor, I'd put replacing the carb near the bottom of the list.

I'll also echo the others and say by all means the best use of your next 20 minutes or so is to call Scott at Hillside and talk this all over with him. He is a great guy, a friend of the forum, and is incredibly generous with his time. Really, you can't do better than talking over what you are looking for, then following the roadmap he gives you.