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I have a 1995 Harley Davidson Fatboy. I put a 124ci S&S motor in to it, and although it has tons of torque, and is very quick I find that at highway speeds it vibrates alot and feels like it revs high towards top end. I thought about switching to an Ultima 6 speed but would love to hear peoples opinions here. The other option was simply changing out the sprocket, but that may cause me to lose some "pick up" on the low end. What are your thoughts?
Damn...!!! with a 124" ...and that kind of power ...you should be able to swap the front pulley from the stock 32 to at least a 34 and not notice much of a loss in acceleration...but will notice a drop in rev's at hwy., cruzing speeds , which will clam down the vib's !!! will also extend the shift points alittle taller also ...because these bikes where built back when the speed limit was 55...we change to a 34 front many many years ago on our 94' springer and love it ...even w/ a pump up 80" ...bike still pulls very hard ...only the top speed is unknown now ...as it peggs' the 120 mph very quickly ...
Last edited by springers4ever; Apr 8, 2016 at 08:54 PM.
Damn...!!! with a 124" ...and that kind of power ...you should be able to swap the front pulley from the stock 32 to at least a 34 and not notice much of a loss in acceleration...but will notice a drop in rev's at hwy., cruzing speeds , which will clam down the vib's !!! will also extend the shift points alittle taller also ...because these bikes where built back when the speed limit was 55...we change to a 34 front many many years ago on our 94' springer and love it ...even w/ a pump up 80" ...bike still pulls very hard ...only the top speed is unknown now ...has it peggs' the 120 mph very quickly ...
I am researching the same topic myself for a lightly modified 80 ci '91 Evo. My problem is I'm not sure I've got the torque to make it work...but that's another thread...
From my research, if I was you, I think I would go with the Baker OD6 Builder's Kit. The shifting quality, and general quality of the transmission is reportedly a cut above the less expensive 6's. The OD6 is for higher torque, i.e., up to 160 ft/lbs I think. (The DD6 is good to 120 ft/lbs). Also, the DD6 uses a 28 tooth primary gear to achieve the final effective .86 6th gear ratio. The OD6 gets there through the transmission gearing. The contrast between the two is generally, the OD6 is for higher power applications, and the DD6 for better fuel economy and quieter operation (quieter due to the way the gears are cut).
As for Ultima, per the reports of others (which is all I have to go by) they are a little 'noisy', but seem to be reliable. They are sure a lot less expensive, at about 1/3 the cost of a Baker (the gear-sets).
I looked at RevTechs, too. They have a 5 years/50K mile warranty, as does the Baker.
What I'm having a hard time determining is, how is the current crop of RevTechs and Ultimas in terms of reliability/failures? Many if not most of the failure reports I'm finding are dated several years ago, e.g., up through about 2012. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places, but it seems like the less expensive 6-speeds had some growing pains but have come on in the last few years in terms of reliability...
The one friend I have who has an Ultima in his Softail likes it, says it's 'noisy' (in agreement with what I've read), but he doesn't ride much so he's no bellwether of reliability.
0maha, I'm looking at a 6 speed to lower RPMs (vibration...fuel economy) at speeds 70+. The gearing of first through fifth I want to keep equivalent to the 5-speed I have now. Not sure why others select a 6-speed, but that's my aim.
Alan
Last edited by AlanStansbery; Apr 8, 2016 at 08:34 PM.
changed the rear hub to the 2000 and up sealed bearings and laced to stock wheel w/ stainless steel spokes ...replaced 1.5" belt w/ new style 1 1/8" ...and front pulley to 34 tooth(Andrews)...added 1 tooth to belt ...a 133 tooth S&S ...retained the stock 70 rear tooth but w/ aftermarket 1 1/8" pulley ...added a 3/8" spacer between the rear pulley and hub for correct spacing ..
.
if the details you want are of the motor ...20 over 10.25 pistons , ported 1.94 ,1.63 heads (beehive springs)...decked .050" ...45mm Mikuni , Comp Cams 5015 . .585" ...crane HIE-4 ignition ...stock coil and stock plug wires !!!
check album pictures ....
Last edited by springers4ever; Apr 8, 2016 at 09:10 PM.
The White Bike currently runs large cubes and a 6 speed which is a heck of a set up, you can keep normal gearing 1 thru 5 and the OD6 helps the larger rotating mass with lower rpm's when cruising. I have a Baker with no first hand experience with the Ultima gear set, Baker is the catazz of trans and quality operation, night and day difference from the stock 5 speed.
On gearing a big bike runs 3.15 stock and a pig gear, I run 3.34 even with the big engine to allow the engine to not labor when in giddy up but big engines need challenged with some engine load because quick revs isn't their strength so still a fine line. With a lighter bike you could live with some higher gearing to help highway speeds and still pull in giddy up but imagine having normal gearing going thru the gears in giddy up and pull one more to tame the cruise rpm's.
The big picture is you didn't put that 124" in to strangle it with gearing, those engines shouldn't need a gear dropped to pull out of everyday riding situations or feel some lag when the throttle won't turn no more. Personally a 6 speed is a performance dream but a Baker is expensive, Ultima's have good and bad reviews, Rivera is a USA company with a middle price range, Rev Tecs are best for wheel chocks. You will be ok with a gear drop but the end result is it won't be what you want for performance.
I have always ran gearing on the lower side and pulled it back with the OD6, not everyones goal but it is challenging to put the right gearing together for the application. Ran 3.54 with the little 89" that embarrassed big cube bikes with cruiser gearing
Last edited by 1997bagger; Apr 9, 2016 at 09:06 AM.
I have the ultima six speed on my 80" softail. I hate the gear ratios for 1,2,3.
4 and five are nice and the six speed overdrive gear is really nice on the highway. It would be even nicer with a bigger motor. The lower gears are setup for a heavier bagger, which I do not have, and leads to a lot of short shifting.
you should be able to swap the front pulley from the stock 32 to at least a 34 and not notice much of a loss in acceleration
Springs, first of all that is one nice machine and this group loves pics.
Kinda my point in the earlier babble, may not be much of a notice but it doesn't have to be any notice if components match. Comes down to the almighty dollar
Last edited by 1997bagger; Apr 8, 2016 at 09:41 PM.
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6 Speed Tranny - Thoughts?
124"
