grbrown,

i know you are excited about the new motor. i know you will be satisfied with the performance of the 107". i know that i am with my Ultima. can't wait for your reports on the motor. you will need to hold on to your hat for sure. Keep us posted because i am pacing with you.

later.......................

 

Look forward to some pics and break it in right. Good luck grbrown. You will love it.

 

Bike is finished and ready for me to collect! Matt the builder has done the first 50 miles on it, to check everything is OK.

So I ride it home next weekend (it is 180 miles away at present), then the fun starts! Oh boy....[sm=smiley20.gif]

 

Mr Brown,

i anxiously await the result of the new fun machine. how goes it ? hope all is well and the reason we have not heard from you is that you are out soaking up the sun and breeze on your new "hot rod" motorcicle..........

later.....................

 

Hi paco, thanks for your interest! 'Next weekend' is Saturday, in two days time. I have been quiet because I have been too excited to type.... [8D]

The sun is gorgeous as I write this and it is a wonderful day - just hope it holds out a bit longer.

More news soon, I promise!

 

Here she is chaps! Still 'pinging' after our 180 mile journey back home from Matt's Machine Shop in South Wales. The weather here is great, so I expect to reach 500 miles by the weekend, for the next oil change. There are also a few things to refit, like the rear footboards. The shiny new engine also shows up some older dull parts, so I suppose I should apply some elbow greasetoo!

First a list of the changes I have made. As well as the new S&S V107T engine, there is an M6 primary chain tensioner, new primary chain and Barnett heavy duty clutch spring, Samson true dual pipes and S&S SPO mufflers, a TrueTrack 'Trackula' stabilizer kit, new Fournales rear air shocks and new Avon Venom tyres. My 'winter project' also included a set of Hyperpro progressive-rate springs and Race Tech emulators, for the front forks, but I have put them on the shelf until next winter - I need to get in some serious riding time!

The most obvious thing I noticed, riding it for the first time, was the clutch, which is much heavier than before. I got cramp in my middle finger part way home! It still has the original clutch plates, but is much smoother and more progressive to operate than before, so that is a real bonus. The other impressive thing is the handling. I had ridden it briefly with my new rear shocks, so knew they were much better than the originals, but the stabilizer has greatly improved the bike. The way it rides round tight bends and changes direction is remarkable, as is the way it rides over bad road surfaces. This thing is transformed and I haven't mentioned the engine yet! Anyone who doubts the benefits of fitting a rear stabilizer should try a bike fitted with one! There are several brands to choose from.

As for the new engine, it's torque at tickover ismuch greater than the previous 89 inch engine, even when cold. It doesn't need any throttle to pull away or move the bike around. In fact starting is also better. The exhaust is not as quiet as I expected (that's not a muffler, THIS is a muffler! - they are huge). The SPOs are a little quieter than the fishtails I had on before, but it still sounds great. With just 400 miles on the clock I am still driving it very carefully. At around 3,000rpm it seems unhappy, so I am not pushing it above that yet. My understanding of the S&S IST ignition system I have on is that it has a built-in rev-limiter, which increases the maximum revs as running-in time increases, but I haven't tried to find that limit yet.

On the road there is nothing to get excited about yet! The engine was running better by the time I got it home and is very smooth now up to around 2,000rpm. If that smoothness keeps moving up the rev range as the miles roll by I will be very happy. I am looking forward to plenty of decent weather this summer, to pile the miles on, so I can start really enjoying it. More news later in the year.

I have read many comments on this website arguing over the worth of fitting rear stabilizers, well I am now convinced! While my Glide was at Matt's I fitted a TrueTrack kit to my wife's Dyna. That was a real bitch of a job to do, but the finished results are much the same as for the Glide - brilliant. Riding the Dyna and my Glide around the local winding English country lanes, both bikes are transformed. Matt reckons my FLHS is the tightest handling dresser he has ever ridden - not bad for an 18 year old bike! Along with my Firebolt we now have three bikes with three stabilizers - it is the way ahead. Don't argue, just go do it!

 

hey brown,

any updates on the S&S107V ? haven't heard from you lately, must be putting some serious mileage on the monster. hey the pic in you last reply was great. have yoiu installed the race brace between the trans and motor yet ? Have you dynoed yet ? i have not, but have got it set up , just got to get it there. just curious..

later..............

 

Hi Paco,

Thanks for your interest! It has gone quiet at my end because I am not very happy with my new engine, so I have nothing to crow about yet. I have done around 1,000 miles on it, so it has had its 50 mile and 500 mile oil changes.

This is supposed to be a smooth engine, with lots of torque at 3,000 rpm, built for crossing continents. Well it ain't smooth and vibrates like a b at around 3,000rpm, doesn't make much power anywhere and I don't enjoy riding it at all. It's not a patch on my old 89 inch stroker. [:'(]

My 107 has the ISTignition system, comes with 3 years warranty and a host of engine sensors, including an anti-knock sensor. Problem seems to be that it will detect other vibrations in the bike and interpret them as engine knock, hence altering the ignition system to protect the engine. That causes vibration and loss of power! [:@]

I have had the horn vibrate off, but fixing that has not cured the problem. I have just found that my lovely Samson true duals rear pipe just kisses the primary cover and I am trying to cure that at present. And its pouring with rain! Suits my mood....

So after my initial optimism I feel I have taken a few steps backwards with this engine. It had better pull its socks up soon, or it will be out on its ear. [sm=smiley21.gif]

I haven't fitted the race-brace. Having offered it up I would have to butcher it to make it fit the S&S engine, which would leave hardly enough metal for it to be effective. So that will be going back on Ebay soon! The plan is to dyno the engine at 2,500 miles, if I can stomach it that long. It will be going back for a thorough check over long before then, to try to make it work properly.

 

Further update on my S&S V107T, while I sit out the winter weather.

I got so fed up with my new motor I visited the fitter at around 1,500 miles. He ran it on his dyno and made adjustments which improved the vibration patch I had been suffering from. Despite the low miles it gave 102 ft pounds torque and 103 horsepower, which seems quite decent! The different fuel we get here in the UK makes S&S motors run a bit rich, so mixture adjustments seem to have had the desired effect. At least the thing was more rideable, though far from perfect.

Since then I have got almost 5,000 miles on it and am feeling much happier with it. John Therrien of Mia Cycles has been a great help behind the scenes, so many thanks John.

A few weeks ago I had the bike checked over by a local Harley mechanic I know very well. He gave me an independent view of the current state of my bike, which was very interesting. He's impressed with its performance, especially the handling with my TrueTrack Trackula handling kit!

He reckons the engine installation is OK (all new mountings), so the 'problem' is very much with the engine package. Ignition system and timing are all spot on and his conclusion is that the vibration I am suffering from is a combination of my current gearing, the camshaft and jet transition in the S&S carb. He describes it as a ‘feature’ rather than a ‘fault’!

He expressed surprise that the S&S cam seems quite aggressive and reckons it is just dialling in, briefly causing resonance in the valve train, around the same time the carb is transitioning from the idle to intermediate jets. This all happens at around 65-75 mph in top gear, my most common riding speeds.

So what he has done is confirm the bike is in great shape and, with no prompting from me, confirmed some of the opinions made here on HDF. He suggests I could alter overall gearing to shift that vibration patch away from 65-75mph, so that it is less troublesome, or install a milder cam to remove that transitional harshness, or even fit an alternative carb. Of these, he reckons a new carb would have the greatest benefit. Or I can just get on and live with it!

With the greater mileage I have now covered the vibration patch is less of a nuisance. In fact I have noticed several times now on a long ride that when I stop for while, then get back on it, the vibration seems to have disappeared. It only does that during a ride, not from the start, but I am increasingly optimistic!

With winter on us my wife and I have been looking at how we can spend our vacation in 2009. We have decided to visit the Tatra Mountains in Slovakia, a round trip of about 3,000 miles from our home in the UK. So I had better make sure the bike is up to scratch!

What a difference a few thousand miles can make….

Happy New Year to all replacement engine owners!

 

Brief update on the 'new' engine. I am feeling rather better about it than previously reported. While giving the bike a pre-season once over, I recently discovered that the hose clip at the gearbox exhaust pipe fixing had broken. I have Samson true duals, supplied with hose clips which are cut to provide the 'thread', leaving very little metal at the end of each slot, so it is no wonder it broke. Replacing it with not one but two proper pressed clips has restored a solid mounting and smoothed things noticeably, which is very welcome.

This newly found smoothness really emphasises the torque of the thing. With little more than 2 grand on the tacho it rolls on in top in a fairly leisurely manner, until an attention grabbing, fast approaching bend suddenly rushes up, demanding hasty action. I have just come back from a lengthy shake-down run and had to employ the brakes rather more often than smooth progress would normally demand!

Having had early problems, with the rear pipe vibrating against the primary chaincase, I now wonder how long that clamp on the front pipe has been broken! It was not obvious. Perhaps this thing will now prove to be as smooth and impressive as I originally expected! Here's hoping we all get a great riding season.