Ultima 127 problem
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 2,591
Likes: 68
From: Big Bear City, CA
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/gener...ed-piston.html
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/exhau...ed-piston.html
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 4,468
Likes: 12
From: Bluffton, South Carolina
Panhead,
They look like the older style pistons that they had problems with, that's why they switched to Mahle. They had problems with the skirts cracking. That engine had to be making noise before it did that. Plus that didn't happen at an idle!!LOL!!!
John
P.S. After looking at the other pictures in a later post they seem to be Mahles. That engine had to be making noise and turning some rpm's when that happened. Flipped the piston and put the rod through the skirt!!!
They look like the older style pistons that they had problems with, that's why they switched to Mahle. They had problems with the skirts cracking. That engine had to be making noise before it did that. Plus that didn't happen at an idle!!LOL!!!
John
P.S. After looking at the other pictures in a later post they seem to be Mahles. That engine had to be making noise and turning some rpm's when that happened. Flipped the piston and put the rod through the skirt!!!
Last edited by miacycles; Feb 13, 2014 at 09:20 PM.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 2,591
Likes: 68
From: Big Bear City, CA
Thanks John. it would sure be interesting to know exactly what the cause was. Most people speculate owner abuse of some sort. But we'll probably never know. I'm sure it was quite the surprise when they pulled the head.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 4,468
Likes: 12
From: Bluffton, South Carolina
I've seen that happen before, but never on a street engine!!! The rev's were definetly up there when that happened. He was probably from the school of "break 'em in like you're going to ride them" big mistake with big inch engines!!!!!!
John
John
Intermediate
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
From: WI.
This is just an update of the problem on 7/18/13, 2nd time problem , w/my Ultima 127. Took a 20 mile ride, pulled away from a stop sign and started getting an engine noise, was (2) miles from home. took it easy. Parked it and never did anything w/it till about a week ago as I felt it was time to get ready for the 2014 season. Took it to a harley mechanic, 20+ years experience, had know reason to believe that it was not an easy fix, had not sounded like it did in '09 or about 4,000 miles earlier. Got a call yesterday, the engine is toasted. Did not get all the detail, will when I pick it up. Metal in both upper and lower, cam lobe bad, I can only imagine the oil pump and most every thing else is bad, as it was before. I will be bringing it home as is and try and figure out what to do. I am not at this point going to spend a bunch of money on an engine that has had catastrophic engine failure in less than 9,000 miles. I don't beat my bike and I keep the maintenance up. Over the last (2) weeks I have left Charlie, Ultima warranty contact, messages/number, telling him I understood it was out of warranty but I had questions. Have not received the courtesy of a call back. I am mad right now, Ultima supplied the parts last time but I had out of pocked expense and time lost on an engine w/appx 5,000 miles. Now I have a 350.00 expense to find my engine is fried, appx 4,000 miles later and a major out of pocket expense to have a running bike. I know that I bought a high performance engine, but my expectations were set higher than this and I know guys beat their engines and they just keep going. I will give Charlie another call and see if I receive a return call before I pass judgement on this engine and my experience w/it.
Considering this is the 2nd catastrophic failure in 12,000 miles I am going to ask for help w/parts, I already have a grand in rebuild and tear down. If I do not get any satisfaction I will not rebuild, I will either junk the engine and sell the bike or put a Harley engine in it. If that is the case I will not , at all , be an advocate for the Ultima engine and I think you can understand why. Included are some pics. Cam damage is kind of hard to see in my pics but the top and bottom edges are rough w/some little chunks out of the edge and the front of the lobe id rough.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 4,468
Likes: 12
From: Bluffton, South Carolina
For some reason it appears you had a lot of side load on the lifter. This could be from a poorly machined lifter block (too much or too little clearance, wrong angle, lifter failure, etc.), excessive cam end clearance, was there a large shim on the engine side of the cam???? Also if the cases, oil lines, oil tank weren't super cleaned you will get repeat problems. Over the years we've had well meaning people rebuild their engines with a "friends" help and after the second time it exploded they would bring it to us to get it done.
Whe you pull an engine apart that has had a failure you need to treat it like an autopsy. Examine every part carefully even if you need a magnifying glass. If you aren't sure what you are seeing bring it to an expert or send photos to the parts manufacturer!!!
John
Whe you pull an engine apart that has had a failure you need to treat it like an autopsy. Examine every part carefully even if you need a magnifying glass. If you aren't sure what you are seeing bring it to an expert or send photos to the parts manufacturer!!!
John
HD Forum Stories
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In
Verdad Gallardo
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Verdad Gallardo
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Verdad Gallardo
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026
Verdad Gallardo
Southpaw Super Glide: A Left-Hand-Drive 1979 Harley FXE Built to Fit the Rider
Verdad Gallardo
Intermediate
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
From: WI.
John,I know my limitations, I am not interested in digging into an engine and at 62 I have heard all the nightmare stories about "friends of friends" who do engine work. Both the initial build after failure was done by a reputable shop and the last instance of failure, and tear down, a different but established shop. In the first instance it was a new Ultima engine w/3,000 appx miles, Ultima supplied all parts for rebuild, my mechanic did not mention anything out of the ordinary other than it was a big cam. 9,000 some odd miles, pulling away from an intown stop sign and something happens, the next thing I know I have the same issue I had 9,000 miles previous. I know their are guys that run hard/beat their Ultima's on a regular basis and they keep running, this engine has a problem and I don't know what it is and am not going to spend any extra money to find out. Now that being said, IF Ultima ponies up w/parts, I will go back to the same guy who tore it down and spend the extra bucks to make sure everything is right when it is rebuilt, he has performance experience. We shall see what we shall see.