Ok, i was thinking about something to do this winter.... what is a good drop in engine for my 1984(early) FLHTC??

 

Ultima 113" <G>

 

ive got a ultima 127" in my bagger,ultima`s are nice motors for the price,but ide get it unassembled and check and assemble myself(check piston/wall clearance!!)check your messages
kirby
vee twin racing

 

I can't say anything about fitment...but can add this about Ultima engines:


Interesting coincidence, there is a thread on another forum concerning Ultima quality and John Sachs of SACHS RACE BIKES 1601 N.W. 99 AVENUE PLANTATION FL 33322 that has well documented experience with all the familiar brands of V-twins had this to say in that thread :

*** begin quote***

IMO/IME the Ultima 113" is the BEST engine of any size by any manufacturer................

John
**** end quote****


On these forums we have John Therrien of Mia Cycles that can give you some expert advice on Ultima engines not only does he sell and work on Ultima products he uses an Ultima engine in his personal ride.

 

ya thanks for the info....Hmmm still dont know what to do......well i have all winter to find out....

 

WOW, that's one damn strong endorsement, I heard bad things about other motors, (revtek), but nothing like this in support of an engine. When you say something like that you put your rep on the line.

 

I have an S&S V107T in my 1990 FLHS, fitted early last year. Done around 8k miles on it so far. Dynos just over 100 HP and 100 TQ at the rear wheel, with a very flat torque curve. S&S tuned it expressly for touring and it has automatic decompressors for easy starting. I still use my original factory stock starter and clutch, with a Barnett spring to beef the clutch up. Also fitted a new crank sprocket and primary chain, job done!

If you go to bigger engines you may find you need to replace more parts to deal with greater torque, also a stronger starter, so the cost increases. My 107 with IST ignition has a 3 year warranty. I would have loved a much bigger motor like a 124 or 127, but I was told the S&S 124 does not run smoothly at low revs and doesn't make a good touring engine. I don't have the spare cash to find out!

I couldn't get Ultimas in the UK at a decent price at the time. There are a lot of people out there praising Ultima for how they deal with things that go wrong with their engines. Here in the UK, thousands of miles away, I cannot afford to baby a product that has such a poor record! If you live close to them and don't mind pulling your new motor apart, or stripping it before you install it, that might be OK. That ain't for me.

We toured Europe from our home in the UK in June and covered 2,500 miles on a wide variety of roads, many quite poor. S&S engine runs real sweet, fully loaded and 2-up, pulling down to 1,500 rpm in top gear and just eases away a treat. Very relaxing to ride, but also ran with modern BMW bikes on the autobahns at 90mph when needed.

Seems to me that you have to decide what your hobby is, playing with engines, or riding your bike!

 

1skrewsloose,

I think having both John Sachs and John Therrien both should ease most people's concerns about Ultima engine quality. This is NOT to suggest there are not other great engines out there.

 

I've been doing this fro a long time. I've seen all the major motor manufacturers start out and they all had "growing pains". Heck some of them just didn't survive. I've been to Peevely MO and saw Midwests/Ultimas setup. Just last year they adde two dyno's for R & D. They want to know if you have a problem, then they solve it. We have no problems using these engines, Hope this helps.