but neither the blonde or brunette will be cheaper they are both expensive....haha, what do you think about ultima transmissions?

 

LOL...The same fellow with the 120 demon has allready rebuilt the tranny also.Mainbearing Decinagrated?..Came apart...Im just not a fan of any ultima product...Baker or Jims for Drivetrain....S&S or H-D.for Engines...Delcron Cases...Or maybe im just a proud american...Blondes or Brunetts for head work or line boring...

 

I have 2000 miles on my 113 Ultima so I can't comment on long term durability. But so far the motor is quiet and has great power.

 

I see you live in Pantego. We were down that way last spring, spent three weeks looking for a place to move to. I am getting tired of the snow. We kinda liked the New Bern area, but Washington was nice too. Lots of nice people, we went on a couple of rides with thefolks and found out there was only one indy in the area. there was two but one went out of business. You sure have some pretty country down there. Who knows if we move down there maybe I can convert you. LOL

 

I ve since talked to two guys to have used Ultima's in a lot of chopper builds. The favorites are the 107's and 113's, always crate engines, that must be broken in properly. One guys has 20,000 miles on an Ultima 107.

The 107 has the right amount of hp and a shorter stroke than the 113, which apparantly will help with reliability.

Older Ultimas (2007's) had some problems but the newer ones are good.

Having over 115 hp is not necessary unless you are going to start drag racing everyday. I had a BMW K100, that blew the doors off of anything around here except a Hyabusa... and it only had an 85 hp in line 4.

Im looking for comfort, which my Road King is.... very.
The ability to put on miles, without problems... riding 8+hrs per day.
I want to be able to pass someone going over 70, without dropping down to 4th, and pulling the throttle back to my knees.

Frankly the current EVO does NOT have enough power, especially when I dress it up with the Tour Pack and my wife on the back. And mine has an EFI on it which has not run properly since I got the bike.

As for US built... Ultimas are built in the US. Check it out.http://www.ultimaproducts.com/107engine113.html

The 107 is the way I am heading.

 

I have the 113 and 15,000 miles on the motor. Lost the lifters at 4,000 miles and it took out my cam as well. Ultima replaced all parts after warranty with no questions at all. Motor is putting out 130hp and runs like a champ. If I were you, I would get the 113. Cost of the motors are the same and even though it is a .25" more of a stroke, it is still a short stroke motor.

 

I don't know if you can really judge S&S based on your brother's experience. I worked for a factory custom company that had S$S motors in them. The thing they DIDN'T tell people is that they were assembled at their factory. They had motors grenading on the way home from the stealership! Factory customs in my experience are a sub-par product. This is only in my own experience. (I have occasionally seen a reliable one-even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while-right?)
Just my two cents.

 

I had heard that the higher duration cam, larger compression pistons, and longer stroke, can initiate the problems you ran into.

I have heard excellent things about Ultima replacing parts after warranty, and am glad you have had a good experience.

Since I am willing to sacrifice hp for reliabiltiy, I am going to stick with the 107. Will still get 115 ish of hp but the same 120 torque, as the 113 which is important for the RK when I dress it up.

 

mesmarter,

You're looking for 15k miles a year? I can't do that these days, although I did 20k a year in my youth. Someone asked a question on HDF a while ago looking for owners of big motors with high mileages, but didn't get many replies. I don't believe there is much info around for any of us to decide which is the best after-market engine for that level of riding, so I reckon you are gambling whatever you choose.

 

There are a couple of guys I ride with who try to put in 15,000 Kms (10,000 miles) every year..... I am from Canada.

We do two large runs a year around 2000 miles each, plus several smaller runs.

I basically ride it every day from snow melt to snow fall. My last ride was Mid November this year. One of my buddies got out on the weekend, it was about 8 celcius or about 46 F.