Ok, so the other day my friend calls me up to say he traded his 2010 ultra classic in on a 2012 103" ultra. At first I remained unimpressed....being the evo loyal guy I am my only Response was " ok so ?" he asked me if I wanted to come by and take it round the block, so I figured I'd take a walk on the wild side and see how the other half live, for ***** and giggles.

I arrive and there it was....ok it looked nice.....it was black so you can't. Go wrong....when he started it up I remained unimpressed....sounded just about like very other stock twin cam to me...maybe a little bit more throaty but still not the deep passionate rumble of an evo I've grown so accustomed to....but it was ok, knowing Mickey it won't be a week and he Will have it back at the stealerships for a remap, and new pipes that won't void the warrantee. Anyway I get on and proceed to take a drive. Right away I gotta tell ya , and this hurts a bit....it was comfy, the seat seemed a bit lower, the riding position was ergonomicaly Perfect. The frame was unlike anything I've ever felt. This thing took buMps like a caddy. I become a little disgusted at how impressed I am with the way this thing feels out of the box. All the familiar things are still in the right places but this bike was not a turd. After a few mins of in town stop and go I get on the main drag and I'm able to open it up some. The initial take off was impressive. It pulled away nicely. Throttle response was measured but intellible.

I decide to take it on a 4 mile in down 94, it cornered the ramp at 50.mph no problem and as I opened it up merging this 103 came to life very nicely. I was impressed with the torque, the power and the responsiveness. Bottom line is its a nice ride. I took it back, admired it with mick, then complimented him on his choice , right for him for sure and went home. I debated for a bit then got on line, did some research and came to my conclusion. I needed more power .

I'm still not running out and getting a twin cam, immenities aside, it's still not for me. Call me crazy, but I like the harder riding, rubber mounted, easy to work on beast I call my own. I love the true to form values of my 97, sure comforts are nice, but I own my glider because of its more accurate lines of nostalgia, heritage, and the familiarity that is synonomis with Harley Davidson. That said I was impressed, however the one thing it had I can provide for myself is power. I want and expect my Ride to be able to give me similar speed, power and take off. Granted the six speed trans is different, and yes the cams are different animals too, but I'm going to pull the trigger nonetheless. Tomorrow or Monday I will be ordering my 103" sidewinder S&S big bore kit. The entire kit too, I'm not skimping. I realize the one thing missing from my evo is the power from a bigger power plant, and a fresh big bore kit and new kick *** cam should be sufficient to fill in blank nicely.

I am not one to admit I was wrong when it comes to my own personal opinions. So I'm not going to start now, but after riding his I can certainly see the appeal the 103" twin cam has for so many others. It has not inspired me to new enough heights to ditch my evo, but it has offered me some great insight as to what I can do to improve on what I have. The big bore is first, next month I'm upgrading the entire suspension with an all new progressive setup as well.

Thanks Mickey, I should be divorced by fall. Way to help me spend my money!

 

Great write up. I love my evo, but too appreciate the twin cams many of my friends have. I will be very interested in hearing about your upgrades and the improvements you get. I appreciate the fact that you are willing to keep your mind open and evaluate things objectively.

 

Some years of EVO cases are crap and simply cannot be bored for the kit you are planning. If you really want to make some real power aftermarket cases are a good idea anyway...should move your divorce along nicely... PM me and I will send you a link to EVO case problems...this site will not let me post it.

 

I'm with you Joboo, have some S&S rotating parts and really enjoy throttling the Evo, rode a relatives 2011 103" SG and got the same impression of a nice bike with alot of torque but not for me. I installed the Perfect Storm performance package on the 2011 SG and unclogged the emission garbage which made it pull harder but the White Bike will still pull away from it so get ready to smile my friend.

On another note, an Axtell tech said the 97 cases will hold a big bore with no problems when I was considering a bigger build for the future but I don't know if the 5" stroke crank of the 103" sidewinder will fit, a set of Delkron or S&S cases already set for a big bore would surely be peace of mind. You can also ride while building the giddy up engine.

 

I have owned my 1990 Evo from new and gone through various stages of 'developing' it, from bone stock, through stage 1 to 89" stroker with head work etc. Each step was a worthwhile improvement, but after a while was not enough. So I did much as you stand on the threshold of - looked at making it even bigger.

With an 89" crank it is possible (or used to be) to get 106" cylinders, with machining the crankcases. However the general consensus from those I spoke to is that even the best Evo cases are on the limit at that and it was suggested I look into an after-market set. I concluded that by the time I finished there wouldn't be much of the original motor left and, as I can't do such work myself, a huge bill for labour.

So I bought a new motor, an S&S V107T. I wasn't very happy with it at first, but now it is run in it is a truly wonderful thing! I can now see the point of having even more performance, but reckon I will have to call it a day.

My suggestion is, don't spend any money just yet, simply work your way through the various options. Small work doesn't cost much, nor does it give much improvement. I have 101HP and 107TQ, more than a stock 103" TC, so that is a good starting point.....

 

I'm all over this, I hav a Greg tech guy helping me, he was also concerned wingtip cases, so I'm going with s& s. cases. This build should be a blast. I have the entire big bore kit and all th goodies to pull it off ordered and on the way as we speak. Build begins Tuesday. Should be done by Saturday. I'm stoked.

And away we go!

 

By the way I love your 97......something bout that year both mine yours and others...I can't put my finger on it ......you got a sweet looking ride there.

 

Thanks Joboo, give us an update on that belt stretcher if you get off the bike.

 

Lol will do.

 

Update : one of my parts suppliers got wind of my project. He called to offer me a rev tech engine......at dealer cost all ....the vm said was that he's got a brand new rev tech engine sitting on the show room floor and no buyers, that I would get the family discount, which is dealer cost !

It's the rev tech 110......110 bore and stroke combination of 4" by 4 3/8", 115 horsepower and 120 ft/lbs of torque and he said it comes complete with a carb set up and all I'd need to bolt it to my existing gear box.....or he will throw in a baker six speed gearbox if I like at cost also.

I gotta call him tomorrow .......whatcha guys think should Ido it? Dealer cost on motor is 3200.00