Got a '96 Bad Boy. Completely stock motor.

Just laid down a bunch of money on JP Cycles. I've got an S&S Super E kit, EV27 Cam, Torrington bearing, Dyna S single fire ignition, and a Revtech 6 Speed gear set coming my way. I'm approaching 15K miles on the odometer and I have an oil leak going on. I figure now is as good as a time as any to get all the work done. I've also got an RB Racing 2-1 pipe in the garage I got second hand. I need to get it powdercoated since it has a few scratches in it.

My goal is to have it running as strong (if not better) than my '07 Night Train I used to have.

Thought and opinions?

 

You could have passed on the S&S carb and just stayed with the stock Keihin CV - generally good up to ~ 100hp.

What you spent on the S&S, you could have upgraded your suspension and/or brakes (check out forum sponsor www.motorcyclemetal.com for suspension). EV27 cam is a popular choice and same cam I have in my '97 WG. Heard good things on the RB exhausts.

Not sure what you have for air cleaner, but that might be an area to look at, as well as, headwork. I swapped out my stock for SE heads.

Other peeps will chime with more knowledge. Also, not sure what your future plans are for the bike, but add that and others can give you better info/experiences they've had.

Good luck.

 

My Evo Road King is a very strong runner. I originally had a SE 3 cam almost the same specs as the EV27 but when I wanted more and did my FI to carb switch I put in a Woods W6H which is a 590 lift and had Bean at Big Boyz do his magic to my heads. After these the RK is a rocket for a 80 incher with 84K miles. You could easliy have Big Boyz do their street port $300 a little more if you mill the heads for compression and a better cam and really wake that Evo up. The EV27 is a nice cam don't get me wrong but there are other bolt in cams that produce better HP/TQ. A Woods W6 comes to mind. Either way your going in the right direction. Gotta do my base gaskets so my next upgrade is some domed pistons with a CR of around 10.5 my Road King is gonna be a tire shredder.....

 

A good friend of mine who has been building bikes longer than I have been alive made these recommendations to me. I trust him. Could I have spent my money in other areas instead, possibly, but it doesn't really matter at this point since I have already spent the money. I will look into brakes and suspension. I already planned in throwing in a set of progressive 422s.

I'm not trying to make this bike something it isn't. I have an FZ1 for when I want to be a hooligan.

What I am trying to do is improve the bike's performance so it's as enjoyable to ride as it is to look at. I loved riding my night train. As much as I love the way the bad boy looks, I just don't enjoy riding it and have thought about trading it in for something else. At higher RPMs it feels like it's going to shake itself apart. There aren't any gains because it has no guts. It is a slug. I'm wanting to make this bike perform like a twin cam '96 or better.

Will the upgrades I'm making smooth out the bike? I'm not expecting inline four cylinder smooth, but I want my teeth to stay in my head. Will what I'm doing be enough to improve the performance the way I'm hoping it will? Are Progressive shocks a good idea or do you guys recommend something else?

I will be talking about brakes, but I will save that for a different thread. The brakes on this bike are a conversation in itself!

 

I believe you did good getting that s&s. they are super easy to use and with the gas quality with ethanol they hold up a lot better and are easier to breakdown and clean. I also had a crane ignition on my evo for about two month and fried it. I don't even know how. My dyna s has been running strong since 2007 kick start and e start. That pipe itself will make a noticeable performance gain and the cam with new bearing will bring piece of mind. I would say your buddy is very accurate

Oh and IMHO bad boy springers are rad looking. What colors is it or better yet post a picture with your thread

 

It's blue. The R-Tard that owned it before me decided to repaint it. It's supposed to be black and yellow. It's over in the pictures forum. I have the yellow stripes - which were a bitch to find. Eventually I will get it looking how it's supposed to look.

 

Badboys are special in my book, can't believe the PO painted it - that just aint right.

I have a a$$hole so here is my opinion, put the money from the Revtech elsewhere, no disrespect but not a good product in the trans area and not really needed. The coin from the 6 speed could unlock the secret to an Evo, jump the compression up (9.5-1 or 10.1 tops) and have the heads street ported, EV27 and it will be about the same as the 6 speed in price, a 96" Twinkie won't be a match for the 80" Evo. That R&B is a great product but needs some base ponies in front of it to allow it to perform as I think the R&B's don't keep alot of back pressure.

Evo's weigh in at 8.5-1 compression, nothing exotic but respond well to engine mods, more so than a Twinkie. The stock 5 speeds are solid and if you get the engine dialed in, the vibrations will be less noticable

 

Well said ^

I like a six speed though. I do a lot of highway speed but you can't go wrong with a fiver either.

 

Everything is already bought and paid for. I hate the 5 speed. Lots of false neutrals and am always looking for the 6th gear. It was a necessary upgrade for me.

I may do more mods later, but this is a start for me.

Please keep the responses coming. This is great info!!!

 

The Evo section always offers, it's your bike, do what you want so if you want a 6 speed then go for it. Just streamlining to the gofast part of the Evo and basis for power, not knocking a 6 because I have a Baker and clearly the Cadillac but have low gearing in the White Bike for sneakup mode and needed another gear for cruising, the 5 speed worked great. Even with a 6 speed, we all still pull up for another gear, I think that is why Baker built the 7 speed to stay a step ahead of us sometimes braindead riders