After three attempts to get happy with a Twin Cam, I have given-up and bought a rather high mileage EVO. 1998 (last year for the EVO) Road King 95th. Anniversary Classic. I could not pass it up for the overall condition of the bike and the price. It has 75K on it. I have never taken an EVO much past 50K and when I pulled the jugs off that particular engine to replace the base gaskets....the cross-hatch was not even cut out of the cylinders. Supposedly, this seller had the base gaskets replaced recently and the mechanic told him the engine looked fine. Now....that was the seller talking and I buy scooters like I do used cars.....as if they have had the snot ran out of them and don't believe anything the seller tells you.

I purchased the bike expecting to at the least perform a top-end job on it, but I am going to run it a while and see. Let me hear from the "EVO mileage champions" out there. How far has anyone taken an EVO without a re-build.

Pointing me to another thread on the subject would do as well.

 

75k is no big deal on one and will usually do 100k with no problems at all past replacing lifters in it. I've seen 'em ball honed and re-ringed and a new valve job go another 50k easily.

I also know a guy who is on his 3rd reman as he wears 'em out and trades 'em back in every 100k on his late 80's dresser. Usually doing pretty much nothing to them in the mean time and leaving them stock.

If you can do the wrenching yourself, I'd run it a while and see how you like everything else in it power wise in passing, etc and go from there.

You can always push it to .005 over and go hi-comp pistons and a little more cam pretty cheap and do a clean up on the valves if you feel it needs help.

Griz

 

Thanks GRIZ. I'm not new to the forum....just been away for a while. The wife had some throat and eye issues and all I had in the carport was a collector model (An Ultra Classic that sat there for two years and collected dust.) until I sold it. I have been thru 3 Twin Cams and retrofitted them to make myself comfortable with the bearings, cams and tensioners. I just don't want to go thru that process again with another TC of "unknown origin" and there is simply no way I would go plop-down 20K-plus for a new one.

So....I found me a good looking EVO like I use to ride and that's what I plan to go with. I've jacked a couple of those up with some Screamin' Eagle or S&S heads and they will hang with any TC I ride with. I am not concerned about the power-factor at the moment....just the endurance.

This may be of interest and possibly surprising. You can go read posts on other forums (maybe this one to...I don't know) that swear you have to bury an EVO after 50K. I personally think that is BS. My local HD mechanic, who is also a good friend of mine told me that he knew of one that had gone 180,000 miles...so far and he routinely sees them in the shop with well over 100K on the speedo.

 

Mine had a reman at 100k.
Not because it needed it but just because it hit 100k.

 

This one made it to 1,000,000 miles.

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/568/33...otorcycle.aspx

 

I have no doubt of folks thinking they won't go 50k. They're the ones we want to buy off of. LOL..

Friend of mine had a guy sell him an early evo bagger and apologized about the 88" S&S motor in it instead of the stocker which had the bad case on the right.

I'm a shovel guy first and then an evo bagger rider. Shovel is a stroked by me 93" setup and the dresser usually has an S&S 113" in it, but now has an S&S 96" in it I built over the winter for a project. I just wanted to build a motor, so there ya go.. The 113" needs new lifters and the rocker boxes re-chromed.. Most would just do that instead of building another motor to run it in until it is back together, but I did want to build a motor..

Griz

 

I have 187,000 miles on the bike in my avatar, with 97,000 miles on the current remanned motor. It runs like a champ, good compression and minimal oil consumption. I'd probably still have the first motor, but a lifter failure claimed that one. I change the lifters and the inner cam bearing every 40,000 miles now (I have the tools and do it myself).

No intention of replacing my bike.

 

I just did the top end on mine at 100k miles. It was still stock bore, we went 10 thou over, new pistons, new lifters, rebuilt heads and V thunder cam just so I could be happy riding with the knowledge all is good inside the motor. Didn't touch the bottom end at all.

The motor sounded fine but there was a difference in the compression so opened it up. It turned out to be a leaking inlet valve, but we were doing the lifters and cam anyway so did the rest while in there.

Road kings are the best I reckon.

 

Just buy a 2008 - up TC, no cam/cam bearing/tensioner issues...

 

1550vt...

Do a compression check, or even better do a leak down. That will tell you the health of the top end and give a pretty good idea of the state of the engine. Both of those are cheap and easy to do, and non invasive...YD