Hey everyone. How's it going?

It has been a while since I've had time to do much to my M8 except ride. In my last major upgrade, I built a 128" motor, upgraded the primary with a Rekluse clutch and a Baker compensator, replaced the front and rear suspension with Legends, and upgraded my brake calipers and pads with Galfer. I documented that entire process in this thread.

With one minor exception—the Rekluse clutch—the entire build has been flawless. After 29,000 miles on the build, I've had zero failures. That said, I'm not exactly satisfied, either.

The Legends suspension is a night and day difference over stock. The ride quality is good, but I wouldn't call it excellent for a sporting rider. I will get into that more later.

The brake calipers have held up well (no more warping issues), and once I got the right pads, I got more braking power, albeit at the expense of a progressive feel.

The engine has been great. It's silky smooth and very quiet. My only complaint is how much I must shift when riding in the twisties. The little bobber I built two years ago has spoiled me with its roll-on power, even in 6th gear.

Finally, there's the Boom II Audio. What can I say other than it sucks! I made a minor upgrade by adding sound deadening to the front pods and replacing the 6.5" mid-bass speakers with Hertz MP165.3s. That update put some punch into the system that you can hear and feel at 65-70 MPH. Unfortunately, my head unit is starting to crap out on me. The GPS stopped working a year ago, and now the display is flaky.

ULTIMATE ENTERTAINMENT MACHINE™ (UEM) Transformation

So, what's next? How can I transform what I have to make it my Ultimate Entertainment Machine?

Here are my goals:

1. Better Suspension: I want more adjustment capability and a planted feel in tight corners and under hard braking, particularly on rough road surfaces. I also want a few degrees more lean angle.
2. Better Braking: I put a lot of stress on my brakes, particularly the rear (trail braking). I want more braking power, a progressive brake feel, and two-finger operation.
3. More Torque (w/o more noise!): I know I can achieve more low-end torque with a simple cam change, which will introduce more intake and exhaust noise. I want to hear my music and not further damage my ears.
4. More Responsive: Making an 850 LB motorcycle more responsive isn't easy. The best way I know of is to shed weight. My goal is to shed 50+ pounds.
5. Modern Infotainment System: The Boom II system in my bike is now two generations behind. Moreover, there's no way to fix its sound quality limitations. So I want to completely strip out the Boom system and replace it with a modern infotainment system that fully integrates with the bike.
6. Update Style: Certain accessories and finishes tend to date a bike (i.e., chrome vs. blacked out, gloss vs. matte finishes). Minor changes can make a big impact without changing the overall original style theme of the motorcycle.

BETTER SUSPENSION

I have already started this project. One of my dealers had multiple sets of the SE/Ohlins rear shocks in stock that weren't moving. They offered me a great discount, so I picked them up. At the same time, I ordered a High-Lifter Chromoly swing arm from A1 Cycles.

I have about 300 miles on the new shocks and the swing arm. It's a night-and-day difference in feel, traction, comfort, and lean angle. Once I got them dialed in, the Ohlins shocks made a big difference in my cornering confidence. The wheel hop I experienced with the Legends shocks cornering on rough pavement is completely gone, and I am less fatigued after a long ride.

I have no idea how much the swing arm contributes to the shock's handling characteristics because I swapped them simultaneously. I'm sure it does have an impact because it's 11 or so pounds lighter than the stock unit. Here's a photo:



I have the shock connected to the middle mount point and have extended the shock adjuster out 1/4". To get to that shock length (equivalent to a 14.25" shock length) I had to spacer the mufflers down 3/8".

Currently I'm at my summer home in Prescott, Arizona getting a feel for the new suspension riding on Arizona 89A, which has excellent mountain roads with fantastic hairpin and switchback turns. Before making the trip out here a few days ago, I went through Oatman, Arizona to get to a stretch of road on Route 66 called the Sidewinder. With its tight hairpin turns and overall bad surface quality, it's a good test of your suspension.

Here's a 2LaneLife video on Jerome to Oatman. I rode Prescott to Jerome yesterday... didn't scrape my floorboards once. That's a first!


Lifting the rear as high as I have has introduced a bit of "pull in" in the front suspension that's noticeable in tight turns. I'm going to drop the rear by 1/4" to see if that goes away. If not, I'm going to see if my steering head bearing needs to be adjusted.

With my rear suspension working and feeling like a dream, now it's time to get the front suspension to do the same. With a lot of gnashing of teeth, I have decided against an inverted front end. For one thing, the cost is just way over the top. Plus, it would completely change the original style of my bike, which has chrome forks and other chrome accents. And, I feel like I can get 90% of the benefits of an inverted front end another way.

The benefits of an inverted front end (Kraus, BBP, etc.) are:

1. Reduced overall weight
2. Reduce unsprung weight
3. Additional rigidity
4. Control over preload, dampening, and rebound

I believe I can get most of those benefits another way and considerably less cost. Here's what I'm thinking, and I'd appreciate some input.

• GP Suspension 25mm Front Cartridge Kit
• HHI Aluminum Triple Tree
• HHI Track Style Fork Legs (chrome) with Radial Caliper Mounts

This full replacement of my front suspension will reduce overall and unsprung weight, and reduce flex. And from every review I have read, the GP Suspension cartridges are superior to the Ohlins NIX 22mm units. Plus, I can build this front end with radial calipers and 320mm rotors for the same price as the Kraus front end alone.

These are the parts:




I still have more research to do before making a final decision.


BETTER BRAKING

One minor—but very annoying—problem I have experienced with my Galfer 11.8" solid mount rotors is a noticeable pulsing under light braking after about 5,000 miles of wear on the pads. When you replace the pads, the pulsing goes away... for another 5,000 miles. I hope to solve this problem with full-floating rotors.

As I plan to keep my stock CVO wheels (at least for now) I'm stuck with spoke mounted rotors. You can't get an 11.8" full-floating rotor for a wheel with spoke mounts. So, that forces me into a 320mm rotor, which should further assist with braking. The rotors I've decided to go with are the Braketech AXIS SS units:

I am completely undecided on calipers. ! can continue to use the stock caliper with 320mm rotors by using an adapter bracket (multiple manufactures). I'd love to get feedback from someone else that has done this.

Feedback on brakes appreciated.

MORE TORQUE

I did my 128" build on top of the Stage II upgrade I did in 2018. That saved me the cost of a new cam, lifters, push rods, bearing, etc. Besides, I like the Woods 222 cam characteristics and wanted to go easy on my valve train.

How do I get more power, particularly at the bottom end, without giving up the quiet, smooth power I have with my current 128" build? Here's what I have now:



Currently, for this new build I have the following parts:

• SE Heads (second generation) with Woods springs and titanium top hats
• SE 4.155 In. Big Bore Cylinders
• 131" Custom CP Carrillo Pistons
• S&S Cycle Rocker Arm Shaft Set
• S&S Cycle Forged Roller Rocker Arms
• S&S Cycle Cam Chain Tensioner
• ARP heavy duty cylinder stud kit
• Wood Performance Alpha Directional Roller Lifters
• Fuel Moto EZ Quick Install Pushrods

The engine already has an S&S oil pump and cam plate, S&S head bolts, S&S lifter cuffs, and S&S rocker hardware. It also has the SE 64mm throttle body and SE intake. So I won't be upgrading any of those parts.

The last decision is the cam. I have a Woods 77x cam on the shelf (had planned to put it in my bobber build, but went with the SE torque cam instead), but I'm concerned that the lift and duration on the 77x will produce more intake and exhaust noise than I can tolerate.

Feedback appreciated.

MORE RESPONSIVE

I could not believe how much more fun my Softail Slim is to ride after taking 70+ pounds off of it and installing the SE Stage IV kit. I have since changed out the bars with some mini apes and installed a longer Legends rear shock, but everything else from the original build remains the same. The power and agility of this little bike are insane. Weight reduction was a huge factor.



I want to take the lessons I learned with weight savings on my bobber and apply them to the CVO.

I have already shed a bunch of weight off of my bagger. Here's my plan:

• Lithium batter (already installed): -12 LBS
• Removed passenger pegs: -3 LBS
• Chromoly swingarm: -11 LBS
• Aluminum triple trees and chromoly axle: -6 LBS (est.)
• Replace Boom! amps with a single high performance amp: -5 LBS (est.)
• Replace Air Flow footboards with aluminum footboards: -2 LBS (est.)
• New front fender: -1 LBS (est.)

That's a weight reduction of 40 LBS. To get to my goal of -50 LBS, I will need to go to carbon fiber wheels.

MODERN INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM

My plan is to completely remove my Boom Audio (head unit, amps, speakers, and all wiring) and replace it with a completely new system. I'm not going to put an amp in the fairing. Instead, I will wire the new system so the amp is in one of the saddle bags. This will reduce the weight in the batwing fairing and hopefully some of the wobble it causes.

Word on the street is that Soundstream has a new head unit coming out, the Soundstream Reserve V2.


If the Soundstream Reserve V2 has all of the potential updates outlined in the video, the would be a huge improvement for me over the Boom Audio that came with my CVO. It look like I will have to be patient and wait for the actual announcement in January or February.

UPDATE STYLE

After 7 full years with this bike, I am ready for a style change. From the factory, this bike ad a bunch of chrome. Over the years, I've toned it down a little bit by replacing a few bits and pieces, like the shift levers and rear brake lever, but I also added more with a custom CVO derby cover.

When the Adversary Collection accessories first came out I grabbed some (Black & Orange) for my Pan America Special. They look and feel great. The mirrors are excellent. So I decided to give my CVO the same treatment in Graphite. The color perfectly matches the logo on my tank and goes well with the Black Granite engine cases and my Corbin seat.

Here are some shots:





I really like the Adversary Collection accessories. It was (IMHO) exactly what my bike needed for an easy style refresh and I'm finally happy with the level of chrome.

Next up is to paint and install the ST front fender I have sitting in the garage. I have the black paint and the metallic pearl (Starfire Black), but the Atomic Red isn't available. So I working on how I can have it matched.

Comments welcome. I will be posting pics as I progress with the upgrades

Wish me luck!

 

Wishing you luck

I'm glad I finally outgrew that stage before I got my M8 RK. leaving this one pretty much stock.

Went through all that with my shovels.

 

And now you know why the wife divorced me...

 

exactly! what really irks me is if I'd have just shot her I'd be out by now

 

I feel your pain, brother.

 

For your new engine build, what size will it be, what compression?

 

131ci @ 11.0:1

 

I pieced together a 131" build like yours using SE 16800210 cylinders @ 4.310 bore. At 11.0:1 you have a lot of cam choices, probably less noise if the cylinder pressures (torque) don't get too high.

Have fun, good luck,
Mike

 

You must really, really love the brand brother.

 

Why use adjustable push rods if you are pulling the top end apart anyway? Not being sarcastic, but I had heard they were only for doin cam swaps without pulling the top end apart. Are there other benefits?