Thanks for the vid. I agree that sounds great....

Maybe an M8 114 is in your future....

 

😂
Wizzing around

 

So this is how you get 100 posts in four days...

 

I'm surprised you say that doing it over again you might stop @ stage 1. I always figured that the stage 2 torque cam is really what HD should have installed stock but is taking extra cash for the procedure. What do you feel are the negatives of stage 2?? Stage 3 will lose the very low end, but I assumed stage 2 would have gains from 2 to 3500 rpm or so.

 

If i had to do it all over again i would stop at stage 1 also !

 

I’m still revising my opinion as I get more experience. Tonight I went for a ride and though in general it was not an aggressive run, there were a number of times that I hammered it on empty straight stretches. It does not disappoint. It is faster than it used to be. And back at the gas pump I was expecting to see mpg closer to 35 because of it. But to my surprise I got 41, which makes me think my judgement that mpg is negatively affected when pushing it was premature. This is what I got before, riding about the same. (I can get 47 when not riding aggressively at all.)

I mean, it makes sense that going faster requires more gas. But thinking back, on those aggressive runs where I saw 35 mpg, I did get into 3 digits on the speedo. I don’t normally do that but found myself getting there accidentally when first experimenting. That might be the reason for the poor mpg during those early runs.

So maybe no real mpg penalty due to the cam. And I’m hopeful no reliability issues. All indications are that this is a fairly safe upgrade. But indications are early, and experiences like Jessica’s are a reminder that all performance upgrades introduce risk.

My real point for this post was to agree that the 114 is a strong motor stock. I wasn’t jonesing for more power. But with the 60-day window, I had to make a call, and yeah, let’s do the cam too. And I have no regrets. It has more power and a cool lope at idle. But I can see the logic of folks that feel it’s enough, and just want better sound and maybe a little boost, and prefer not to introduce any risk involved with Stages beyond 1.

If I were to get a second bike, it would be touring, not a hot rod like this one. And given the issues that seem to still be getting worked out, I don’t think I’d mess with it. And if I get a Softail for my wife, it isn’t getting a cam. She doesn’t need (nor want) to be getting into triple digits.

As I gain perspective I gain respect for the engineering decisions that HD made. I guess it would be surprising if they created a stock bike with an idle lope like this. But I’m glad they made it an upgrade option for my hot rod Breakout.

Please take my comments as sharing and not teaching. I’m in no position to teach anyone about motorcycles. I just got back into riding and this is one helluva bike to get back into riding with. Thank you Harley-Davidson!

 

Btw Jessica, did you photoshop a boot onto your foot in your signature pic? That’s mad computer skills.

 

My bike is now after stage 5 and dyno tuned by an expert

Max power is now 110.21
Max torque is now 118.79

 

Ha! You beat me to it, I noticed that too, right after I saw a few fellas pointing out the lack of gear wearing on Mrs Sinclair’s part. Good Job Jessica!

 

Glad your bike is up and running!
Sucks to be sitting “idle” waiting for your scoot to get fixed. Looks like at least you had the Ducati to take some of the stress out.

Love the Breakout, when the price is right, I will add a Twinkie BO to my stable.
Stay safe and enjoy!