Couldn't agree more. 95" Stage II big bore with S/E 203 cams puts out around 85 HP (vs the 60 or so you're running now.) Mine has the gear drives Andrews 26's and is closer to 90 HP. I still ride mine to work everyday and just passed 147,000 miles on it. No overheating, no inner primary issues, no compensator issues and a bulletproof crank. (I did install a Compufire 3 Phase charging system and junked the stock stator though.)

Other than that, you can't kill this thing.

 

A lot of good points. Thanks for the reassurance.

I'm going to move forward.

 

I like my bike enough to keep dumping cash in it every year cause I know I am keeping it. If you like yours enough make it your way, if not trade it cause you won't get your money back on any bike you modify. I took apart my CVO 95" I have a SE 203 I can sell cheap if you bump it up

 

I keep looking at new bikes when my DH drags me with him, but keep resolving to keep my '02. So, for Christmas, he bought me new shocks. There are only about 4 or 5 more "things" I want to do to it, and shocks were on the list. Me so happy!

 

I was in the same boat. I love my old girl (99 RKC w/ 103k on the clock) and wish she had a carb. But she was paid for and I went with the SE 95" kit, had 510 S&S gear drive cams already . If you buy a newer used bike you'll never know what its been thru and what it might need. At 37k with a forged crank it should go a long way. I had some Wild Ones WO 515 put on at a dealer this summer, of course they screwed it up and after some delay and me talking with service manager, sales manager and owner they decided we would all be happier if they lent me a bike to go ride while they fixed there mistake. I had long thought if I didn't have a my RK I would like a Road Glide. So when they asked me what I wanted to ride I said RG. They had a used 2013 RG Ultra with 103 w/ 5,000 miles on the clock. I put a 100 miles on it and while the radio and six speed were nice it certainly wasn't worth 23 grand to me. I have decided just to keep upgrading mine as it needs it. This winter she gets Ohlins on the rear and maybe some race tech emulators up front. I love when people ask me what year my bike is and I see the look on their face when I tell them its a 99. Just my take.......goldie

 

CORRECT - no matter what bike you may get you will never get a decent amount for it -- I have 09 RG and 06 SG paid for long ago -- I keep dumping cash into them. 124 S&S on SG and recently turning it in to an Ultra Classic - cause I always wanted one but would get a SG or RG instead -- got the fenders, rails, lights etc., 107 on the RG -- not getting a new bike anytime soon

 

I am another one of those keepers and don't even want to think about the money I have in it. Even if you are going to do the motor work yourself your price is way under what you should expect to pay. Mine is going through a major overhaul with thousands more going in than is already there. You can get a so so paint job for 1,500 but will you be happy with it? Sell a kid, pawn some stuff, dump a woman but take that beauty and make it what you really want it to be. Can't make much of the picture but already looks like the bike has a lot of character. Whatever you decide best of luck. We just offer our stupid advice.

 

upgrade what you got. i really want a legit road glide. can i afford payments right now... no, so im building my road king up. this year is the visual road glide look and stage 1. next winter im going to do the motor.

keep what you have a mod the shiz out of it. no payments and mods will be better 2 years from know than wanting to mod but you have payments.

 

My experience with modding the bike (engine/trans) was poor. I "upgraded" my old 03 Fat Boy beyond reliability. Before all the changes the bike was close to 100% reliable all seasons. In fact, for years I didn't own a car and got by with the Fat Boy, some heated gear and some rain gear. I'm pretty happy with that here in Northern Virginia.

Then I got the bug for power (or torque), something I could feel when the light turned green. It seemed to me with each dollar spent the reliability decreased and my enjoyment dissipated. The mods included an S&S 106, Baker 6, and all the obvious stuff with such an upgrade. Starting in cooler weather was about impossible, things would break more often and more drastically, long rides were less enjoyable and concerning, and I started falling out of love with the bike. I even went out and bought a car.

I sold that bike off to someone that put a lot more work into it - then he sold it again. I understand it is still kicking with someone up in the Baltimore area. I miss the old days on that 03 FB when all it had was some V&H pro pipes, freer air and some paint. It looked rough but had over 70K miles before the updates began.

After a few years without the bike I decided I had to jump back in. This time I took a different route. I went with the '14 Ultra Limited and I'm loving being back out on the road. I did the typical slip-ons and filter change before delivery. I plan little additions here and there such as playing with different windshields, maybe shocks (maybe not). I also plan to leave the freaking engine/transmission alone. I turned a perfectly enjoyable bike into a dismal failure and had professional help doing it. Won't do it again.

If it comes down to wanting "more" then I'll trade this bike in and get what I can for it. I'll definitely stick with Harley (was BMW in the past) and just go with the latest models. I don't see that happening for a few years of course but being the non-mech rider that I am, I don't ever see any work being done on the engine/trans that might reduce reliability and ruin the ride.

This is not an indictment of any of the manufacturers mentioned nor of the mech that did all the work. I am not a mechanically inclined person and couldn't handle the additional TLC the bike needed or even understand what the bike was telling me when things started going wrong. I take responsibility for the problems and outcome. I like to ride and I'll pay someone else to maintain.

When the enjoyment and reliability start to slip I'll take out another loan and get a new bike.

 

Test ride some new models first before you dump money into your old one!