cylinder heads

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Sep 23, 2009 | 10:23 AM

superstandardFL

Thread Starter

6th Gear

Joined: Oct 2008

Posts: 12

Likes: 0

From: Charlottetown PEI Canada

cylinder heads

have a 2007 FLHT which i have put a 103" screamin eagle kit in ,with 255 cams, power commander, rinehardt true duals, and the screamin eagle breather. looking for heads now to compliment the set up. Will the screamin eagle 110 plus heads work on this without modification? orshould i go for stock heads with work? also will the heads off a 2006 bolt direct on and only maybe do some porting , bigger valves maybe take a bit off to gain compression. add comression relesase etc. any ideas or direction guys would be appreciated. i dont want to touch my stock heads unless i really have to as woul dbe nice to have for back up. i can have acces to both the 110 screamin eagles and the 2006 stock heads for resanable money. i know the motors 88 to 96 is mostly a stroke issue thats whay wondering about compatibility of the cylinder head thanks in advance aloso i guess one last thing should i stick with the 255 cams or go to somethign little bigger may 258 or something the set up in bike right now runs only 78 HP on dyno but must have gobs of torque as it works as well as a buddies who dynoed right before me with 97

Last edited by superstandardFL; Sep 23, 2009 at 10:26 AM. Reason: additional info

Sep 23, 2009 | 10:32 AM

gabulldog

Tourer

Joined: Apr 2008

Posts: 404

Likes: 1

From: Athens, Georgia

My experience with the TC engine is that the heads are probably the most important item to get "real" power from the engines. I don't think it is a big deal if you go with the Screamin Eagle heads or heads from "Branch" - "Head Qtrs" ,etc. I will say go with a reputable head guy not just a guy in a shop with a die grinder. They are going to be $6-800 for the machine work + cores no matter who you use. Good Luck, Make sure your parts /head work / etc. match your riding style.

Sep 23, 2009 | 03:39 PM

gunnert

Road Captain

Joined: Sep 2006

Posts: 749

Likes: 2

Those 255 cams do not warrant the expense of bigger valves and extreme porting or polishing. You'll be very happy with a mild porting only of the heads. You should be able to get by with around $300 max. The 06/07 heads are the same.

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Sep 23, 2009 | 04:03 PM

qtrracer

Ultimate HDF Member

Joined: Jan 2008

Posts: 6,532

Likes: 132

From: SoCal

The SE heads that you mention need matching SE pistons to match the combustion chambers or the comp ratio will be way off . Just pay the core charge to a reputable head guy so you can keep yours until you get the ported ones if you want to.

Sep 23, 2009 | 04:09 PM

Firetender

Road Warrior

Joined: May 2006

Posts: 1,479

Likes: 4

From: SoCal

I'd never put out-of-the-box SE heads on my bike without having them gone through, but that's just me. And I would not change out the heads without installing mid-lift cams at the same time to save the expense of labor and tuning costs.

Sep 23, 2009 | 05:53 PM

jag1886

Grand HDF Member

Joined: Sep 2007

Posts: 4,109

Likes: 37

From: Boise Idaho

You've already headed down the wrong road you will probably have to at least change the pistons, cam and have the heads ported top get good performance.
Harley heads are almost to big to start with for street bikes and the SE heads are even worse unless you are cranking the throttle all day long.

Sep 23, 2009 | 06:13 PM

emwolb

Ultimate HDF Member

Joined: Aug 2008

Posts: 5,413

Likes: 17

From: eastern oklahoma

check out bigboyz head porting in augusta maine. their site is impressive, and will show you a ton of information as to why you want to stay away from 05 and earlier heads for several reasons. from the information and pictures in their site, it looks impressive the work they do. that being said, good old hanks mule rentals and harley head porting down the road can come up with an impressive website nowadays. beware. watch out for the guy who has a die grinder and some abrasive flap wheels who wants to experiment with your heads. everything has to work in concert to reach that sweet spot of a great running harley that is still as dependable as stock.

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Sep 23, 2009 | 06:34 PM

Firetender

Road Warrior

Joined: May 2006

Posts: 1,479

Likes: 4

From: SoCal

Emwold is correct, don't go with just anybody out there when you have your heads, S&S, or SE heads ported. I used Dick O'Brien's protege, who just happens to have a shop down the road and has more work than he needs. Who's Dick O'brien? Dick O'Brien was Harley-Davidson's highly successful racing manager from 1957 to 1983. Under O’Brien's direction, Harley-Davidson factory riders won 16 AMA Grand National Championships. He also oversaw the development of the Harley-Davidson XR750, which became the most successful racing motorcycle ever to turn a wheel on the dirt-track ovals of America. In addition to dirt track and road racing, O'Brien also directed diverse Harley-Davidson racing programs such as motocross, desert racing and land-speed record attempts. Of course he left HD for NASCAR and for eight years passed his proprietary methods to Ken Henderson of Henderson Performance. So like Emwold says, watch out for "Hanks Mule Rentals" or whatever he's talking about.