The 103 should be a great project. Are you going to do manual or auto compression releases?

Does anyone have a dyno on the 103 with the 255, Andrews 54, or Woods TW6? I'd like to see how big the difference is between a 96 with any of those cams compared to the 103.

 

I was down in the hole .006 on the oem. After the new jugs and pistons went on, I'm still in the hole at .006 . With the Cometic .030 I'll be right at .036 which should be about right for a bagger. I could alway have them mill the heads a pinch but it's probably not worth it. I didn't get nearly as much done today as I had hoped. The ring compressor I had worked ok but I really had to take my time with it. Good thing I'm not paying myself by the hour for that part. And I had to go drop a buddy off at the dealers. He picked up a 2010 EG Ultra Classic today. I've been taking pics but to be honest I was more worried about attention to detail than taking pics. I'll have to put them in a pdf and post them when I get done.

The stock heads on my 09 are tubs. I've got a pic of one of them below.

I may go back after the fact but right now I'm more focused on paying attention to the build details. We'll see how it goes.

I am dropping the heads off to a local place in the morning. They said I'd have them back later in the week. We'll see how that goes. I've got a couple more questions for them in the morning and then I'll tell them whether I want springs done now or not. I'm not concerned about putting the stock PRs back in. I've got the bolt cutters I used to cut them out of my Ultra and I have a brand new set of adjustables hanging on the wall in my shop just in case I do decide to change cams later on.

I'm going with the manual releases.

 

Did you put the base O-ring and the other little oil return o-ring on before dropping the cylinders in place? Easily forgotten or overlooked.

Excellent work Rick. You are going to LOVE it and realize why we get so compassionate with our builds when you're finished. LOL!

Keep up the good work!

 

Darren - Funny you should ask about those o-rings. I know for sure they are there since I had to make two trips to the dealer to get them. For some reason those four o-rings weren't in the gasket kit I bought. So I went to the dealer to pick some up. They gave me the wrong smaller ones the first trip so I went back with one of the orignals the second time. I questioned them on the first ones but was told not to worry, they were the right ones. That only wasted about an hour and a half. It also confirms my always double check approach.

I even took a picture of one of them as I was double checking that they were there before sliding the jugs down. The mating surface looks kind of odd in this pic but every surface was clean before it was reassembled.

 

Dont forget compression release.

 

The mfgr specs are at the crank, not at the rear wheel. Figure on at least a 10% loss from the crank to the rear wheel.

The 255 cam is used in the SE motors, and is a stage II cam. The Limited (and the police bikes) do not get the SE motor. It's essentially a 96" TC with bigger jugs. I don't have to have the cam specs to know that. I have a 07 police bike with the 103. Essentially the same motor as in the limited. I'm putting 255's in it this winter. The only change I'm making, and will have to update the ecm when it's done. (stage II download).

 

After a long and painstaking effort - My Bike Is Alive!!!!!

It's funny how your mind works when you get ready to push the start button for the first time after a build. I had the key fob in hand and just before I flipped the switch, I'm running thru the entire build trying to think if there was anything I missed. Torque, gaskets, o-rings, piston ring alignment, wrist pin clips, cam index, did I put enough lube and oil on everything to live thru the initial start up until oil starts flowing........

Couldn’t think of anything I missed so I flipped the switch and hit the starter button. OMG.. It started on the first crank with just a few minor ticks until the oil pressure gauge came up. This thing sounds awesome! I probably looked like a big dumba$$ standing there with a big ol grin on my face.

Shut it down so I could remove the few remaining tools and rags from around the lift. Lowered it to the floor and backed it out of the garage. Started it up again and let it idle to bring it up to temp and down the street I went. Two blocks down I turned onto the highway and brought it up to 30 in 3rd gear and let it rip WOT to 60 then let it engine brake down to 30 and repeat. The only problem I had was a light rain started at the end of cycle seven during the break in process. Not wanting to risk the bike getting away on a wet road I put it back in the man room and wiped it all down. I know the break in process calls for 10 cycles but the road conditions changed to quickly to risk it. I'll have to run it a little more tonight when I get off work and then change the oil and filter.

The build took me about a day longer than I had hoped but I double checked everything and cleaned and polished as I went. It was a real learning experience and a great bonding process with the bike. It really feels like it’s my bike now.

Just from the little bit I was able to ride it last night I think the effort that went into this is going to be worth every minute and dollar invested. Thanks again for everyone’s advice and encouragement.

Did I mention this thing sounds awesome?

 

Congrats. I know exactly how you felt pushing that button for the first time. I looked around the garage for a good 15 minutes just to make sure there weren't any left over bolts/nuts/screws/parts before I hit it. Makes you feel good when it roars to life on that first attempt.

I'd feel pretty good about the 7 cycles you did and wouldn't worry too much about the other 3. Just MHO though for what that's worth....

 

Make a video and post it of it idling!!!!! LOL!!!

Congrats on a job well done!

 

Congrats on the build. It's a great feeling when you get everything back together and the bike starts with no effort on the first try. Keep us posted on how you like it. How many hours total did you spend on this project? And would you mind saying how much it was it to have the heads machined for the manual CR's? I might have missed it, but did you do anything else to the heads?