When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
'09 FLHX stock, SERT tuned, SE/AC, supertrapp slipons. Want some more power. Was thinking of few options as I want to use all HD parts. Today I priced some OEM heads for 12-13 models that have the ACR's built in $800 for set. I want to either install heads and 255 cams and leave as '96, or also include 103 cylinders. Would heads work with either '96 or '103? Or more cost effective to have oem heads machined for ACR's? My main concern is the compression if I install cams and bigger cylinders thanks.
Do not pay $800 for a set of heads. I have a set in my garage that are from a stock 103 with ACRs that I would gladly take $450 for. I bought a set of new castings that we're drilled for ACRs for $300 that I sent off to be worked over. There are plenty of take off head sets to be had for a decent price.
Your heads are almost exactly the same with the only real difference being the ACRs. If you have a 96" and wanted the 255 cams, personally I'd just change the cams and leave everything else alone. My opinion is that the 7cu increase to a 103 is not enough to warrant a ton of money and the 96" does not really need the compression releases if you religiously start the bike in neutral.
That said, if you are going to change the heads and cylinders and cams, at least go to a 107, add a GOOD cam for that displacement and compression, and have the heads worked over by a professional.
Going from 96 to 103 isn't worth the money. If your going to change the bore go either 106 with S&S or a fuel Moto 107.
I went 106. I've got 107hp/115tq to the rear wheel. Mine was a 96.
I think the 96" motor was 9.2:1 compression, the factory 103 ( power pack) in 2011 was 9.6:1 the ACR's are nice especially with the SE255 cam I had installed.
For future engine mods, compression releases not a bad way to go. I did not get them and wished that I had on my 103 build I had done on my 07 fatboy which had 9.8:1 compression, heads by Baisley with their roller rockers, and a redshift 575 cams. it had hot start issues that compression releases would have resolved.
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.