Showing posts with label H-D FLHR Road King. Show all posts
Showing posts with label H-D FLHR Road King. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Road King Update 5th November 2011
Things have moved on apace at Cycle Enterprises and my 1994 Road King is beginning to resemble a motorcycle again. Much of the re-constructed, re-conditioned and/or replacement cycle parts are in place and the engine is getting close to completion too.
Starting at the back-end the sub-frame covers, rear crash bars and pannier supports have arrived back from powder-coating. They’re black as black and bolted in place, looking much, much better than the corroded chrome and bubbled paint they presented before.
Geoff’s also fitted the Progressive Suspension Tour Link to hopefully lessen flex at the swing arm and stiffen it up. No problem at all going on he noted, especially as the previous exhaust has gone and the S&S SPO Touring mufflers and Power Tune Duals exhaust system have yet to be fitted.
Also on now is the 940 Ultra Touring Series rear shocks from Progressive Suspension which look fantastic in place, it’s almost a given that they should handle much better than my tired old Progressives but have also dropped the back end down an inch to match the new cartridges in the forks. Geoff, confident, initially bolted the new shocks on upside down as they’re effectively designed upside down - luckily unconvinced though he finally checked the fitting instructions in the box and counter-intuitively - mounted the 940s the right way up.At the front end we discussed the seized GMA floating rotors which don’t float and Geoff showed me the partially stripped six pot calipers which are pretty much seized as well and in need of pads. All agreed it would be a pig of a job to recondition any of it - damn you salted roads! To compound the problem unfortunately GMA’s six-pot system has long ago been discontinued and the company itself is now sold and been absorbed by someone else. Even getting the bespoke pads for the calipers is proving difficult. Once again on this project I might have to revise the ‘just doing it up a bit’ mindset and cast around for a different, more convincing and reliable solution. That solution will probably involve a bigger, more established company which is well known and respected for their braking systems, who almost incidentally also carry, as a matter of course, an extensive back catalogue of spares and consumables for any of the systems they’ve ever supplied. You know, just a thought.
However the forks are done, the Progressive Suspension Monotube fork kit slipped into my ‘retro’ fork legs no problem whatsoever. Cautiously Geoff let me know that the new hi-tech tackle was effectively a lowering kit and he had chosen the less radical drop; one inch lower springs rather than the alternative shorter springs supplied in the kit which would lower the front end two inches. I was happy with his choice, it is exactly what I was hoping for. The forks do look bleeding short even one inch lowered, but I guess there’s not much of them stock once the Road King’s distinctive chrome headlight cowl is removed. Geoff also asked carefully if during my ownership of the machine anybody had dismantled the forks. I replied in the negative which was fortunate as a under a previous owner, someone had put them back together wrong, short ancillary springs in each fork had been in completely the wrong pace. So I’d ridden it that way for a good eight years and basically never realised. Scary, but it handled okay I thought, now the handling has seen all these 21st Century upgrades though I should appreciate the difference.
Ah the engine: It’s looking very clean and purposeful in lots of shiny black with the odd polished or chromed highlight. It’s looking better than brand new already and I can’t wait to see it all in one piece. Hearing it fire up again almost seems like an impossible dream after so much time, but the project really is getting that close. The bottom end is more or less complete and complemented by re-painted barrels and heads. Also looking great is the new chromed Twin Cam 88 long case primary I’d picked up at Manchester H-D during one of their sales. I’d carefully lined it up alongside my original shoddy Evo long primary and they looked very similar and had soon after bought a new gasket which I was relieved carried the same stud pattern between Evo and 88. John Reed over in California has made me up an adapter in his home workshops for the original Evo three stud chromed derby cover. That will hopefully allow it to be fitted to the Twin Cam primary case. Any problems though and I’ll be in the market for a Twin Cam derby cover, which should get a few confused looks from anyone in the know once the Evo is back on the road. Geoff reported no problems fitting the newer primary case to the decade older, earlier generation lump by the way. Way to go Harley-Davidson Motor Co. who don’t normally change everything at once, especially if it works.
My original starter motor has also been blacked out and gone back on (there was never anything wrong with it) but the new show-chromed heavy-duty Terry’s starter I’d basically swiped off my girlfriend Mandie on spec hasn’t gone on Her shiny starter is definitely for Sportsters only. You can tell the difference I was patiently told when the starter motor is off the engine by looking at the grubby end where its gears engage with the motor proper. Still live and learn, and yet another good reason to do these projects.
Special for me but not for Cycle Enterprises where it’s all in a day’s work, was that the S&S 510V Camshaft is now in place. Geoff just threw that factoid in almost as an aside, so I’’m guessing that it wasn’t too much of a hassle. So too I’m guessing that the S&S High Performance Hydraulic Tappets are also installed, seeing as the bottom end is complete and likewise was so easy a task that he never thought to mention it specifically and, okay, I forgot to ask. So er, yeah I’m guessing they’re are already in place when he assembled the rest of the bottom end. It would be logical Captain.
Top end wise Geoff has re-cut the valve seats and polished the exhaust outlets in the head and replaced the tired, slightly pitted exhaust valves with a new set supplied by Manley. He explained that exhaust valves lead a much harder life than the the inlet valves and mine were looking a tad rough but not unexpected given the mileage and age of the bike. The exhaust valves were too rough unfortunately to attempt to re-cut as so much meat would have had to be removed that the valve would’ve risen too far into the rocker boxes.
Chatting with Tony who I’d collected en-route we’ve decided to polish the distinctive Evo rocker box and covers top and bottom with the distinctive Evolution middle sections painted gloss black - so perhaps looking like a a particularly generous Marmite sandwich with a bit of luck. When they come back to Geoff, he’ll finish the top end, installing the S&S Quickee Pushrod Set which were sitting tantalisingly close to the motor which are ready to be dropped inside their thin chromed sleeves and over the new S&S lifters.
When Tony and I popped in on fireworks day, we also took the opportunity to drop off the original petrol tank which Tony has restored to a gleam. He’s invisibly filled a small chip in the paintwork. The chip was luckily on the black area. This is a good thing; matching the silver would have been a real bitch, matching blacks is hard enough. Tony has also lovingly re-polished the lacquer to a glass-like finish. If the work he’s yet to do on the colour-matched panniers and mudguards come out anything like as perfect I’ll be more than well chuffed.
So Big Thanks this instalment to Geoff and the crew at Cycle Enterprises (Stoke Golding, Warwickshire Tel: 01455 213 007), nice one guys!
.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Road King project Update August 2011
The pace is picking up as everything starts to finally come together on the project. Last weekend I drove South and delivered the last large item down to Geoff at Cycle Enterprises, the Progressive Suspension Monotube fork kit for Touring and Softail models.
This is intended to replace the whole internal open bath damping assembly and promises to offer a high-performance ride, considerably improving the fork’s handling under braking and cornering. I’m really hoping that the Monotube kit will drop into my old 1994-5 forks without too much bother, which if they do, in effect will become low-tech retro skins over 21st Century gas charged monotube and progressive spring fork technology. New for 2011, neither Geoff or Tony had seen the Progressive Suspension Monotube fork kit before so they caused not a little excitement.
Still on the front-end we discussed the seized GMA floating rotors. I’d fired off an e-mail to BDL, who now own GMA, but as of yet I’ve not heard back from the guys, so other options had to be explored. On closer inspection the bobbins appear to be possibly stainless, if so they might just need some cleaning up rather than replacing. We’ve decided to whip the twin discs off and Tony will take them away and release the rotors from their carriers and give the bobbins a coat of looking at. He’ll also clean up the carriers, removing the last of the chrome and paint them black. Hopefully, removing any road dirt from around the bobbins and polishing them will allow the rotor to float free from the carrier once re-assembled and, considering the ferrous iron rotors are otherwise fine and the twin 6-pot calipers are fine, job could well be done.
Meanwhile Geoff has whipped off the rear sub-frame covers and pannier supports and sent them off for powder-coating black and they’re due back soon. Tony let me visit my petrol tank which has been kept well away from the busy workshop, and despite the fact that he hasn’t yet finished fettling it, it’s looking extremely shiny. Tony will lavish the same treatment on the panniers.
Geoff has got the go-ahead to begin the build proper as we’re no longer waiting for anything important on the main part of the bike. He’ll re-assemble the motor, adding the new S&S goodies and closely inspect the original parts for wear. Much of what Geoff can offer my Road King motor might not be necessary, he remarked when he took it down that it seemed in remarkably good condition. So only if his experienced Evo-eye picks up an issue and Geoff feels it needs it will he hone the barrels and/or re-seat the valves, likewise he could port and polish the heads. Though I was kind of hoping the port and polish would happen anyway, I can fully agree with the ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ ethos and if truth be told, the motor was already a cracker before the project started.
Geoff has got the go-ahead to begin the build proper as we’re no longer waiting for anything important on the main part of the bike. He’ll re-assemble the motor, adding the new S&S goodies and closely inspect the original parts for wear. Much of what Geoff can offer my Road King motor might not be necessary, he remarked when he took it down that it seemed in remarkably good condition. So only if his experienced Evo-eye picks up an issue and Geoff feels it needs it will he hone the barrels and/or re-seat the valves, likewise he could port and polish the heads. Though I was kind of hoping the port and polish would happen anyway, I can fully agree with the ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ ethos and if truth be told, the motor was already a cracker before the project started.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
The project progresses
Blog Update Road King July 2011
A lot’s been done since the last entry on my Evo Road King evolution so you might want to make a cup of tea and get comfortable:
PART ONE
As planned, Geoff at Cycle Enterprises (Stoke Golding, Warwickshire Tel: 01455 213 007)
pulled out and broke the motor and put it to one side to concentrate on the unhealthy frame. He then stripped, blasted and dipped the frame to properly expose the damage, which was truly frightening. At the bottom rear loops of the engine cradle, the top of those frame tubes had rotted away, leaving only strips of cupped metal to brace and accept the swing arm assembly. Basically it could have failed catastrophically at any time, and Tony’s probing finger pushed through the paint on the gussets a year ago probably saved my life. Geoff, and other Cycle Enterprises bods, Gabby and Blackie, then chopped out and painstakingly reconstructed the dodgy areas, replacing old tubing and re-welding new plate where necessary. They’ve done a cracking job; and with the new paint laid on by Tony – who prefers paint on frames to powder-coat – it’s looking like brand new.
Tony has also been taking parts back to his workshop for painting and powder-coating as Geoff has released them, and when I went down in mid-April, he and I took the barrels and heads back to Geoff’s – all four of which Tony has sprayed with single adhesion 2K black, this glossy black engine paint looks really good and is apparently very resistant to chipping.
Tony has also had the wheels out and has cleaned them up blacking them out completely though the original intention, to polish the sides of the rims, has gone by the wayside as it was going to cost way too much. But concerned about the sheer amount of uninterrupted black with the wheels and tyres I ran it past Andy the Ed and he suggested running a pinstripe round it’s circumference in the same red as that on the original tank paintwork separating the black and silver, so Tony’s going to do that once the wheels are back in and the bike is still suspended on the lift.
PART TWO
Bruce Tessmer at S&S contacted Am-V central and asked if we would be interested in reviewing their new style SPO Touring mufflers and and, if we wanted, their new Power Tune Duals too. This was right at the time I was casting around for a new system to replace the Bubba Cross-Dressers that had done sterling service on my Road King for many years. After our understandably enthusiastic response, Bruce was careful to make sure of my Road King’s spec and we armed him with the its VIN number to make identification as precise as possible (my Road King being registered in 1994 while this model was introduced for 1995 and seeing not a few changes in a short amount of time). Bearing in mind the bike’s near stock spec and that the engine was already out of the frame and part disassembled on Geoff’s benches at Cycle Enterprises - and I guess, presumably wanting me to review the new S&S exhaust system in its best light - he also further suggested additional performance upgrades too (listed below) and sent them through at the same time.
SPO™ Touring Mufflers, (kit featuring Black End Caps, Standard, Chrome,1995-up)
S&S Catalog Part number: 550-0002:
As with the previous fully chrome S&S oval section silencers I sold to Nick the ex-bike copper which effectively started this whole project, this pair are heavy, really heavy. Hopefully this means that they carry plenty of silencing tech and won't be silly loud. S&S liken the sound of these new silencers to the low rumble of an American 1960’s muscle car, I reckon I can live with that. The Xylan® Black end caps on these new silencers should really suit the theme of the bike too and their oval section should also compliment the panniers, being mounted directly underneath.
Interestingly the S&S catalog mentions that their SPO™ Touring Mufflers offer increased performance with the proviso that they ‘work best with S&S air cleaner and/or camshaft upgrade’ both of which were included as part of Bruce’s consignment.
S&S Power Tune Duals (Pipe, Exhaust, Header, 2 Into 2,1995-2008 Touring)
S&S Catalog Part number: 550-0003:
These are a great looking pair of ‘pipes which moves the rear cylinder header underneath the frame rather than through it over the starter motor in order to protect the pillion passenger from radiated heat (a frequent complaint to me from passengers on H-D’s Touring range) and has the added bonus of really tidying up the right hand side. Whether the rear pot pipe will affect ground clearance remains to be seen, but the promotional photo of the system in-situ with the silencers above fitted to a Twin Cam Road Glide seems to indicate that the Power Tune Duals leave plenty of room. If the SPO™ Touring Mufflers above aren’t to everyone’s taste though, S&S indicate that these Power Tune Duals are compatible with any other slip-on silencers.
Apart from looking extremely clean, S&S claim their Power Tune Duals system offers an extra 8 horsepower over stock, which if true will make a significant difference to my venerable old ‘King
S&S Teardrop Air Cleaner kit (Stock CV/EFI, Chrome,1993-2011)
S&S Catalog Part number: 17-0450
Ever since I became aware of Harley-Davidsons and dreamed of one day owning one, I’ve wanted my Harleys to be fitted with S&S’s iconic Teardrop air-cleaner. It will fit my Road King’s stock CV carb and that the Teardrop also potentially offers an additional 5 horses over stock according to the catalog is near nigh perfect.
S&S 510V Camshaft (1984-'99 Big Twins)
S&S Catalog part number: 33-5124
The 510V ‘bolt-in’ cam Bruce has chosen is exactly the cam I would have chosen myself as it should offer a bit more punch in the mid-range without affecting adversely smooth power delivery throughout the range. It’s relatively straightforward to fit according to both S&S and Geoff at Cycle Enterprises (once the top-end has been pulled off the engine as mine has) and is intended as a drop in improvement for lower/stock compression, stock capacity Big Twin engines.
S&S Quickee Pushrod Set (for use with Hydraulic Tappet below and 80"-98", 113", 117", 124" displacement, 1984-'99 Big Twins)
S&S Catalog part number: 93-5120
And
S&S High Performance Hydraulic Tappets (aka lifters, 1984-'99 Big Twins and 1986-'90 XL)
S&S Catalog part number: 33-5352
These high-quality steel pushrods are adjustable to work with a variety of different cams and don’t require replacement pushrod covers. The Quickee Pushrods can be installed without removing the rocker covers. The High Performance Hydraulic Tappets are intended for all Harley-Davidson Evolution Big Twin engines and come as standard fitting on S&S’s own V-Series engines. They’re designed to reduce stress in the motor and ensuring both the top and bottom-ends won’t get starved of oil.
So Bruce at S&S has sent both the pushrods and the lifters to make best use of their 510V cam (which itself has been sent to make best use of their new exhaust system), the new ‘internals’ are designed to work together and therefore we’re maintaining an integrity throughout the valve train … everyone knows what’s where. Hopefully then there shouldn’t be any surprises other than happy ones. If everything above works out as planned when fitted to my eighteen year old, previously close to stock 1340cc Evolution, then I should expect a significant (though possibly not too major) performance improvement. I’m hoping that the upgrades will enhance an engine which still feels recognisably mine, but with more mid range power.
PART THREE
With hopefully more power, it’s a good idea to look at up-rating the handling too. Progressive Suspension have just announced their 940 Ultra Touring shocks, which will drop the back end of the bike down – Street Glide-style – without compromising suspension travel , and last issue’s news (Am-V 46) tells of their new Monotube Fork Kit, which slots a much improved cartridge damping mechanism into a conventional fork – and which come with one or two-inch lowering options. We’ll be reviewing both, to see how they’ll transform the ride of this evolved Evo, and would be foolish to pass-up the offer to see how Progressive’s Touring Link chassis stabiliser fares in stiffening up the bike’s handling. Both the rear shocks and the stabiliser are now with Geoff, and as soon as the monotube fork kit arrives I’ll get that down there too. However as the front end is more or less a separate component in it’s own right it won’t hold up any other work on the rest of the Road King.
In early June I loaded the car with the new S&S goodies and drove down to deliver them to Geoff at Cycle Enterprises picking up Tony from Classic Approach on the way down who saw an opportunity to clean up the bottom end while it was out of the frame. Finding a handy plastic tub we loaded the bottom end into the car and took it back to Classic Approach where using super strong and sticky carpet tape to mask it’s internals Tony has dipped it in Nitromors, cleaned it, swilled out the internals and re-painted it. We’ve taken the now lovely bottom end back to Geoff’s and there’s little to stop him putting the motor back together with the S&S upgrades.
Geoff will hopefully port and polish the heads too, an intricate sculpting process that improves gas flow, aiding a cleaner burn and therefore better petrol efficiency and more power: quite literally more bang for your buck. This might be an Evo, (often seen as the first modern Harley engine) but casting and machining technology were still relatively crude when it was new, so hand finishing and applying proven principles in terms of the shape of the port can make a worthwhile difference to the performance.
Tony and I also took away the petrol tank/s (which are in one piece under the speedo console) which Tony has cleaned up and worked his polishing magic with his mysterious compounds to bring the showroom brightness back. The tanks are great quality and we might not need to re-lacquer them as the original paint both on it and the mudguards (18 years old and un-garaged - well done H-D) are in great nick and virtually un-marked.
Later on Tony will take away the tired and flaking sub-frame covers to strip off the chrome and then paint black. He will also take the mudguard supports and the pannier supports to strip and re-paint that lot too. Tony suggests leaving the mudguards in place on the bike and he’ll polish them up in-situ. He’s also taking the rear disk brake rotor and will paint the middle black and maybe even pinstripe red to match.
However the floating front rotors, the centre carriers of which I intended to get painted black too have hit a sizable snag. Geoff pointed out last time I was down that the fully floating ductile iron disks have seized on their bobbins. Geoff indicated that I might need possibly some new discs as there’s no point going to the trouble of painting these carriers. Tch! My 6-pot calipers, rotors and carriers appear to be discontinued GMA items possibly rationalised when GMA were bought out by BDL (Brake Drives Limited). A brief look on the internet:
(here and here)
has found what very much appears to be the GMA 6 piston differential bore caliper and rotor kit fitted to my Road King (I realise under normal circumstances I ought to know exactly what’s fitted to my bike but the kit was handed to me unboxed as a rather cool present). Further net research has also indicated that anybody’s rotors might do at a pinch, fully floating or otherwise - but they’re not cheap either. So I originally wondered whether I could get away with treating my rotors as if they’re solid and get the carriers painted anyway as a stop gap, a pair of new rotors added as another item on the ‘Would Be Nice To Do Later’ list (which already includes tidier switchgear housings, foot boards and foot controls). However there are other options to explore first; I’m going to contact BDL and ask if they can supply me with two sets of replacement bobbins (looking at Billet’s replacements indicate that they should work out at about a fiver apiece hopefully) or if they’re out of stock perhaps the engineering drawings that a good custom engineer over this side of the pond could follow and knock out a set on a CNC machine. It’s got to be worth a try, the GMA 6-pot conversion up front has been a boon to the bike.
I’ll let you know how I get on
Rich
A lot’s been done since the last entry on my Evo Road King evolution so you might want to make a cup of tea and get comfortable:
PART ONE
As planned, Geoff at Cycle Enterprises (Stoke Golding, Warwickshire Tel: 01455 213 007)
pulled out and broke the motor and put it to one side to concentrate on the unhealthy frame. He then stripped, blasted and dipped the frame to properly expose the damage, which was truly frightening. At the bottom rear loops of the engine cradle, the top of those frame tubes had rotted away, leaving only strips of cupped metal to brace and accept the swing arm assembly. Basically it could have failed catastrophically at any time, and Tony’s probing finger pushed through the paint on the gussets a year ago probably saved my life. Geoff, and other Cycle Enterprises bods, Gabby and Blackie, then chopped out and painstakingly reconstructed the dodgy areas, replacing old tubing and re-welding new plate where necessary. They’ve done a cracking job; and with the new paint laid on by Tony – who prefers paint on frames to powder-coat – it’s looking like brand new.
Tony has also been taking parts back to his workshop for painting and powder-coating as Geoff has released them, and when I went down in mid-April, he and I took the barrels and heads back to Geoff’s – all four of which Tony has sprayed with single adhesion 2K black, this glossy black engine paint looks really good and is apparently very resistant to chipping.
Tony has also had the wheels out and has cleaned them up blacking them out completely though the original intention, to polish the sides of the rims, has gone by the wayside as it was going to cost way too much. But concerned about the sheer amount of uninterrupted black with the wheels and tyres I ran it past Andy the Ed and he suggested running a pinstripe round it’s circumference in the same red as that on the original tank paintwork separating the black and silver, so Tony’s going to do that once the wheels are back in and the bike is still suspended on the lift.
PART TWOBruce Tessmer at S&S contacted Am-V central and asked if we would be interested in reviewing their new style SPO Touring mufflers and and, if we wanted, their new Power Tune Duals too. This was right at the time I was casting around for a new system to replace the Bubba Cross-Dressers that had done sterling service on my Road King for many years. After our understandably enthusiastic response, Bruce was careful to make sure of my Road King’s spec and we armed him with the its VIN number to make identification as precise as possible (my Road King being registered in 1994 while this model was introduced for 1995 and seeing not a few changes in a short amount of time). Bearing in mind the bike’s near stock spec and that the engine was already out of the frame and part disassembled on Geoff’s benches at Cycle Enterprises - and I guess, presumably wanting me to review the new S&S exhaust system in its best light - he also further suggested additional performance upgrades too (listed below) and sent them through at the same time.
SPO™ Touring Mufflers, (kit featuring Black End Caps, Standard, Chrome,1995-up)
S&S Catalog Part number: 550-0002:
As with the previous fully chrome S&S oval section silencers I sold to Nick the ex-bike copper which effectively started this whole project, this pair are heavy, really heavy. Hopefully this means that they carry plenty of silencing tech and won't be silly loud. S&S liken the sound of these new silencers to the low rumble of an American 1960’s muscle car, I reckon I can live with that. The Xylan® Black end caps on these new silencers should really suit the theme of the bike too and their oval section should also compliment the panniers, being mounted directly underneath.
Interestingly the S&S catalog mentions that their SPO™ Touring Mufflers offer increased performance with the proviso that they ‘work best with S&S air cleaner and/or camshaft upgrade’ both of which were included as part of Bruce’s consignment.
S&S Power Tune Duals (Pipe, Exhaust, Header, 2 Into 2,1995-2008 Touring)
S&S Catalog Part number: 550-0003:
These are a great looking pair of ‘pipes which moves the rear cylinder header underneath the frame rather than through it over the starter motor in order to protect the pillion passenger from radiated heat (a frequent complaint to me from passengers on H-D’s Touring range) and has the added bonus of really tidying up the right hand side. Whether the rear pot pipe will affect ground clearance remains to be seen, but the promotional photo of the system in-situ with the silencers above fitted to a Twin Cam Road Glide seems to indicate that the Power Tune Duals leave plenty of room. If the SPO™ Touring Mufflers above aren’t to everyone’s taste though, S&S indicate that these Power Tune Duals are compatible with any other slip-on silencers.
Apart from looking extremely clean, S&S claim their Power Tune Duals system offers an extra 8 horsepower over stock, which if true will make a significant difference to my venerable old ‘King
S&S Teardrop Air Cleaner kit (Stock CV/EFI, Chrome,1993-2011)
S&S Catalog Part number: 17-0450
Ever since I became aware of Harley-Davidsons and dreamed of one day owning one, I’ve wanted my Harleys to be fitted with S&S’s iconic Teardrop air-cleaner. It will fit my Road King’s stock CV carb and that the Teardrop also potentially offers an additional 5 horses over stock according to the catalog is near nigh perfect.
S&S 510V Camshaft (1984-'99 Big Twins)
S&S Catalog part number: 33-5124
The 510V ‘bolt-in’ cam Bruce has chosen is exactly the cam I would have chosen myself as it should offer a bit more punch in the mid-range without affecting adversely smooth power delivery throughout the range. It’s relatively straightforward to fit according to both S&S and Geoff at Cycle Enterprises (once the top-end has been pulled off the engine as mine has) and is intended as a drop in improvement for lower/stock compression, stock capacity Big Twin engines.
S&S Quickee Pushrod Set (for use with Hydraulic Tappet below and 80"-98", 113", 117", 124" displacement, 1984-'99 Big Twins)
S&S Catalog part number: 93-5120
And
S&S High Performance Hydraulic Tappets (aka lifters, 1984-'99 Big Twins and 1986-'90 XL)
S&S Catalog part number: 33-5352
These high-quality steel pushrods are adjustable to work with a variety of different cams and don’t require replacement pushrod covers. The Quickee Pushrods can be installed without removing the rocker covers. The High Performance Hydraulic Tappets are intended for all Harley-Davidson Evolution Big Twin engines and come as standard fitting on S&S’s own V-Series engines. They’re designed to reduce stress in the motor and ensuring both the top and bottom-ends won’t get starved of oil.
So Bruce at S&S has sent both the pushrods and the lifters to make best use of their 510V cam (which itself has been sent to make best use of their new exhaust system), the new ‘internals’ are designed to work together and therefore we’re maintaining an integrity throughout the valve train … everyone knows what’s where. Hopefully then there shouldn’t be any surprises other than happy ones. If everything above works out as planned when fitted to my eighteen year old, previously close to stock 1340cc Evolution, then I should expect a significant (though possibly not too major) performance improvement. I’m hoping that the upgrades will enhance an engine which still feels recognisably mine, but with more mid range power.
PART THREE
With hopefully more power, it’s a good idea to look at up-rating the handling too. Progressive Suspension have just announced their 940 Ultra Touring shocks, which will drop the back end of the bike down – Street Glide-style – without compromising suspension travel , and last issue’s news (Am-V 46) tells of their new Monotube Fork Kit, which slots a much improved cartridge damping mechanism into a conventional fork – and which come with one or two-inch lowering options. We’ll be reviewing both, to see how they’ll transform the ride of this evolved Evo, and would be foolish to pass-up the offer to see how Progressive’s Touring Link chassis stabiliser fares in stiffening up the bike’s handling. Both the rear shocks and the stabiliser are now with Geoff, and as soon as the monotube fork kit arrives I’ll get that down there too. However as the front end is more or less a separate component in it’s own right it won’t hold up any other work on the rest of the Road King.
In early June I loaded the car with the new S&S goodies and drove down to deliver them to Geoff at Cycle Enterprises picking up Tony from Classic Approach on the way down who saw an opportunity to clean up the bottom end while it was out of the frame. Finding a handy plastic tub we loaded the bottom end into the car and took it back to Classic Approach where using super strong and sticky carpet tape to mask it’s internals Tony has dipped it in Nitromors, cleaned it, swilled out the internals and re-painted it. We’ve taken the now lovely bottom end back to Geoff’s and there’s little to stop him putting the motor back together with the S&S upgrades.
Geoff will hopefully port and polish the heads too, an intricate sculpting process that improves gas flow, aiding a cleaner burn and therefore better petrol efficiency and more power: quite literally more bang for your buck. This might be an Evo, (often seen as the first modern Harley engine) but casting and machining technology were still relatively crude when it was new, so hand finishing and applying proven principles in terms of the shape of the port can make a worthwhile difference to the performance.
Tony and I also took away the petrol tank/s (which are in one piece under the speedo console) which Tony has cleaned up and worked his polishing magic with his mysterious compounds to bring the showroom brightness back. The tanks are great quality and we might not need to re-lacquer them as the original paint both on it and the mudguards (18 years old and un-garaged - well done H-D) are in great nick and virtually un-marked.
Later on Tony will take away the tired and flaking sub-frame covers to strip off the chrome and then paint black. He will also take the mudguard supports and the pannier supports to strip and re-paint that lot too. Tony suggests leaving the mudguards in place on the bike and he’ll polish them up in-situ. He’s also taking the rear disk brake rotor and will paint the middle black and maybe even pinstripe red to match.
However the floating front rotors, the centre carriers of which I intended to get painted black too have hit a sizable snag. Geoff pointed out last time I was down that the fully floating ductile iron disks have seized on their bobbins. Geoff indicated that I might need possibly some new discs as there’s no point going to the trouble of painting these carriers. Tch! My 6-pot calipers, rotors and carriers appear to be discontinued GMA items possibly rationalised when GMA were bought out by BDL (Brake Drives Limited). A brief look on the internet:
(here and here)
has found what very much appears to be the GMA 6 piston differential bore caliper and rotor kit fitted to my Road King (I realise under normal circumstances I ought to know exactly what’s fitted to my bike but the kit was handed to me unboxed as a rather cool present). Further net research has also indicated that anybody’s rotors might do at a pinch, fully floating or otherwise - but they’re not cheap either. So I originally wondered whether I could get away with treating my rotors as if they’re solid and get the carriers painted anyway as a stop gap, a pair of new rotors added as another item on the ‘Would Be Nice To Do Later’ list (which already includes tidier switchgear housings, foot boards and foot controls). However there are other options to explore first; I’m going to contact BDL and ask if they can supply me with two sets of replacement bobbins (looking at Billet’s replacements indicate that they should work out at about a fiver apiece hopefully) or if they’re out of stock perhaps the engineering drawings that a good custom engineer over this side of the pond could follow and knock out a set on a CNC machine. It’s got to be worth a try, the GMA 6-pot conversion up front has been a boon to the bike.
I’ll let you know how I get on
Rich
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
FLHR Road King - update
Out of the frying pan
A couple of weeks ago I rode down to Leicester to consult my very old and irritable friend Tony, who runs Classic Approach a respected motorcycle paint shop and who is also extremely handy around bikes generally. In truth, I was after a quick fix tidy-up of the Road King which is, bless it, definitely looking its age. Furthermore I was hoping to get Tony to slap on a shiny Twin Cam chain-case I’d scored sometime back and a delicious pair of S&S silencers that I’d bought from Bill at the Trading Post just before he called it quits.
The consultation/piss-take started well but Tony soon spotted a potential problem, both gusset plates supporting the rear loop of the main frame, right by the swinging arm mount looked dodgy, and Tony, apologising as he did so, pushed his finger right through the flaky paint and then alarmingly right through the rusted plates. Damn you British winters and salted roads. A small job had just turned into a major re-build. I can’t say I was delighted, but hey, that’s why I’d ridden the bike over to Tony’s in the first place, he‘s got a practiced eye for just that kind of thing. Not knowing what other rot might be lurking elsewhere around the frame, it was soon agreed that the best thing was just to strip the Road King down completely, blast the frame clean, weld it up where needed and then either powder-coat it or paint it.
Not normally all that flush with cash I however finished a new logo for local mate (Hairy) Pete who was launching a new parts business: Mr B’s Custom Cycles (mr-b-customcycles.co.uk) and then sold a load of my Road King cast-offs to another mate, ex-motorcycle cop Nick who had just recently scored a 1995 FLHR himself. But though he virtually cleaned me out of unwanted chrome kak, I had to let him have the S&S silencers too, which in fairness was all he’d really come over to see anyway.
Some folding now in pocket, last weekend I rode back down to Leicester. Picking up Tony I followed him over to see Geoff and we chatted about what happens next. He’s doing the strip down and rebuild, checking the top end of the motor while it’s out and rebuilding the forks with new seals. Meanwhile, Tony will ferret away parts liberated, clean them, polish them or paint them. So that was that, I tearfully left the Road King there with a down payment.Here’s the rough check list (subject of course to change):
1. Frame: Bead-blasted clean, re-welded where required then painted or powder-coated depending on bank balance.
2. Engine: Top end looked at, probably de-coked, possibly ported and polished. Serious new and shiny Terry’s starter motor fitted (because I had one - thanks Reedie btw). Re-painted barrels and bottom end, new Twin Cam chain-case fitted (using a one-off adapter to take my old Evo 3 screw derby cover - thanks Reedie again) or strip chrome from old chain-case and polish, re-chrome or paint black. Generally fettle. Possibly new exhaust system, or fettle existing system, the saucily named Bubba Cross-Dressers.3. Wheels: Re-paint black, leaving only polished rims, JMA front brake disc inners, paint black or at least strip awful old chrome off and polish.
4. Brightwork: Paint to be kept standard (I like it and it’s the absolutely original Road King colour scheme) but brought back to life by Tony and re-lacquered, while other parts looking iffy (like the subframe covers) to be stripped and painted black. Cool.
5. Odds & Sods: Like cables and switchgear. I’ve left them with Geoff, if they go on they go on.The end result should be really very nice, most definitely a 1995 Evo Road King, but improved somewhat, cleaner and even a bit meaner.
Rich
Saturday, January 2, 2010
FLHR Road King: Introduction
A 1994-registered Road King, it is the very first of the FLHR line, introduced for the 1995 model year to replace the Electra Glide Sport, and is therefore in the distinctive (and yet to be bettered) black and silver livery with the subtle red pin stripe. It seemed in pretty good nick and rode well enough, but unfortunately was bedecked with lights and gee-gaws, Live to Ride bolt-on 'goodies', a massively over padded long-haul two-up seat and was missing its windshield. Negotiation beckoned, he settled for £6,500 cash, and finally I was the owner of my own Harley-Davidson heavyweight Big Twin - a far cry from my previous beloved Sportster - heading back the following weekend to pick it up, two-up with Andy on a 2002 model Road King.
I was utterly made-up for the first hundred miles and the bike ran like a dream, but the utter shame of riding such a tastelessly accessorised 'Grand Wazzoo' gradually overtook my sense of achievement and I indicated to Andy that we should pull in at what was then 'Wheels International' on the A5, grabbed my Sportster's old tool roll and began un-accessorising with a vengeance. I half-heartedly tried to off-load the teetering stack of offending items at the dealership - and unsurprisingly failed - before resorting to stuffing the panniers to overflowing. The Road King was already now looking like a bike I would own.
In pretty short order Andy located the original seats and screen for the Road King, languishing at a custom shop as as 'take-off parts', and I bought standard handlebars, grips and mirrors and arranged for a set of decent tyres. Since then the bike has seen new switchgear, a Bubba Cross Dresser exhaust system, a set of GMA differential bore calipers on floating discs up front, lots of tyres and lots and lots of miles.
I've also started a cupboard under the stairs which is slowly filling with other purchases like a set of oval-section S&S silencers which will get bolted on when I locate a set of standard down-tubes, a brand new TC88 chaincase that will bolt straight on and a one-off adaptor knocked out by John Reed so the later chain case WILL accept the Evo Derby cover. It's an ongoing project. I'm thinking of taking the Road King over to my mate Tony at Classic Approach in Leicester for his magic touch at some point, but it won't be anything radical, I've more or less taken my Road King back to standard (with some obvious improvements) because, basically, I like it that way.
Rich
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