MoCo Builds vs Others

[DynaLowRider]

Last dyno on her bike was 76 hp/ 76 torq. Not sure if I want her to be able to outrun me???

 

[randyman]

Amen Brother

 

[Tigg]

I have performance upgrades on my bike but nothing too extreme. Rineharts,PCIII, and S/E, Air cleaner. It Runs awesome because the dealer knew what they were doing. In my opinion that is the key. There is an awesome article this month in American Iron by Donny Peterson on heads . Check it out it is well written and informative.

 

[tlyoungb]

I was thinking of my wifes 40 h/p 883 that we converted to a 1200.

The HD 883 is 40 HP? :shock

 

[glider]

More like 45.

Sportster

 

[Jim B.]

the MoCo parts can be very expensive but i have seen the complete 103 installed for £900 thats using stock heads, 255 cams and the 103 barrels , so you get you old ones back, because i am currently banned from working on my bike (yeah right) i had the dealer do mine and the labour doubled the price !!!!!!!!
My 103 kit was £1400 with decked and ported heads, now i used all MoCo as they despite their lack of judgement sometimes the SE/CVO boys can and do build great engines.
If i could have had my choice of parts i would have had 107 Axtel barrels and matching Piston (no case bore needed, biggest in the stock holes), sent my heads to have a nice squish band fitted and have them cleaned up and had larger intake and exhaust valves and have them cut in i would not have had them decked, i would then have had either Andrews or SE cams installed with SE rods and heavy duty springs and tappets.
But for convience i had all SE as it was readily available

As someone who has never worked on an engine (I know, I know.. I'm an embarrassement to real riders. Not all of us worked on engines as kids and never learned, or had to learn, this stuff), can someone tell me what decking and porting a cylinder head means and just what is a "squish band." Thanks.

 

[Jim B.]

Thanks, Hobbit. I can see how this customizing might become addicting. A little tweak here and a little tweak there. Choices, choices, choices.

 

[dolt]

I had to go sit in a corner for a few days with a bar of soap in my mouth; still learning the rules here! But I wanted to respond to a couple of things before retiring from this thread.

Some of the after market builds are nothing but knock offs of the HD kits.

Please name one.

When you are comparing after market and HD kits you must also look at the year. Different years engine may or may not have had issue that came up. So to say that after market XX is always better than the Hd kit is out of line. Just as it would be to say that HD kit is always better than the aftermarket.

Maybe some do but not me. However, I will say that the after market always offers more alternatives to achieve ones performance goal than the MoCo.

You must first ID what you want done to the engine...what is your end goal. Then research the option to get there by your engine and year. Then you compare price and warranties on kits or buying as parts.
You can then track down information on how well the ones that look right to you hold up. If they are found to fall short you move to the next one on your list.

If warranty is an issue and the owner is comfortable that the warranty will be honored by the dealer and the MoCo, that could certainly be a factor that would guide one toward a MoCo build; sacrifice performance for security and I get that. However, setting warranty aside, the after market alternatives will always produce more power, however you want to measure it, than a MoCo kit.

This is not 1 800 send me power is not that easy if you want to get the best value, parts and work.

Agreed

Now if you just want bagging rights you order some heads with S&S stamped on them or some SE heads and call it done. Who cares how it runs looks bad. You can cut cost in some case by taking your heads to bubbas Indy,he'll work them up for you with all the secert tricks Hd does not want you to know you'll drop some cash and bike will never be what you expect. Indy will never get the blame Hd will always seems to go that way.

If one knows what the performance goal is an knows how to get there, there is no reason why the bike should not perform as expected. I suppose some prefer to let the dealer techs (oxymoron?) do the work out of fear of the unknown or the misconception that the dealer techs are smarter than the average bear; I really don't know.

103 kits done right by a real tech work very well and are cost effective. Sad part is to many are done in the back yard and or short cuts taken to lower cost.

Ah, yes, "a real tech"; they are hard to find, aren't they. Too many owners think there is some mystique about the vtwin tractor engines that power these bikes and that making them run good is some kind of voodoo and requires a brain surgeon. It just isn't that hard to do.

If anyone thinks that a 103 kit is going to turn a bagger in to a moster they will come up way short. Does not madder whos kit they use.
If you want a deal on a 103 kit from HD winter specials. Shops are slow they offer package deals at low cost. Many times very good deals if thats what you want. HD 103 kits are good parts and if purchased right are competive with anything out there.

Most aftermarket 95" builds will run with factory 1043 kits, so I do agree that a 103 kit will not turn a bagger into a monster. An HD 103 kit may be competitive in price with aftermarket components but the peformance results are disappointing when compared to the performance of an aftermarket build.


My original post was one of curiousity; why the tendency of forum members seems to be a preference for MoCo builds to aftermarket builds and, so far, I can see three reasons for that choice:

1. Cost. Harley's are not exclusive to the US and the logistical problems and shipping cost of procuring aftermarket parts could certainly turn one toward MoCo kits supplied installed by a local dealer.

2. Warranty. Many purchase extended warranties which would be void if aftermarket components were incorporated into an engine build.

3. Technical Knowledge and Capability. Some don't have the facilities, tools, or technical knowledge to plan and assemble the correct parts for a build or are just afraid to take on a build project.

Doesn't seem that too many believe the MoCo kits will perform better than aftermarket builds; so, question has been answered.