Dan.1977P
Active Member
I've been reading the sky is falling threads about the M8 fluid migration and sumping issues on another forum but wanted to get some opinions from more level headed folks so I'll post my questions here.
For those that haven't heard, there is a sumping issue that has an actual fix, and is being covered by warranty, so that's not a real issue now. There is also a migration issue of fluid moving from the trans to the primary that hasn't been solved. Ton's of speculation and the only thing I believe is actually related is riding style. Those of us who don't shift until well after 3000 rpm appear to be the ones who have this issue so that concerns me a bit since there is no fix for it right now.
Then there is the voiding of the warranty for non EPA compliant stuff. Technically they could have been voiding it for prior years, but they agreed to follow the book for M8's for a few years so that's a bit of a concern as I may want to put a good tuner on it before the two year warranty expires.
I only mention this stuff because I test rode a 17 SGS and was underwhelmed by the performance aspect. Comfort and amenities on the SGS compared to my 06 fatboy are obviously leaps and bounds better but everyone is raving about how much better the stock 107 is over their stage 2/3 103's.
Mind you, I had maybe a 30 minute test ride but what I noticed is that it felt like there was less acceleration throughout the RPM range than my stage 2 TC88. And depending on which dyno sheet you look at, the stock 107 numbers and curves are very similar to mine. I've seen other places claim 111 lb*ft of torque stock for the 107 but I certainly didn't feel that difference. That's 20 more lb*ft than what I have and when I upgraded my 88, I noticed the extra 10 lb*ft very easily. I still almost bought the bike but when the time came to sign the paperwork, it just didn't feel right so I walked away.
So, looking at this from merely a performance factor, is there any real difference between a stock 107 and a well done stage 2 TC88? Did I find a unicorn of a shop that just did a better than average job tuning my bike? I'm starting to really consider going with a 2016 103 since the only thing I would probably miss that's on the 17's is the easy adjustment of the rear shock.
FWIW, I do believe the folks are exaggerating the fluid transfer issue by a lot but am concerned that if it did happen to me, there is currently no fix for it.
For those that haven't heard, there is a sumping issue that has an actual fix, and is being covered by warranty, so that's not a real issue now. There is also a migration issue of fluid moving from the trans to the primary that hasn't been solved. Ton's of speculation and the only thing I believe is actually related is riding style. Those of us who don't shift until well after 3000 rpm appear to be the ones who have this issue so that concerns me a bit since there is no fix for it right now.
Then there is the voiding of the warranty for non EPA compliant stuff. Technically they could have been voiding it for prior years, but they agreed to follow the book for M8's for a few years so that's a bit of a concern as I may want to put a good tuner on it before the two year warranty expires.
I only mention this stuff because I test rode a 17 SGS and was underwhelmed by the performance aspect. Comfort and amenities on the SGS compared to my 06 fatboy are obviously leaps and bounds better but everyone is raving about how much better the stock 107 is over their stage 2/3 103's.
Mind you, I had maybe a 30 minute test ride but what I noticed is that it felt like there was less acceleration throughout the RPM range than my stage 2 TC88. And depending on which dyno sheet you look at, the stock 107 numbers and curves are very similar to mine. I've seen other places claim 111 lb*ft of torque stock for the 107 but I certainly didn't feel that difference. That's 20 more lb*ft than what I have and when I upgraded my 88, I noticed the extra 10 lb*ft very easily. I still almost bought the bike but when the time came to sign the paperwork, it just didn't feel right so I walked away.
So, looking at this from merely a performance factor, is there any real difference between a stock 107 and a well done stage 2 TC88? Did I find a unicorn of a shop that just did a better than average job tuning my bike? I'm starting to really consider going with a 2016 103 since the only thing I would probably miss that's on the 17's is the easy adjustment of the rear shock.
FWIW, I do believe the folks are exaggerating the fluid transfer issue by a lot but am concerned that if it did happen to me, there is currently no fix for it.
