Long term Bagger

[BigMike57]

Hi all, I want to gather some thoughts about my plans for my 08 Ultra with 78K miles on it. I bought it new in March of 2008 and have been riding it through everything, torrential rain, cold (into December in New England) and even snow. I have been thru 7 rear tires, all Dunlop 402, and 3 fronts. At 25K miles I had to change the front wheel bearings (don't use carwash hose to clean bike). From when the bike was new the starter made a horrible noise when starting hot. After reading this forum, I thought it might be the comp sprocket. So I bought the SE upgrade. When I opened up the primary and started disassembly, I noticed the sprocket nut was just loose. I already bought the SE kit so I installed it anyway. On reassembly the clutch hub would'nt go on the shaft, all the splines were stripped out. Upgrade to SE Clutch hub. Now that I have Popeye forearms, I am very pleased with this upgrade. I am thinking of doing the SE Stage II Big Bore kit next winter, I should have around 100K miles by then. I don't know much about heads and am not sure if I should do anything with the stock ones or look to upgrade again. This bike has been very good to me, other than what I mentioned above I have had NO problems. I do all my own maintenance, Mobil 1 in the engine, HD Formula+ in the primary, Spectro in the tranny. Also I am getting 40 mpg stock, what should I expect with the big bore kit. Thanx for any replies.

 

[Gezzer Glide]

I bought my '03 new and plan on keeping it. It has been a good ride from the start. I went from 88in to 95in with cams, S&S type E carb, port,shaved and polished heads and some other upgrades. I to was a little concerned about gas usage but this bike is so fast and fun to ride that gas dosen't matter anymore. I can out run 96in stage one bikes. Its a good feeling to know that you can out run, or at least stay up with, just about everyone you run with. I don't think you will regret the upgrade. I don't, the ride just keeps getting better and better............Gezzer Glide :bigsmiley12:

 

[BigMike57]

Yeah, I'm not concerned about mpg's, just curious. I am going to do the Big Bore kit; 96 to 103, with SE255 cams and stage 1 air filter with SE touring mufflers. I'll take it to the dealer for the download. I just don't know much about heads. Should I just clean them up, check clearances, and maybe switch to SE springs. Or should I find a good indy and have them ??? I don't
know. I don't try to outrun any other bike, but I like having a strong motor.
I'm probably more of a geezer then you LOL.

 

[Jack Klarich]

Yeah, I'm not concerned about mpg's, just curious. I am going to do the Big Bore kit; 96 to 103, with SE255 cams and stage 1 air filter with SE touring mufflers. I'll take it to the dealer for the download. I just don't know much about heads. Should I just clean them up, check clearances, and maybe switch to SE springs. Or should I find a good indy and have them ??? I don't
know. I don't try to outrun any other bike, but I like having a strong motor.
I'm probably more of a geezer then you LOL.

A good valve job with radius seats and new springs will be a big plus and cheaper than SE heads IMO More tension on the valve springs will help the cam to be more efficient

 

[horizonchaser]

I bought my '03 new and plan on keeping it. It has been a good ride from the start. I went from 88in to 95in with cams, S&S type E carb, port,shaved and polished heads and some other upgrades. I to was a little concerned about gas usage but this bike is so fast and fun to ride that gas dosen't matter anymore. I can out run 96in stage one bikes. Its a good feeling to know that you can out run, or at least stay up with, just about everyone you run with. I don't think you will regret the upgrade. I don't, the ride just keeps getting better and better............Gezzer Glide :bigsmiley12:

Can you give us/me an idea how much an upgrade like yours cost? I too have an 88 TC 2003 Ultra and in time I would consider doing likewise.

 

[Gezzer Glide]

Can you give us/me an idea how much an upgrade like yours cost? I too have an 88 TC 2003 Ultra and in time I would consider doing likewise.

I think it was around $3500. $1500 for the parts and $2000 for all the head work and installation. I feel the $2000 was a bit high but I knew that the man who did the work was good. The proof is I haven't had a bit of trouble with it in 6 years of riding. I wasn't sure I wanted to do all the head work but he told me that my motor is like a air pump and the more air it could pump the more power it would produce and since I was doing cams and larger bore why not go the extra mile and port, polish and shave the heads. Made perfect sence to me...

 

[horizonchaser]

I think it was around $3500. $1500 for the parts and $2000 for all the head work and installation. I feel the $2000 was a bit high but I knew that the man who did the work was good. The proof is I haven't had a bit of trouble with it in 6 years of riding. I wasn't sure I wanted to do all the head work but he told me that my motor is like a air pump and the more air it could pump the more power it would produce and since I was doing cams and larger bore why not go the extra mile and port, polish and shave the heads. Made perfect sense to me...

Makes sense to me too and the fact that you have had it for six, trouble free years, proves that it was money well spent! Liked the "air pump" analogy.
Thanks for the heads up.