Performance Questions '13-'15 street/Road Glides

[Wilamantic]

I am looking for some advice/information from recent model year Street Glide or Road Glide riders. I ride an '07 RK Custom that I bought new in January '07. Before taking delivery I added: an efi stage 1 kit to increase displacement from 96 ci to 103 ci (the kit included SE 255 cams); Rinehart true dual exhaust; Thundermax AutoTuner; Carlini sweep bars and some other aesthetic add-ons. On the dyno my max torque is 101.77 ft/lbs and 85 hp. The bike gets up and goes pretty good.
I am thinking about trading in my ride for a 2014 or 15 Street Glide or Road Glide. Unfortunately I am not able to put the kind of additional money into whatever I end up buying like I did with my Road King - I will be "stuck" with the stock performance package.
The info available so far - at least that I can find - says the '15 Road Glide delivers 104.7 ft/lbs of torque but I cannot find HP info, except for one site that says HP for the '15 Road Glide is 77 HP, which sounds to me incorrect (I would think it would be more).
If anyone out there has put their stock Street Glide or Road Glide with the 103on the dyno or has other info or observations (how is the stock exhaust, what are the cams and how is low-end torque, etc.) I will sure appreciate hearing it. I am really struggling with whether to just stick with my '07 Road king Custom or trade up. Wish I could do both but I can't.

 

[dolt]

A no brainer for me; keep the '07. Make some changes to the '07 configuration and you can easily see 110TQ/100+HP; you will never see much more than 85HP from the 255 cams.:newsmile055:

It will be much cheaper to make some changes to wake up your 103 than to trade and get a new bike that won't deliver any more performance than you are getting now. True that a new bike would have ABS, upgraded frame, the "infotainment" system and a few other bells and whistles but it won't run any better than your '07.

Changes for you to consider:
1. Put the TMax on Ebay and replace it with the TTS Mastertune or the Dyno Jet Power Vision.
2. Replace the SE255 cams with S&S 585s or TMans 600SM; the 255s will go fast on Ebay.
3. Send the heads out for head work; several good head porters that will work an exchange deal with you to minimize downtime. You pay full price, they send you a set of heads ported to your specs and refund you a core charge when they receive your heads in good condition.
4. The RH TDs or OK but you could replace them with a 2:1 setup for a bit more TQ; not much help on HP. If you prefer the looks of duals, keep the Rineharts.
5. If budget will allow, send the cylinders out to be bored to 107" and fitted with new pistons. There are several machine shops that will do this on an exchange basis as well. The will provide bored cylinders, fit new pistons and set ring gap and refund you a core charge when they receive your cylinders in good condition.
6. Get the bike on a dyno and in the hands of a good tuner when the build is complete for a break in tune; a good tuner can seat the rings on the dyno while setting AFR and timing for a 1000 mile break in. Put 1000 miles on the build and get the bike back on the dyno for a full tune. You could see near 120TQ and 110HP.:bigsmiley11:

Of course, if you just want a new bike, forget all of the above and get the new bike.

 

[Wilamantic]

Dolt, thanks for the excellent information and suggestions. All sounds good. I will start poking around for a place to send the heads.
Thanks again!

 

[dbmg]

I agree with Dolt. The money saved in keeping your favorite steed you can do alot of upgrades to the King on top of what you have done. In the mean time with what you have already done you could run rings around a new bike. And you know even with a new shiney steed you will not be okay with the lack of performance compare to your King......:s

 

[dolt]

Dolt, thanks for the excellent information and suggestions. All sounds good. I will start poking around for a place to send the heads.Thanks again!

Where do you live? Maybe there is a reputable builder that can do headwork and the boring nearby? Will you be turning the wrenches? Feel free to PM me if you have questions about the build.:newsmile036:

 

[Jennmarr]

I followed Dolt's advice on my '07 FLHTC 103" build last winter and I am very happy with the result. I ended up at 112 TQ and 109 HP with a 9.5:1 compression ratio. There may be a bit more available in that engine, but we stopped there due to ridability concerns.

 

[Wilamantic]

Dolt, I live in Portland, maine. Also spend a lot of time in Boston, MA. If you no of any builders in my neck of the woods please do let me know. I have learned quite a bit about my bike over the years and do all the "tuning" of my bike through the ThunderMax software and my laptop, but I cannot call myself a wrench turner. Wish I could!
Oh, BTW I misspoke in my original post - I installed a stage 2 kit not a stage 1 kit when I bought the bike and had all the add-ons done. Thanks again for the suggestions. The more I am hearing from people and talking about my questions, I think I will be sticking with my RK. I do not think the stock 103 bikes can stand up to my RK . . . and I am more interested in performance than new.

 

[dolt]

Dolt, I live in Portland, maine. Also spend a lot of time in Boston, MA. If you no of any builders in my neck of the woods please do let me know. I have learned quite a bit about my bike over the years and do all the "tuning" of my bike through the ThunderMax software and my laptop, but I cannot call myself a wrench turner. Wish I could!
Oh, BTW I misspoke in my original post - I installed a stage 2 kit not a stage 1 kit when I bought the bike and had all the add-ons done. Thanks again for the suggestions. The more I am hearing from people and talking about my questions, I think I will be sticking with my RK. I do not think the stock 103 bikes can stand up to my RK . . . and I am more interested in performance than new.

Two shops you might contact:
Hillside Cycles, Munnsville, NY (315) 495-8089. Talk to Scott Palmer; tell him "djl" told you to contact him.

BigBoyz, Augusta, Maine; two numbers are listed (207) 621-8089 and 242-8374.

You might talk to both and make your decision based on those conversations. Scott is a fan and a dealer for Woods cams, so he might push you in that direction but, unless you like valve train noise, just say no and tell him you are interested in S&S, Andrews or TMan cams but say "no thank you" to Woods.

I knew you had Stage II, Stage I does not include cams. Your '07, built properly, will run circles around Stage II 103s. I strongly suggest that you bore to 107" if budget allows. Only 4 cubic inches but it will make a difference.

You might consider turning the wrenches, all you need is the service manual, a decent set of hand tools, patience and the motivation. As they say, it's not rocker science".:s Good luck.

I think you will find Scott more accessible that Bean, who is BigBoyz but you can be the judge of that. Remember that winter is around the corner and that is the busy season for those guys in that part of the country, so, the sooner you make contact, the better.

 

[Wilamantic]

BigBoyz is just an hour from home. I have been looking at their web site and plan to stop their shop. . . . I have a decent set of hand tools, patience and motivation, and I can get the service manual(s) . . . so I will seriously think about turning the wrenches.
Thanks again for the info and suggestions.

 

[dolt]

BigBoyz is just an hour from home. I have been looking at their web site and plan to stop their shop. . . . I have a decent set of hand tools, patience and motivation, and I can get the service manual(s) . . . so I will seriously think about turning the wrenches.
Thanks again for the info and suggestions.

Sounds like a plan. Bean offers a $299 "street" port which is a basic velocity port job, multi angle valve job and new guide seals; machining for compression releases and decking for compression are an added cost. Bean's street port retains the stock intake and exhaust valves and springs. With displacement at 107", even 103", you really need a larger intake valve. So you need to have that conversation with Bean. Bean is also an excellent tuner, so you can go back to him for the break in and final tune. Keep us posted.