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Author Topic: Looking for ideas . . .  (Read 814 times)

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Road Hog

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Looking for ideas . . .
« on: February 02, 2009, 03:10:34 AM »

Geez, I hesitate to start this but I learn from your wise council, and because this continually bothers me, here goes.

I have a 09 SEUC.  My purpose in buying this unit was to put the “project bike” behind me, get something that I could ride 100K miles and with good maintenance, buy gas, oil and tires, a lot of each.  One would think that for $35,000 the MoCo could design and build something that could accomplish that simple mission.  My predecessor was a 02 RK that had stage two, gear cams, 95 kit, etc, was marginally reliable and had 86K miles.  It was underpowered for touring from the factory and had cam failures, hence the mods.  The shop I used was one of the best in the Seattle area.

The 110 engine has warts that a company designing motorcycles for 105 years, IMO, should never had allowed if they valued their customers at all.  It has heat problems, head gasket problems and other maladies that you are well aware of.  Just to extend the engine life of this touring machine to a reasonable 100,000 reliable miles, I understand I need to remove the CAT, get a SERT, increase the volume and cooling capacity of the oil cooler, stage 2 air cleaner, etc.  I did not buy this unit to have to do this stuff as it should have already been done.  I now have been riding 20K miles a year.

The GPS is garbage and should not even exist.  A $100 Garmin Nuvi is more functional.  The HD Garmin 550 should logically be OEM on this bike, but no.  Just an example of other stupid stuff I see here.  I enjoy riding the bike and bought this touring frame mostly because of my wife’s comfort.  It is one of the few and best passenger platforms out there.   

Here is the question I wrestle with.  Should I just suck it up, spend the money to fix design and MoCo failures or will this thing go 100K with gas, oil and tires in a reliable fashion?  I don’t want you to make the decision for me, I am looking for ideas, e.g. maybe I expect too much for $35,000?  Maybe I need blind loyality?  Please share your constructive wisdom.  And thanks.

Road Hog
« Last Edit: February 02, 2009, 03:18:15 AM by Road Hog »
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Gone Fishin'

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Re: Looking for ideas . . .
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2009, 05:00:27 AM »

Wow you seem to be worked up already ;-).
We'll, step back for a moment, is there anything wrong with the bike you have? Any failures? Do you experience excessive heat? And yes, there are the options you have described, and most people do them. Adding a tuning device of your preference, along with an enhanced air filter and an exhaust to your liking - That has been Harley regime for many years, and the CVO's are not different there. You seem to quite technically proficient, so you know that already. This site will surely help you out and there are several members in your area, who have "already been there". So relax and enjoy first and foremost.
And yes, the GPS is outdated. The only benefit I see, is that it is already built-in. Performance and functionality is inferior to the units on the market. But you can find the same in many cars, where the built-in units suck. Vehicle manufacturers have a substantial lead time over any enhancements, and that specifically shows in the fast moving areas of entertainment and navigation units. I am sure you are also missing an SD card slot to load up the radio with thousands of songs on a stamp sized card.

Ride safely,
Louis
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BLM777

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Re: Looking for ideas . . .
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2009, 10:05:18 AM »

Do the mods!  After looking at the changes you made to your RK, you're not going to be happy with with a stock, EPA tortured 110.  If you can get past the difference in performance the stock 110 may do 100k, but there's no way to tell until some of the early '09's that are at 10 to 20 k get another equal amount on the motor. 

In your description of your new 110 it appears as though you haven't had the problems that you state, but have heard or read about them.  Common problem around here with folks reading way too much and looking for boogers that aren't there... ;D
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miker

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Re: Looking for ideas . . .
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2009, 10:28:05 AM »

Folks have been modifying (see fixing) Harley's for 105 years...somehow they have stayed in business.

This is not your 1st dance with the MoCo, you know what to do... :drink:
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REGGAB

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Re: Looking for ideas . . .
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2009, 08:03:48 PM »

Folks have been modifying (see fixing) Harley's for 105 years...somehow they have stayed in business.

This is not your 1st dance with the MoCo, you know what to do... :drink:

Exactly.  The 09 is new.  Supposedly the challenges have been met.  Folks are pleased with them, and that's good.  Just get your AFR down and ride.
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timo482

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Re: Looking for ideas . . .
« Reply #5 on: February 02, 2009, 09:39:58 PM »

if your bike is too hot and bothering you - get the afr down - if it breaks fix it. if it leaks fix it.

if it runs fine - well you know that deal - dont fix what aint broke.

lots of folks have tried to tell me my 07 ultra with side car has x problem and y problem - but i just put gas in it and go. so far, no problems.

so far no crank issues, no heat issues, no ridablity issues, power is fine - i can go so fast my wife starts hitting me in the thigh..  :P

if its got enough power - ride it awhile and see what happens. i mean really i am upwards of 350, im pulling a sidecar - my wife is 170 something i think....... at 85 with the cruise on im really going fast enough.. so im leaving the engine etc stone stock.

if it DOES have a crank issue - ill send the crank to dark horse or somebody like that and put in a timken - and put it back together just like it is.

i still vividly remember shovels - stock it would go about 35+ k with a 20 something guy riding it..  :bananarock:  :coolblue:  hopped up cams, straight pipes - 10k  :-\. i got tired of rebuilds - i use the best oil pumps, the best bearings, the best rings - stock heads, compression, pipes, air cleaners etc. i want to ride the thing - not pray it will last till fall so i can start the yearly teardown.

short story - about 10 years ago guys around here figured out you could turn up the fuel pump on cat dump truck engines and get them to pull 80klb loads like a sports car - boy would they go. within two years everybody stopped doing that - the extra two loads you could get each day by going faster would not pay for the new long block each winter...

to
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