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[CowboyBagger]

Well guys, I haven't had a new bike since my FLHXSE3, which I still have and absolutely love. 

Pulled the trigger on a new CVO Anniversary Road Glide.  Upgrades that are under deliberation:

1. Yaffee 12" bars:  Ordered
2. Khrome Werks 4.5" mufflers:  Ordered
3. Fullsac MX pipe:  Getting ready to order.
4. TTS or Thundermax tuner.  Determined by finding the best dyno guy in Phoenix.
5. Windshield.  Leaning to Windvest (CVOSTU's recommendation) or Memphis Shades.  Opinions welcomed.
6. Shocks:  Leaning to RWD-RS1"s, 13".  Opinions welcomed.
7. Camshaft:  Leaning to S&S 475C.  Opinions welcomed.
8. Audio upgrade:  Leaning to the Volunteer Audio new head unit HDHU.14SI, Hertz 2000 watt amp with 6 Hertz 6.5 speakers.

Questions:

1. I"ve read the oil pump in this bike is really good.  During the cam upgrade, what is now recommended to replace while they're in there?  I'm guessing lifters and maybe cam plate.

Thanks,

Cowboy

[HOGMIKE]

Well guys, I haven't had a new bike since my FLHXSE3, which I still have and absolutely love. 

Pulled the trigger on a new CVO Anniversary Road Glide.  Upgrades that are under deliberation:

1. Yaffee 12" bars:  Ordered
2. Khrome Werks 4.5" mufflers:  Ordered
3. Fullsac MX pipe:  Getting ready to order.
4. TTS or Thundermax tuner.  Determined by finding the best dyno guy in Phoenix.
5. Windshield.  Leaning to Windvest (CVOSTU's recommendation) or Memphis Shades.  Opinions welcomed.
6. Shocks:  Leaning to RWD-RS1"s, 13".  Opinions welcomed.
7. Camshaft:  Leaning to S&S 475C.  Opinions welcomed.
8. Audio upgrade:  Leaning to the Volunteer Audio new head unit HDHU.14SI, Hertz 2000 watt amp with 6 Hertz 6.5 speakers.

Questions:

1. I"ve read the oil pump in this bike is really good.  During the cam upgrade, what is now recommended to replace while they're in there?  I'm guessing lifters and maybe cam plate.

Thanks,

Cowboy

You may want to do your trip next month on the stock bike and see how it runs.
The 117 is very nice and you may like the stock setup.

Warranty comes into play when you start messing with the engine. If you want to keep the warranty intact check out the stage kits from HD.

Yes, get some good shocks! The front suspension is fair. Lot depends on your riding style and what you use this bike for.

I put 20k miles on my 117 when new to find out what would work best for my new long distance bike.
Then, started my build. Now have 73k on the bike with 50k on my 124 with grudge box. Plenty more power than what Hd offers in the next few years anyway!
SMOOTH roll on passing power with reliability was my goal and I’m happy with the results!

Yes, I went a little conservative on my build, but lucked into the good tuner and had a long conversation with him prior to the build.

Have a good trip when you pick up the bike!
👍

[FLSTFI Dave]

I would have gone fullsac for the mufflers also.  MX is a great head pipe from fullsac.

I would take your trip before cam and tune. 

What you do past mufflers may void you warranty.  That said at the one year point I did just that, really built the motor.

If  your good with voiding motor warranty.

Tuner would be TTS or Power Vision depending on what the dyno shop you use prefers.

Cam, for the 117 no head work the Cycle Rama CR-480 does very well, very good torque curve.

Your oil pump is fine, it's what I run in my motor.  With the new cam I would upgrade the lifters.  I use the Woods Alpha lifters.

[CowboyBagger]

I talked to Aaron at Moonshine Harley.  They made a great video using the 117 engine in their exhaust and cam shootout several years ago.  He said that they have newer recommendations from experience since that video was made.  Here is what he recommends:

1. Moonshine Harley's Pro Stock 2-1-2 Head Pipe.  They contracted with Burns Stainless to make these head pipes to their specs.
2. Khrome Werks 4.5 mufflers with Louvered Competition Baffles.
3. Moonshine 485 Cam, which he said is identical to the Star Racing 30/30 Cam and made by them.
4. Woods Lifters.
5. S&S Adjustable Push Rods
6. Throttle Body: 64 mm, I think he said Harley?
7. Rekluse Torq drive Clutch
8. Powervision or TTS tuner (It's getting harder to find knowledgeable tuner techs for the TTS)
9. He said something about a breather upgrade that kept the same look, that I forgot to write down.

He stated that the Injectors, Cam Plate and Oil Pump are fine.  He stated that for what I'm looking for, head work does not have a good return on investment.  In bigger builds it does.

What's your thoughts on his recommendations?

I'm flying to Oregon to pick up this bike and driving it to Arizona.  The only thing I'm changing before I leave there is handlebars and extended highway pegs.  I sure hope my butt likes the CVO seat or it will be a long trip.  When I get home, I'll make a decision on the engine upgrade.  I'll be doing the install myself.

[HOGMIKE]

I talked to Aaron at Moonshine Harley.  They made a great video using the 117 engine in their exhaust and cam shootout several years ago.  He said that they have newer recommendations from experience since that video was made.  Here is what he recommends:

1. Moonshine Harley's Pro Stock 2-1-2 Head Pipe.  They contracted with Burns Stainless to make these head pipes to their specs.
2. Khrome Werks 4.5 mufflers with Louvered Competition Baffles.
3. Moonshine 485 Cam, which he said is identical to the Star Racing 30/30 Cam and made by them.
4. Woods Lifters.
5. S&S Adjustable Push Rods
6. Throttle Body: 64 mm, I think he said Harley?
7. Rekluse Torq drive Clutch
8. Powervision or TTS tuner (It's getting harder to find knowledgeable tuner techs for the TTS)
9. He said something about a breather upgrade that kept the same look, that I forgot to write down.

He stated that the Injectors, Cam Plate and Oil Pump are fine.  He stated that for what I'm looking for, head work does not have a good return on investment.  In bigger builds it does.

What's your thoughts on his recommendations?

I'm flying to Oregon to pick up this bike and driving it to Arizona.  The only thing I'm changing before I leave there is handlebars and extended highway pegs.  I sure hope my butt likes the CVO seat or it will be a long trip.  When I get home, I'll make a decision on the engine upgrade.  I'll be doing the install myself.

When I traded my 2017 cvo limited to my 2019 cvo limited I kept my Fullsac exhaust system including mufflers and swapped them onto my 2019. Already had the 1.75 cores installed.
I had always used the TTS tuner as I was using the same dyno guy for all my bikes. He never let me down!

Never made it to the 2 yr warranty as my buddy talked me into 130-140 power/torque goals.
Plus I was following Dave on his BIG build!

I stayed with TTS 200 cam, stock heads, good valve job and springs, SE intake, stock TB, S&S pushrods, S&S plate and pump, one step up on injectors, S&S cylinders, Mahle pistons, a little bump in compression, AIM sdr with stock clutch!

Went with a new guy for a tune that was a lot closer than AZ! He did a great job as he was VERY familiar with TTS products. LOL

Reached my goals but de-tuned a bit to make the bike run on crap gas if I had to (had to a few times).
Went back to 1 3/4” muffler cores in my cvo cans to keep it quiet.

I now have a stealthy bike with 50 k miles on the 124 motor and it runs just fine!
Short ride this morning in 90+ degree heat in town with no issues! Bike runs cool, never went into rear cyl disable mode.

I would still suggest on your ride back to Phoenix think about your goals and HOW you ride 90% of the time.

As you upgrade and can do the work yourself you will save money and learn a lot.
FYI: the water cooled bikes are a pain to work on!

Be patient and realistic, leave room for upgrades as you progress so you don’t end up with a bunch of high dollar parts that you can’t use! Example: cvo cans with Fullsac 1 3/4 to 2 1/2 inserts!
Fuel Moto air cleaner , overkill for what you have now but still good for 140+ HP in the future.

Wish I could tag along and let you ride my bike but my calendar is pretty full the next 2 months!
PLUS, it’s stinking HOT from the coast to AZ!

Congratulations on your new bike!

[CowboyBagger]

Thanks Mike!  I wish you could tag along for part of the trip too.  We'll meet up some day.

Cowboy

[FLSTFI Dave]

Rekluse torque drive clutch is the way to go. 

[Scott7d]

I'm not a fan of the larger mufflers due to a decrease in exhaust velocity (often misworded as back pressure). But some people are ok with that due to getting the sound they want. Nothing wrong with that if sound is a high priority for you.

Your stock oil system is fine.

People often criticize the 475 for not having good low end. Usually that is because of the oversized mufflers they use. With the right exhaust combo, 475 low end is fine.

A friend of mine just bought the Hertz kit you described from Volunteer Audio. I'm not impressed, and neither is he. All bias aside, my SounDigital/Ground Zero combo sounds better and was probably cheaper.

I have a higher mileage M8 117 and it's been a tank for me. I hope this one treats you well!

[CowboyBagger]

I'm not a fan of the larger mufflers due to a decrease in exhaust velocity (often misworded as back pressure). But some people are ok with that due to getting the sound they want. Nothing wrong with that if sound is a high priority for you.

Your stock oil system is fine.

People often criticize the 475 for not having good low end. Usually that is because of the oversized mufflers they use. With the right exhaust combo, 475 low end is fine.

A friend of mine just bought the Hertz kit you described from Volunteer Audio. I'm not impressed, and neither is he. All bias aside, my SounDigital/Ground Zero combo sounds better and was probably cheaper.

I have a higher mileage M8 117 and it's been a tank for me. I hope this one treats you well!

I agree, most setups that sound good don't perform good.  On my 2012, I ran a Drago's 2 into 1 pipe with Frank's Dragula muffler.  The bike ran great.  When I moved to Arizona, the heat here became an issue.  My wife melted her right shoe from the amount of heat coming from the right side.  So, I researched how to solve this problem.  Going with a 2-1-2 system helped a lot.  I alos researched what combinations in the 2-1-2 design performed the best.  I contacted Moonshine Harley after watching several of their videos.  Their combination of the Fullsac or Burns Stainless head pipe backed up with Khrome Works mufflers were almost identical to a D&D 2 into 1 pipe with the same setup.  This test was on the 117 M8.  That's why I chose that system.

I almost went with the 475 cam.  The Moonshine Harley boys have tested it against all the major players in the cam market for Harley baggers.  They stated it really shines with a 2-1 headpipe and head work.  For what I'm doing, they recommended the Star Racing 30/30 cam or the Woods 22XE.

As far as the stereo:  There are probably better out there.  I've had Hertz Neo's in my 2012 and they sound great.  Plus, I like the guys at Volunteer Audio.

Cowboy

[Pan1]

After  a lot of research on various combo's combined with trying to stay under the radar for warranty purposes, I went with the MoCo 131 kit and substituted  the intake that came with the kit for the HD ported intake, Fullsac head pipe, 2" baffles and K&N breather. My long term mechanic using the HD Tunner raised the RPM limiter to 6,400 rpm and fattened up the air fuel ratio using the EV table. It was on the dyno on two seperate occations and both times reached 131 HP and a super smooth toque curve to 137. The bike does not sound radicle but this  combo really works. Two up loaded on trips 41-43 mpg.  The engine does run on the hot side compared to my Twin Cam bikes.