Scott,
In my case my bike has been apart 5 times for head gaskets and the 4th time for replacement of the rear non functioning non burnt ACR / Head and base Gaskets. I would say that based on the amount of times mine have been apart if anyone would have the greatest chance of finding failure with them it should be me. If not I am surely using up too much of my lottery ticket luck on the wrong things 
wow if I really only had some say with how the luck was used up.
Hell you maybe dead on right, but so far based on "my" scenario and 4 people locally with the 110's all who have had the work done at the same place it seems strange that not one has had the issues with the ACR after the fact and none with even a first time woe except mine with a non firing ACR. Add to that Rhino who had his done in NC with another recommended mechanic (OPIE) the same that did Mrs. We's repair. Just looking at the odds thus far and maybe jinxing someone, but thus far locally 0 for 5 with issues with the ACR's. I also don't feel using Howie's bike in the mix is a true failure due to anomolies and the possibilities that things were not installed correctly. Not saying it was or wasn't but when heads aren't torqued correctly one time and based on opinions from the builder that believed the ACR wasn't tightened and wored its way out I will just reserve comment and think it should be discluded from the pool of concern. I also have not heard anyone although there could be some, but doubt it is many that have had multiple problems since the first time resolve and not saying there isnt any, but if it were overly prevelent I think it would be seen on the site based on our specific mix of this motor and that feature and the CVO's. I think we have to look at original installation / heat sheathing and placement as also possible considerations for causes of the issues/problems. The 2 rotten parts of this is it shouldn't happen to begin with and when it does the failure causes the wires to melt and then they shut down the ECM, luckily mine was only a non firing ACR and nothing more.
Scott, by replacing them with manuals you will definitely avoid this problem in the future, the only thing you may want to consider is the residue being blown out
of the ACR and staining the head. Some have drilled out the ACR hole around the threads to make the hole slightly deeper to catch the blow out by pointing the ACR towards the head instead of towards the kickstand to keep the residue from staining the head or adding head bridges to hide it.
-harry
Harry,
Interesting comments Harry... I can't say that I have heard of ACR failures being prevalent with people on the site or with personal acquaintances, I only know I found my ACR wiring melted to the head upon disassembly - and mine was in 100% undisturbed stock condition. What really caused me to decide to replace the ACR's with manual CR's was the inaccessibility of ACR's in the event of a failure. Way to much disassembly to get to them. I liked your comments on the positioning of the manual CR's - with the goal of minimizing staining of the heads...something I will look into doing...
Hard to say what happened with Howie...I suppose it is possible the ACR was not properly tightened. I cannot envision it backing out of the head - it seems the resistance of the wiring would prevent this from happening. I doubt the ACR could be screwed out of the head - much less back out of the head on its own - with the wiring connected. That is probably a failure that will never be understood or diagnosed. It is to bad for Howie that his two failures are so strange... His ACR failure is really tough to understand - but other than that, he likely had a solid result with the first build. Then the second go around, he finds head bolts not at the proper torque value. I believe since torquing the bolts to the proper level, his motor has been sound. Even so, I would likely follow his path and take it all back apart - if for nothing else to gain peace of mind. I think his two builds have been about 98% correct twice, but he has unfortunately suffered twice for the lack of the last 2%.
In case I haven't mentioned it, I am replacing everything from the cases up on my motor - plus the cams, cam plate, ect... Wes at Cycle Rama is supplying all parts. I am doing my own assembly work. Wes has my heads now. It turns out that Wes and I have a good friend in common - someone from St. Petersburg that did cylinder head work for me a few years back when I was building high performance road racing motors. So, I am very comfortable working with Wes...
At any rate, thanks for the comments. I think the more input members have on the various issues increases the likelihood of solving the various issues members experience...
Scott
Author
Topic: max comp with 204's (Read 4668 times)