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[Steve Cole]

Well what I found on mine was pistons at -.001 front and rear at -.003 deck. Cylinders have honing grit left in them. The rocker boxes and heads still had casting flash left on them and all I needed to do was push on it with my finger nail and it snapped off! There was ZERO oil in the top end on any part even the push rods were completely dry. Lifters had a small amount of oil on the OD and the chains had oil on them. Camshafts were dry other than what little had come of the OD of the lifters. When checking the head bolts 7 were torqued the same one was 8 - 10 lbs lighter. The oil pump had oil in it but the cam plate was dry. Once I got to the lower end the cases had way too much silicone on them such that it squeezed out about 1/2" on the inside of the cases. On the cases themselves again more casting flash and sharp edges from machining left behind. The crankshaft was factory marked with .0005" run-out on one side and .0008" on the other. Once we set it up in the jig for checking that is just what we found. So we removed the stock freeze plug type plugs from the crank pin and pressed in solid slugs with a tapped hole, just in case they need to be removed later. Then welded the plugs to the pin and the pin to the counter weight flywheels. The next day set it back in the checking jig and retested run-out, .0005 and .0006" after welding so I am happy with that.

Look the things I found are just not the way I was taught to build a motor but could be OK for some. I'm just going to take my time and clean all the casting flash and sharp edges up first. Them machine the case for the timken bearing setup. Clean everything up and reassemble the way I was taught years ago. I still have to take the heads apart and CC them. I am going to just check everything and adjust as necessary prior to reinstalling them. When I'm done I will know whats there and know I've done my best to make it right, and since everything is brand new it's not all that hard to do it now, instead of later.

The cost you can pickup one of these motors for is cheaper than buying all the parts and then having to rip apart your motor then wait to get the machine work done on your old parts, so I'm not unhappy about buying it. Once finish I still will have my 103 that came in the bike sitting on the shelf so if I decide to sell the bike I can stick it back in and keep the 120 for the new ride.

[miker]

Good to see the quality issues are the same..continuity...

[Hotrod50]

How do the outside dimensions of the 120r compare to the 110 and 96?  I assume it will fit any Harley Touring?

[sadunbar]

How do the outside dimensions of the 120r compare to the 110 and 96?  I assume it will fit any Harley Touring?

Any 2007 and up touring model or dyna....

[Half_Crazy]

Good to see the quality issues are the same..continuity...

 

[CVOThunder]

Great work there Steve! It totally sux that you found what you did and it makes me wonder what's inside the rest of the H-D engines. If that's the norm on a racing engine then what is a 110 or 103 like inside? Probably couldn't be worse but that's bad enough. Glad you're going through blueprinting everything. Part of my mind is still in the V-8 thing and for that kinda cash I could build a crazy LS type V-8. But we're talking Harley engines here and I have to seperate my mind. But like you said, it's cheaper to buy one assembled and then go through it again. That's why I want to attend a bike class and become familiar with the inner workings of various engines. An air-cooled V-twin has to be one of the easiest engines to work on but there are still plenty of areas to focus on. Guess my biggest point to be concerned about is keeping the wheels trued while welding and I don't know if you created a jig to hold it in place while welding or if you tig welded in a spot, let it cool and then caught the other side until you walked all the way around the pins.

Kudos for doing a bang up job and doing it the right way!

[Steve Cole]

No jig for welding but we do use the tig and helium for a welding gas. You've got to be careful when you use helium as it makes the weld very hot very fast but it keeps parts cool as your not there long enough for them to heat up. We only did three ~1/4" long welds on the pin evenly spaced. If it breaks those we are really in trouble as there are NOT supposed to move in the first place.

[CVOThunder]

Thanks for the heads up on using the helium with your welding job. Ya, if it breaks those welds...you were able to generate much more hp that you anticipated. Really looking forward to reading about the final results on your build. Should be a great mill!

[chief48]

These seem like a pretty nice deal..
not bad out of the box, and even better with a little work.

But I'm wondering if HD have addressed the problems the 110's have with the quality and stability of the cylinders, and also the head sealing problems ?
Seems lile the 110 cylinders are barely up to the task on a 110... would worry me on something like this with the extra stroke and power.

[CVOThunder]

Good point. Wonder if O ringing the heads would help or changing to a 5 head stud like the X-wedge. Bigger studs for more clamping force? Are case savers ever used like on a VW?

Service manuals are on order...I need to read about these mills. Oh where's the Matrix plug in when you need it! 

[strokerjlk]

The several I've been involved with had pistons at "0" deck. Can't get better than that.    Realize, base gaskets are direction specific. Some are marked..some aren't.  
John

same here. the two I had apart were identical. one cyl .005 proud and the other .0 deck height.
put right at 4000 miles on mine last week,one day was a IBA saddle sore 1000. 1000 miles in less than 24 hrs. got 8000+ miles total on mine.so far so good.
I dont treat it any diff than any other motor when it comes to my riding style. long hard miles.
besides the two I tore down and tuned ,i have tuned 7-8 others. exhaust choices varied but they all made good power for what they are. (little low on compression for the SE 266 cams).
best bang for the buck...just stick the crate motor in and run it. we got two just after they were released. tore them down to do head work.and see what was what. after seeing them apart,I would just stick roller rockers in , and a good clutch. then ride on

[cvobiker]

These seem like a pretty nice deal..
not bad out of the box, and even better with a little work.

What is retail on the 120R, and are the 20% discount houses discounting this motor?   Might be to early to tell, but sooner or latter someone will try for the discount..  I purchased my Jims 131 from Jenni at a 20% discount.... Didn't save any money in the long run though, motor turned out to be JUNK. (weak crank). It sounds like Harley beefed up the crank on their 120R and hopefully no one will experience crank issues...

[Dead_Reckoning]

I was told by Tony Nicosia (HD Manager SE), that the 120R is classed as Racing and has No Warranty.
Good idea to keep the 110.

DR

I believe the 120SER has only a 90 day warranty on it, correct me if I'm wrong on that. I wouldn't get rid of my 110 just in case.

[Steve Cole]

I was told by Tony Nicosia (HD SalesManager SE), that the 120R is classed as Racing and has No Warranty.
Good idea to keep the 110.

DR

Not that it matters but I fixed Tonys job title for you. You are correct that the warranty ends when you open the box it came in. You can find them out there for around $4200 but with HD's new pricing policy that may change.

[strokerjlk]

What is retail on the 120R, and are the 20% discount houses discounting this motor?   Might be to early to tell, but sooner or latter someone will try for the discount..  I purchased my Jims 131 from Jenni at a 20% discount.... Didn't save any money in the long run though, motor turned out to be JUNK. (weak crank). It sounds like Harley beefed up the crank on their 120R and hopefully no one will experience crank issues...

I bought two from Jenny for 20% off 4376.00 each. unfortunately Jenny isnt doing anything right now. unless it has been in the last few weeks.

here is the blow bye accumulation I drained out of my 120R in a catch can ,after 1011 miles in 16 hrs. only stops were for fuel.
mostly water.