Hi Heatwave
I was searching threads on performance in the CVO Harley forum.
Came across yours and I too having the same thoughts of there has got to be more.
I have a 2011 FLTRUSE and have experienced what you have done thus far and would like your input.
What if any what would you have done different/starting over to get where you are now on your scoot?
Thanks my-hdblues
From the lessons I've learned, I would have skipped some of the intermediate build stages. I'm not suggesting anything negative about them but I would have avoided spending money on interim steps like removing the Cat from the stock pipes and swapping out the baffles. I liked the Fullsac approach but since I ultimately wanted more, it would have just been easier to put the stock exhaust into storage and replace it right away with a Fatcat.
From my experience in this build, there are really only a few ways to squeeze this much power from a 110. There's no shortcuts, so save your money and do it right from the start. Be prepared because it takes a solid wallet and a great shop to do the engine right. Here's the components from my experience that have to be in place to get solid #s above 120/120:
* Headwork from a reputable shop that can upgrade valves, upgrade valve springs and flow the heads.
* Upgrade cam to a high performance, hi-lift cam. I went with a Woods 408-6 with a .650 lift. It's noisey, but its a damn beast both at the low end and ripping all the way to 6200. There are newer cams out there now that I'm not as familiar with such as the Woods 777 that might also be suitable considerations.
* Upgrade to roller rockers
* Upgrade to 58mm throttlebody
* Upgrade to 5.3g/s injectors
* Upgrade to adjustable pushrods
* Go to a strong 2:1 exhaust and the FatCat is the gold standard
* Reputable shop to do the reassembly
* Add Powervision Tuner with WinPV software
But before doing the spend on this build, you have to ask yourself a question. Would you be better off just swapping the stock CVO110 for a 120R and then selling the 110 on Ebay "as is"? If the 120R came in matching CVO cylinder colors, I think it would be a tough call to upgrade the 110. The 120R wasn't available when I was doing my build so it wasn't an option for me. But given the performance of my upgraded 110, I don't have a single regret. "Knock on wood" it has been a very reliable build. I have 30,000 miles on my 2010 without a hiccup. Just general maintenance. This past winter I had the shop take a look at the cam shoes since I stayed with a chain driven cam. The tech said both the inside and outer shoes look like they came from a brand new bike which was great to hear.
I considered gear driven cams but its a significant trade-off. The tolerances for a gear driven cam just won't accept any sloppiness from the factory. If there is even the slightest shaft variance, you'll be looking at a deeper teardown and I just didn't want to go there. Only time will tell if that was a good call.
The only other consideration is whether or not the stock bottom end is going to handle the higher power without welding and balancing the crank. I didn't tear down the bottom-end and this too will only turn out to be a good decision with more time and miles. But so far, it's been a good call. Hopefully this info is helpful, but trust me, there are no shortcuts. It'll cost you to do this build right. But it'll cost you a whole lot more to do this build wrong.
I couldn't be more pleased as I've been on both many short day rides and multiple multi-thousand mile rides, both solo and 2-up. I could never go back to less power!