BREAKING

Tech Tips/ DIY

Million Mile Bike

Originally Published In The August 2013 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine

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In last month’s article, I wrote about building the bottom end of a Twin Cam and what makes it last. In this issue, I will explain building the top end. Again, not only in layman’s terms, but more importantly on focus and on building with longevity and a budget in mind. The most important thing to remember here is to make sure that not only do all your parts work together, but they are also suitable for the style riding that you do. 14:1 compression pistons might be great at the race track, however, on the street they will make you hate life and that is even if you have compression release buttons. I have a very competent motor builder, Frank Kaelin of Kaelin’s Custom Cycle, helping me. His 20 years of experience is only enhanced by the fact that he built race engines and was also the crew chief for a race team. It is hugely important that you have the kind of person that will tell you when you have a bad idea and not just take your money and give you something that isn’t suitable for you or your bike. I i also used another good friend of mine, Berry Wardlaw of Accurate Engineering, for some expert advice. Most mechanics don’t like when you get second opinions, but when everyone involved agrees, you know you are on the right track. Now before I get started, I want to explain what I am trying to achieve in this build. I want to get the most dependability and mileage out of my motor as I can. I am also, as always, on a tight budget. I will be running some old take-off parts like stock 96” Harley pistons and cylinders. I feel they will work better than some pricey aftermarket ones, but when I could improve my motor’s life, I dished out the money and got the parts that are much better than stock Harley parts. As you read in the last issue, I stepped up to a Screamin’ Eagle Pro Crank because the quality is so much nicer than a stock set of wheels. This motor is going to go for hundreds of thousands of miles and I look forward to reporting about it here in Cycle Source. One part that I was relying on was the electronic conversion kit from Vulcan. It would eliminate my computer, sensors, and stock wiring harness. It will also allow me to ditch the fuel injection and run a carburetor that runs off throttle cables and not that fly-by-wire system Harley uses. It may be fine and dandy, but if it breaks

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out on the road, I need to be able to fix it. Getting in touch with Vulcan proved to be difficult; in fact, if not for the help from the crew at Heaven Cycle in Miami, I might still be looking for this part. Steve at Heaven Cycle has been in business since 1977 and although he didn’t carry it, he located one and had it shipped to my door. I’ve now heard that BDL came out with a conversion too, but I haven’t seen one yet. I want to remind everyone to always read instructions from all the manufacturers. This tech article is just a simple guide as to what I have done.

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Step 1 – Rather than mention a different JIMS’ tool in almost every step of building this motor, I will just say that JIMS’ specialty tools are a necessity. You can’t do good work with inferior tools.

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Step 2 – Remove the old cam bearing regardless of how little miles are on them. Years ago, I had a Harley dealership build me a motor with a complete new high performance cam and valve train only to have the cam bearing go and take out everything. Don’t make this mistake.

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Step 3 – Here, I’m installing a Feuling oiling system with high volume oil pump, 68 August ‘13 Cycle Source redesigned cam plate and lifters. This kit increases oil pressure, oil volume, engine oil flow and return oil scavenging, eliminating wet sumping and oily air cleaners. The system also generates cooler oil and engine temperatures making it quieter and more powerful.

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Step 4 – The cams I am using are Feuling Reaper Cams 543. They are perfect for the type of riding I do, hence the name — Freeway Flyers.

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Step 5 – Here you see the difference in the stock cam plate and the Feuling cam plate. Behind the plate is the first set of Andrews’ gears eliminating the stock chain system.

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Step 6 – If I was running a stock ignition, the outer gear set from Andrews would have worked fine, but I needed to run the larger gear that was supplied with the Vulcan Electronic Conversion kit. As you can see, it didn’t match up with the Andrews’ gear and also kept the Vulcan cam cover from bolting down.

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Step 7 – A decision was made to mill the gear flange to make it slide on farther. To do any type of machine work, a lathe is a must.

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Step 8 – When removing material it is always better to go slow and keep checking for fit rather than just measuring and cutting. We ended up taking off almost ¼”.

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Step 9 – Here you see the gear that now fits, but the Vulcan Cam Cover was now hitting the Feuling Oil Passage Block that eliminated the old cam chain oiling passage and also hits the bolt holding on the Andrews’ pinion gear. I believe all these would have fit fine had I been using a stock cam cover.

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Step 10 – The Vulcan cover is a nice solid machined cam cover so this allowed me to easily remove material where the clearance issues were.

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Step 11 – With the cam cover mounted, you can see the old style advance weights that run with an electronic ignition that is supplied with the kit. This is a primitive system but will allow me to fix my own ignition problems and never have to worry about a computer or sensors.

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Step 12 – Here is my main decision — to run stock 96” pistons and cylinders. Every shop in America has a shelf like this one, and when I need to do a top end after a hundred-thousand-miles, I can easily replace these for virtually nothing.

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Step 13 – When I ordered the crankshaft assembly, I forgot to order tapered rods and now the stock pistons don’t fit. My cheap fix is to machine out the inside of the piston.

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Step 14 – You can see the piston that has been “opened up” versus the stock piston that fits the tapered rod end. I also want to point out the Teflon skirts that Harley uses on their stock pistons, and that is one of the main reasons that I like using stock Harley pistons.

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Step 15 – Now I’m checking clearances inside the piston and wrist pin now that it is fitted on the rod.

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Step 16 – I am using Feuling’s Endurance Beehive Springs. I am doing this to add life to my valve train. For those skeptical of beehive style valve springs, in 2007 Harley switched to these types of springs.

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Step 17 – Harley specs have always said to torque the heads down lightly, then mark the bolt and give a quarter turn. Thankfully, Frank does it the same way he does the heads on his race motors and that is a 4 stage tightening sequence. In an ‘X’ pattern, torque them all to 16 lbs., then repeat to 26 lbs., then repeat to 40 lbs., and then finish at 55 lbs.

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Step 18 – I installed a Twin Cam Pro Gauge to keep an eye on my actual oil pressure and not just rely on an electronic sending unit.

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Here you can see the finished motor. Feuling: – .feulingparts.com JIMS: – jimsusa.com Andrews Products: -andrewsproducts.com Heaven Cycle: – .heavencycle.com Kaelin’s Custom Cycle: 502-749-5552 www.TwinCamProGauge.com

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