Mid USA Powerhouse 114ci

I finally got ahold of a friend of mine whom I was sure had worked on those engines before & you can get parts - just have to know what you're looking for & several parts are automotive. You can contact Earl @ ECS Engineering for more details:
hdrepairman@yahoo.com but I'll tell ya what he told me.

The bottom end needs oil pressure like the Pro Nitro engines he builds which also use automotive type bearings, but if you take parts you've got to an auto parts store you can match 'em up. Needless to say you need a very good oil pump.

I mentioned "rocking couple" which is a side-to-side vibration you get when the piston rods aren't in the same vertical plane (inline with each other) & he said that was the problem with that engine. But if you're building it for street use, not going crazy with cams, revving high, etc., you won't have to worry about the bottom end shaking itself apart - that's really only a concern with nitro, a blower, etc. But the engine does need to be mounted very well & the vibration you feel will be different from a standard H-D big twin.

Earl said it's really a pretty solid engine & once you've determined the part numbers for the automotive parts (I believe he said rods & bearings are Chevy), you can keep it running indefinitely.

Well....I got one of these engines myself about a month ago and am in the process of putting it back together properly and into a 2000 Quntum that I have. It is really the best motor I've seen so far. Simple but precise. I've been working with the designer(Vern Ott) over the phone to make sure I get it right. Mikuni 48 with a Vulcan adaptor to the G manifold. A set of cycle shack 2" SS pipes to let it breath. 2000i ign. programmed by vern. New fitted pistons. Shaved the top of the cylinders and removed o-ring and installed cometic mls head gaskets to be able to set squish.Heads specced. So far so good. Should have it in and running in about 4 to 6 weeks.
Joe
PS: last winters project was 107" S&S with an EMC roots supercharger. 8lbs boost. That went in a Quantum too. Really a beast.

Thanks chuck. I took some pictures just yestarday as I was switching bikes onto the lift. So as soon as I can figure out how to attach them I'll do so. I've learned so much from this type of forum it's my turn to try to help someone else learn from my mistakes and save them the some headaches and $. You know how it is; 3rd times a charm.
jd

hi rick,
i have been running a powerhouse 114 in my fxr for three summers now.
awesome motor love it.although it can take some doing to keep it from tearing the rest of the bike apart.
Bryce

i sent some pics of my fxr with the powerhouse 114 motor in it. not sure where they went though. i'm new at this. ha. how far are you on your bike? let me know how you are doing. seems like i got mine bulletproof now ran all last summer no problems. and i beat it pretty bad sometimes. took me two summers and a lot of headache to get it that way.
Bryce

It's ALIVE

Fired it up last night around 1 am. For some reason, it started right up and purred like a very large kitten. All I did was an idle adjustment.

Haven't ridden it yet as the manual calls for 10 complete heating and cooling cycles.

Sorry I didn't keep up with posts but there were a lot of issues that had to be addressed to get this thing to fit. I did take some pics and when I figure out how to post them I'll get to it because I did come up with some interesting solutions during the quest.

I also have made a few friends and got some good information through these posts - that I really appreciate.

-Rick
Omaha, NE

i would like to have the link for this article, thanks

sounds like maybe your friend is thinking of the super vee engine which used chevy pistons, rods, bearings, rocker arms, lifters, valves and valve springs.

i get no side to side vibration in my powerhouse motor. in fact when i let people ride it they always comment on how smooth it is. crazy with the cams? it only has one. and the one they put in this motor i would call pretty crazy. revving high. my rev limiter is set at 7 grand and i bump it fairly often. i run my powerhouse very hard if it won't take it like they claim let her blow.

did vern suggest shaving the top of the cylinders to get rid of the o ring? if you don't mind i would like to get all the assembly info you learned from vern. i have two of these powerhouse motors one in my bike the other in a crate. i would like to send the heads out to be worked on the crate motor before i run it. any info you could share would be appreciated.

i never had the mainshaft inner race walk on my powerhouse 114 motor. but i did have the the mainshaft oil seal the one that presses into the final drive gear walk out a couple of times when i started revving her above 6 grand. i had a rivera pro clutch with the heavy spring in it at first. it lasted about 100 miles or less.the powerhouse killed it just killed it. the basket now wobbles big time and was about ready to fly off. bandit clutch went in no more clutch problems.

inner primary gear ratio. strokers may not like the lumpety lumpety thing. but the powerhouse 114 is not stroked.in fact destroked the powerhouse has a 4 inch stroke.thats shorter than any other big twin i know of factory or aftermarket.rear swing arm bushings(fxr)need to be solid i went with sta-bo bushings.i run a chain i cant imagine a belt taking the punishment of a powerhouse unless you don't run her hard.

alternator rotor

one of the biggest problems i had with my powerhouse motor was the alternator rotor. the magnets are glued in. i can put a brand new rotor in and run around the block a couple of times an rip the mangnets loose. i did this to like three or four of them. even the so called heavy duty ones. you know the black ones with the shiny cover over the magnets. under that cover the magnets are still glued in. that shiny cover does nothing. the housings are pretty good nice heavy splines. i found a solution to this problem but i don't understand what the other powerhouse owners are doing. maybe they dont pound there powerhouse like it is built for??

thanks for posting my bike pics Chuck