Super tuner or race tuner

I was an R&D engineer in Engine Dept. and Drivetrains. When I wanted to buy my StreetGlide, I followed it through assembly, and installed the motor that I built myself the day before. Everything in it is stock hardware, but I made sure the crank was true and balanced with the rods and pistons. Motors are built by robots and they don't know balancing techniques.

This bike has 110,000 miles without a problem of any kind. Not even had any cases opened yet. My miles are 90% highway and I do run very fast most of the time (80-100 with radar jammer). I seldom drag race and never do burn outs. I only use Mobile 1 synthetic in motor, and Valvoline syn. gear oil in primary and tranny.

Gear drive cams will last twice as long as chain, and you never have to worry about all the little parts that can fail. That's for if and when I ever rebuild it. When the time comes, I may ship the motor to BaggerPauls shop for some of his magic.

Very cool indeed A-dog.

Gears cost too much and take up too much time and more tools.
Hydraulic tensioners are very easy to work with. And last a long time.
you are not gonna notise 3-4 Hp on a bike.

I gotta tell ya alex very big compliement . To have you trust me with your motor . Would be morethan happy to freshen your motor when your ready . You pay for the parts and machine work ill build it for no charge . You pay for shipping both ways.

That's an easy decision for me Paul. Looking at all your posts, I can tell you really know these motors, probably better than me. Think I'll take you up on your offer, but definitely not for free. I wouldn't use someone's service for free when that is their livelihood. Besides, you've made a big investment in tools and machinery that has to be paid for, or you will never get to retire. Mama wants to travel too!

The harleys that I wrench on are for just a few customers . That I build cars for that are motor heads and hot rod lovers . I do it for the love of the machine . And for my self as well . Just applied what I learned over the years . I don't just work on anyones bike . Or motor . I pick and choose my customers . Don't want to be married to someone bike . If they never own a high performance harley you end up married to every thing. That has nothing to do with your job . Lol.

Now that I'm getin Older, I don't want to work on the bike no more.
Don't see as good, don't remember as good.
Don't need a monster torque bike no more.
The 103 from HD runs pretty good with the TM on it.
If I ever do anything to it. It will be a Woods 555 cam and a new set of lifters
and cam bearings.
Right now I've got 21,000 miles and ridng a 5 yr warranty on my Limited.
Gonna let HD fix it.

+1

Much to my surprise my 2012 Ultra lives up to every bit of my expectations. No...check that...it exceeds all of my expectations.The 103" is the absolute sh*t. 6 speed tranny as well is great. And then have the nerve to have a 6 gallon gas tank too,lol. At 180 miles I still have 2 more gallons left.

Other then a few add ons I'm not doing anyting to mine. I put a shorter windshield on to see over it, I'm short. Heavy duty hinges and latches on the tour pac and a luggage rack on the tour pac too. Windshield bag, they come in handy. I'm hoping to splurge and get the HD Garmin XM and GPS thats integrated into the bikes system. Its not cheap and I'm not rich...bad combination.

This may not be as nice as H-D's system, but I have a Garmin Nuvo 250 that was $100. It came with a suction cup that sticks to the face of the tach nicely.

I already have Sirius/XM on another vehicle, so having a second subscription for the bike is only an additional $12/mo and the radio was free from XM. I've got it mounted on the handlebars and it plugs into the "auxillory" jack on the H-D radio. Sound comes through fairing speakers and in-helmet speakers.

The very, very best sounding music comes from in-ear speakers because there is no wind or road noise at all. It sounds way better than even my home stereo.

Think if you look at the Zumo 660 its the gps to get . There is a 665 that does traffic and something else.

As usual, I look for the less expensive approach. Mine cost only a fraction of the factory system and works just as good. Plus, if and when it gives up the ghost, I can pitch it and not feel bad.

If it fails like you are gonna be at the house and can just push it in the garage.:gah:

Are you talking about a GPS? If it fails, I just get another cheap one. But really, I've used my cheap set up for 4 years now and still working great. $100 can't be beat.

If you mean my V&H FuelPak, it's never even hiccuped once. But again, if it fails, I simply unplug it from the ECM, and continue onward with the original maps still loaded.

I thought you was talkin about a Tuner.......

And I ain't heard from you.

Just re read thru the thread. It was a helpful refresher for sure.

I still can't help but hear the reverbing echoes of a conversation I had with a very skilled HD tech years ago and who advised about the deeply embedded codes and other after market tuners being flawed as a consequence.

The SE street tuner versus SE race tuner has been the topic of many perfomance related conversations since purchasing my 201 last May/June. Again my go to HD mechanic encourages the SE race tuner but he's all about the need for speed. I am not.

Leaving my 2012 Ultra stock. The quietness of the mufflers is fine by me. Plus I'm looking for MPG and reliability. Its always been my biggest concern to be far away from home and broke down. Its happened too, the bike was 8 years old, statored fried just as I was in line waiting to go back in the USA. Walked my bike over the border from Canada to get to the USA side. Canadians coming back into the country were smartass outspoken commentators and who liked the bird I'd flip them when they spoke(as I was pushing my bike). God forbid an HD breaks down like as other bike would as it gets old and wore.

You HD mechanic is going to recommend nothing but H D products that they sell.

And the Screaming Eagle tuners was not written by HD.
Your tuner didn't fry your stator either
If fuel milage is your main goal , leave everything including your pipes completely STOCK
People make changes to unstop the engine and make it run a little cooler
Changing tuners to something like the Thunder-Max ain't gonna take reliability out
But you are gonna have to take the time and learn the unit

so what gain do you get with the T.M.and how do you know what gains youve made. is there a read out on your computer? with a dyno i know what stock # were and what the # is with the SERT.my gains are 10 hp.15 tq. oh yea 1600.00 buckaroos too.

The tm will give the bike more fuel . Which will help cool the motor and give it more power
Thunder Heart is doing all technical work now too. They wrote the software for the TM
And as YOU know you are gonna have to have 18mm bungs
I would look at fuelmoto site at these header pipes. You can install them and put your stock sensors in and use the plugs for the 18mm and run your bike.
And you do not need the ceramic coated set
Just the stainless set.
Them when you get a TM you can Take the 18mm plugs put a d put the Wide Band 02 sensors in and hook up the Tm.
Or if you go to a larger bike show and you have the fuel Moto header pipes you can have them to do the install.
 Jackpot 2/1/2 Headpipes

Anything you do to yer bike after you get the TM on , the TM will work for you. And in auto tune it will tune as you ride.
There are all kinds of videos on YouTube .

Badinfluence: if you want reliability--leave it stock except for some minor upgrades that only help it breath better (good air intake system and exhaust). The side benefits are cooler running AND better fuel mileage.

Cardboard: I don't want to get into your argument about what is a tuner and what isn't, but the cheapest F.I. tuners (Cobra, V&H, Dynatek) help the motor run smoother because they richen-up the fuel mixture. Who can argue with that?

My motor is totally stock except for the above mentioned upgrades. I got a healthy increase in h.p. with the added bonus of better gas mileage. I easily get 50-60 mpg.

Reliability? Mine has 122,000 completely trouble-free miles and it's running like a Swiss watch. A breakdown anytime is not only an inconvenience but an embarrassment as Badinfluence noted.