So this should be a no brainier right?

Well my end goal is a 117. I'm leaning towards the stage 4 because it comes with a 58mm throttle body and I've heard those heads will work well in a 117 with the right pistons. I am however concerned that the stage 4 will disappoint in the meantime as I've heard that the tq comes on late. Is this true even with the newer kit that runs mva's and 259 cams. And if so could this be remedied with a different cam selection?

Any input would be appreciated.

 

117" engines run very well.
From road tractor builds, to street scorchers.
S&S cams, Wood cams, Andrews cams, and Lieneweber cams have all been used here with various cylinder heads/throttle body, and/or carb configruations, along with a plethora of exhaust systems.
Built so many now that I've lost count.
FWIW, all of the work stays in-house on those.
Scott

 

I've got a 2013 softail with a stage 4 103 (not a typical stage 4) I opted to ditch the SE stage 4 in favor of better head work, cam and Throttle body tgan offered in the Dealer kits. Dyno'd 122hp/120tq. Runs it's *** off no disapointments.

 

Don't spend you money on either, if you want 117" then go there right outta the gate. You will NOT save money doing a 103"-107" first. About the only parts that will most likely be reused are push rods. I didn't say could be reused, I said most likely reused. Everything else will have to be either replaced or redone. BTW, I am unaware of a 103" kit currently being sold with mva heads.

 

Have two friends that have had dealer installed and tuned SE 103 Stage IV kits; one the race kit and one the street kit. Both had rideability issues and were disappointed with the results. Torque cam on late and bikes were almost unrideable below 3000rpms. The dealer tunes were the main reason why both builds had issues. One resolved the issue with a proper tune; peak numbers increased marginally but the big difference was the performance at partial throttle; the guy was very happy with the results but still wanted the torque to come in a bit earlier. The other guy resolve his issue by replacing the 259 with the S&S 585 and a retune; tuned by the same tuner. The guy is over the moon with the difference in performance.

I don't know what your goals are but having been there and done that, I would stick with a 107" build, good heads, larger throttle body, better cams and go for a 120/120 motor and not as hard on the bank account as a 117" motor. A 117" requires the lower unit to be pulled for case boring, Timken conversion and crank work; expensive. If you want a bigger, badder motor, spend a little more money and call the S&S guys up for one of their 124" motors.

 

 

If you really want a solid build call scott @ hillside. A 117" with his machine work and either tw-62g, TW-68g or tw-408g it will really change your grip on the bars.... hang on..

 

seems as though you decided on the end goal of a 117 - do that once and be done -- having had many (5) motors built - 103, 107(2), 131 (1) and built crate S&S 124 by star racing -- I would either get the 117 done by a reputable dealer or for the same cost purchase a crate S&S 124 that comes with a warranty and can always be built -- it's a rock solid platform.

 

Below is a link to the stage 4 kit I'm looking at. You may be right about the heads not being mva's, I'm not positive. I would plan on reuseing the throttle body, maybe pushrods/lifters and heads. I'm unaware of any reasons this wouldn't work.

 

http://www.harley-davidson.com/store/se-103-ci-performance-stage-4-kit