Hey folks I got about 6000 miles on my ultima shovelhead motor this last summer. Not a single issue except I had to upgrade clutch. Only problem I see is it’s kind of doggy What upgrades have you folks done to wake up your ultima shovel. I did 1 tooth larger tranny sprocket since I usually ride 70-80 mph. But I need more torque. Just not sure which way to go. Bigger cam? Head work or different piston. I tried drag pipes which sound the best but went back to the rib racing 2-1 and have s&s e carb

 

More torque as in how ? What rpm range you looking for ? There's going to be trade off's but there is also a number of ways to play with gearing in the trans itself, the primary and lastly the final drive to achieve different things. With a 96" you already have enough motor , we just the need the details on the rest of the drivetrain.

PS on a shovel drags lose low end power so get your head around that, some 2-1 like yours don't do it any favors either.

 

Yea I understand the drag pipes function. Lacking in low about upper mid to wfo they rock. I’ve never been a fan of 2-1 exhaust but everyone and their grandmother’ sit 2 legged dog said rob racing is best exhaust for shovels hands down. I do t see it. I’ve been trying to find a 3 stepped drag pipe setup like hooker use to make because they worked on every bike I had back in the day. Not many options for exhaust.
Mid to high is were power is lagging I feel. I’ve played with the chain sprockets. Stock setup sprockets were more of a fast acceleration but at 70 she was rapping the rpm’s damn hard. I can tell you 24 front and 48 rear you can cruise 100mph at 3 grand. Lol. But no power. Now that is set at 24 and stock rear 51 tooth. Tranny or primary may be an option but it gets spendy guessing. I’m wondering if ultima shovel motors respond well to a little head work. The engine comes with a Andrews bh if I remember right.
I can turn the wrenches easily enough and have for many years but the cams heads and drive train always fall back to the ****ed up mathematical equations bs that I don’t understand.
[img]blob:https://www.hdforums.com/7102f5d9-4c86-4b98-9de4-1de8a8d0dd40[/img]here is the info on the engine. I run s&s e on it. Dynatech 2000i ignition

 

My 93" shovel I went a 25 tooth comp sprocket to drop rpm, then went with a 3.0:1 first gear with a close ratio 2nd/ 3rd combo in the trans to keep the off the line power band with a 23/47 on the rear before I went belt rear.

​​​​​​ I run cycle shack staggered duals for pipes with a S&S 600 cam and well tuned E carb. Has pissed off a lot of103 & 107 Twinkie guys around here.

I'd be playing with my pipes & tune before tearing into the motor guessing at stuff.

 

thanks knowing how others have figured out what works helps. I spent 4 hrs at a Indy shop with a dyno we tried drags than tried drags with torque inserts. Than went to the 2-1 rb. The 2-1 beat drags in over all torque and hp. Drags did best higher r’s. Carb and timing are tuned in mint I may have to try the cycle shacks. Hope they aren’t to quiet.
I think my 81 fxs came with the close ratios but I may have to place a call to Andrews and see about switching tranny and compensator up. The struggle is real I guess. A buddy damn near had me talked into putting a 5 speed in it to get the lower end gearing but in long run a 5 speed just screams evo.

 

5 would give you more play area gearing and shift point wise but it will still be 1:1 in 5th same as a 4sp. Could be the cheaper option but opens other worm cans with losing the kicker and pipes again.

 

What is the cold cranking compression(1), and what is your overall gear ratio(2)?
Scott

 

[QUOTE=Hillsidecycle

ill do a cold cranking comp test tonight when I get home. Only got 1800 mi on engine. As far as overall gear ratios are concerned I’m not totally sure. Primary and tranny on the 81 fxs are stock rear sprocket is factory tooth. Sprocket off tranny got moved from 23 to 24 tooth. I can build a bike no problem but when it comes to math stuff. Well I can add,subtract, multiply and divide. After that I’m at a total loss. To much shuffling around from one juvenile home to another as a kid to get that good education. That’s what my buddy sets my valve springs for me when ever cams are installed and bigger than bolt in

 

the cylinder heads on that ultima 96 engine are good candidate for some head porting to make them what you are looking for. dsv