IMHO?

Unless you have GOOD cores, starting with a set of cases, a crank you can true and weld, jugs, and a set of heads that can be ported to match the rest of the parts, building a engine locally gets expensive quick.... you are buying parts one at a time, or even in a kit.... it is hard to compete with mass production and economy of scale that say a S&S or even HD has.

Crate engines are cost efficient and if you don't pick a junk brand, they are reliable too

 

It would be hard to beat a hand built engine from the right builder. Cost effective it's not going to be.

 

Both have advantages. Build from scratch and you won't have to lay out $7,000-$10,000 all at once. You can buy parts as the money comes in. Crate motors are a better value. You can get more horsepower for less money. Probably a warranty too. I like one piece at a time because I don't have $10,000. You are doing the research so your on the right track.

 

What is the ultimate goal? Weekly drag races in a specific class? Bragging rights Saturday Night at the local DairyQueen? 50+ years of riding and I still don't understand. There are so many bikes that have amazing speed at much lower costs, what is the drive to get a few extra MPH out of a HD?

 

I will join you in the old man minority. I love H-D for style, sound and feel. If I need the thrill of HP, I'm on a VMax, Diavel, Rocket III, or 20 other fun choices.

 

I second this. I love my RKS for it's looks, torque, feel, and sound. I look back lovingly at my bike every time I walk away from it, and I love hours long rides on it. That said, if I want a "go fast" bike, for the money it would take to get more HP and torque out of my bike with a Stage IV kit or 131 crate engine, I could spend that money on a decade old liter bike, and get blisteringly faster performance from it.
But, I understand the appeal of building a more powerful engine for a Harley. Like others have stated, a crate engine has the advantage of a lower price point, and potentially a warranty. But, if you have the ability to do the work yourself, building an engine from scratch allows you to pick and choose which parts you want to install. And personally laying your hands on every part, bolt, and nut, assembling the entire engine yourself, may give you some peace of mind that the job was done right. But, if you have to pay someone to do it, it will get very expensive, very quick.

 

After my last rebuild, I wish I would’ve just gotten the S&S V111. I did an 85” top end with ported heads and a new cam chest with a .590 lift cam, it was nice having an 85” Evo that was smoking twin cams, but the 111 might have been the better option dollar for dollar.

 

You need to be more specific. No way can you get a generic answer to that. Building a stock spec 80 cid Evo or a 200 cid blown IHRA nitro drag motor? UL, knuck, pan, shovel, evo, twinkie, what? Do it all yourself or hire it out? I built a stroker Panhead totally from scratch just because I wanted to, and dropped a small fortune - one of the worst business moves I ever made. Envision dumping 5 gal buckets of hundreds into a wood chipper. My wife has a standing order to hit me in the head with a crescent wrench if I even consider that again. A buddy bought a HD factory "engine program" Evo and that was the best bang for the buck I ever saw - he just dropped off his old beast, and picked it up with a new motor that ran like a raped ape - at 1/4 the $$ that I spent on that pan. I don't know what you're running, but you can get certain HD factory long blocks in the $4K range: link. To me, right now, it seems that S&S motors are just too expensive. RevTech sucks. I haven't seen a running Ultima, so cant say there. Hot Shot in Sandusky, or maybe Accurate in Dothan (if Berry is still in business) can build Swiss watches for you if you have a bottomless bank acccount.


To summarize, I would say "it depends".

 

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when you build what you want - the entire recipe of the build takes place, a crate motor gives you only that & everyone is gonna go big or go home...right? putting the power to the ground takes more than a crate motor so there is the other costs for that. Oh..... and you might want to be able to stop the bike & upgrade the brake system. when I do a build for someone I let them know its a domino effect from motor to driveline to stopping power. when you build it and address all these things - then you got something - but its gonna cost you one way or another no matter what your choice.