Plenty of those same kits only coming in at the 140 range to from independents, one right here on this site. Zippers has been around for a long time with many record setting bikes at the track, Danny has no reason to make things up, as he's been doing this much much long than FM and many others. So while your happy with your bike it's not all that special when it comes to the performance game.

 

Pretty funny when all of sudden some folks think 150hp isn’t “special” in a street build M8. I bet they’d think it was “special” if it were built in “THEIR” shop. If the FM builds are “not all that special”, let’s see a few STREET BUILD M8 dynos that others think qualify as “special” that have been operated for 10,000 miles??

 

HDrider1 does this count then,I don't get it FM dyno's their results and they're OK with you Zippers dyno's their results and win a lot of national championships,and grudge matches for the purpose of who really is the big dog and it's not OK with you. Your range is very limited.
Check it BigT's
2017 FLHX Street Glide
124” Kit – 4.250" x 4.375"
10.9:1 Compression,
4.250" Cylinders with CP Flat Top Pistons
Stage I Heads (high lift springs)
Red Shift 552 Cam
SE 64mm Throttle Body w/5.5 Injectors
K&N custom air cleaner w/polished throttle body
TTS Tuner
XXX header w/Street Outlaw Mufflers
SDR Clutch in Evo Industry Basket
Darkhorse blueprinted crank w/Carrillo rods

Good enough for you?

Peace

 

Here's the RED Shift cam stompin the Woods cam the Zippers cam was run in 5th too not 6th, so much more left side it was no contest for context. The zippers cam without 5th to 6th gear correction would be so far in front it wouldn't matter.Woods cams in general need the right pipe combo or they don't work well,to me that's a weak point.


Peace.

 

Both are strong builds but the tuning and dyno were completed 7 months apart in different gears. Hardly a legitimate comparison, let alone “a stompin”.

 

I would find a reputable builder close to me wherever I lived to try and do the work, this way if issue's do arise your close by to getting a fix.

Several Indies around that are putting out solid builds, in my area of East Tn. my go too guys would be J&B Performance. So that's where I'd look at would be your area or drop by J&B's !!

 

Agoober, you seem to be missing the point.
The builds you show are good -- so what? What do they have to do with a Zippers 124 kit? The Zippers kit includes a Thundermax tuner -- please post a high performance street mannered 124 build using a Thundermax (other than from Zippers test bike) and then you'll have my attention.

 

Not funny at all. As a manufacture of parts and not an install shop that resells parts to the consumer, we have a different view. What we look for the parts to do, is be used and perform the same across the country, not just on a happy dyno. So the shop in Georgia makes the same numbers as the shop in New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Nevada or California. We want all our customers to expect numbers than can be made by multiple dyno shops. So if that means we advertise a number that is a little lower to achieve it, that's what we do. I've had plenty of shops use our components and get better results than we advertise and most real manufactures do the same. We do not need or want to have to have a happy dyno or make excuses as to why the numbers did not get made. So as far as 10,000 miles on a build you screwed M8's up in less than 1000, so I guess that counts you out.

Look, M8's making 140+ Ft lbs and 140+ HP is common place these days running pump gas, but if you abuse them they are going to break something and it will not even take Heatwave to do it. What you can do in cooler temperatures, is not the same as what you can do in the Southwestern USA where it's common place to have 90 - 105 degree days for weeks on end. We have traffic that you may run 5 - 10 mph while splitting lanes for hours at a time, things high HP engines just do not like, let alone the rider getting cooked while doing it. So a blanket statement just doesn't work and many seem to want to twist the truth to suck consumers into building something that's not really what they want or need. You build a hotrod then expect to treat it like a hotrod and if your not willing or able to do that, don't get suckered into building one. Build a bike that will run well and last for thousands of miles and keep the power in a range that it will last for. On a M8 build that is around 120 Hp IMHO. You go beyond that and your building a HotRod!

 

I agree with most everything said. I was just curious on your definition of what a "special" build is and any examples you can share after you suggested that a FM street-build M8 at 150hp is "nothing special". For the record and full disclosure, I had a tune on FM's dyno several years back and my pre-tune dyno chart was within 1-2 hp/ftlbs and nearly identical curve on the same bike when it was originally tuned at my local dealer.

Everyone's definition of "hotrod" varies. For guys happy with the stock engine, an SE stage 3 is a hotrod. For other guys it takes a turbo or supercharger before they have the power that qualifies as a "hotrod". The vast majority of stock bike owners view an EPA-Approved SE Stage IV as a hotrod.

I've ridden 70,000 miles with a 125/125 TC that the vast majority of Harley riders would view as a hotrod but others would view as ho-hum. The reference to "hotrod" is almost always in the eyes and seat of the rider using that power. It all comes down to what the rider is looking for and how reliable the build will be when its done. I agree that some shops can have a tendency to oversell what a rider wants or needs, but in the end its up to the buyer to make the final decisions.

Obviously, more power puts more parts at risk over time which comes with the territory of wanting more than stock power. And it's just as obvious that sponsors are looking to make a living promoting parts and services that cater to riders that simply want more power. Not only is there nothing wrong with that, it should be celebrated, as its good for all us guys that are not happy with EPA-choked factory engines. Just hate to see "shade" thrown around when its just not necessary given all the terrific cam, big bore, and HD performance upgrades available in today's market from many suppliers.

 

I feel we've done a really good job giving users straight advice and customer experiences, especially when you consider we've built & tuned in the thousands of combinations, much of it being in the social media spotlight open to interpretation. If you take a look you'll find our customers are not the ones throwing around terms like mislead, lied, suckered, and so on. It's actually quite the opposite; there are many thousands of google, facebook, and other completely organic reviews that are out there, or simply search HDForums which we've been active on for about 13 years now, you'll see what we're all about, where we have been, and where we are going. We're typically booked out several months with appointments and our customers commonly drive across the USA for our services. We're simply too busy here helping people, tuning, and building motors to get sidetracked with some of the nonsense that goes on between other manufacturers.

On our website we clearly note that our complete 124/128 kits "when combined with the appropriate performance modifications offers output in excess of 140+ horsepower. This kit works with stock or aftermarket cylinder heads, it requires larger throttle body, injectors, exhaust system, as well as other components that will support 140+Hp." These numbers fall right in line with not only the builds we do in house but also with other shops around the country that have tuned our kits. When they use the same proven recipes, we follow the same premise that "We want all our customers to expect numbers that can be made by multiple dyno shops". The customer supplied dyno charts below show just that from a few different regions.

California


Texas


Montana


Mississippi