Which of these S&S engines would you choose as a replacement for an old 80" shovel, the SH103, SH93 or the SH93HC.

Just looking for an honest opinion.

Thanks

 

I'm running the 93HC and it's a pain , love the power but it eats starters & batteries so you better know how to kick one over or you won't be riding much . On a shovelhead 103 is too much and it's a short lived engine , about 20 - 25k tops and they are smoking . For the money the standard SH93 is a hell of a choice , all the advantages of new tech without all the extra care & time the HC motor needs and they do need regular TLC as everything down stream needs beefing up & care .

My best shovel engine was 88" with a decent cam and headwork , uses the stock 80" lower end with the 4-1/4" stroke wheels and you just bore the stock cases & heads a bit to accept the bigger 3-5/8" stock length cylinders . Wasn't a hotrod by any means but it pulled like a freight train 2 up with gear in the mountains and I got 100,000 out the lowerend on it , motor was solid & low maintenance . Up side to this is you can do this upgrade for about 1/4 what the S&S93 will cost you , that extra cash can make for a lot of nice upgrades on the beast .

 

Thanks for the much needed direction and advice! I have been on the fence trying to pick one. I think from what you said I may just settle for the SH93. I still would like that extra power but its for a bar hopper anyway. Definitely not for long highway runs where I need passing power.

Thanks Again!!

 

Dunno man I rode that 88" all over the country , do a proper bed & set when you put the drive train in the frame to get square & true and it cuts a lot of the usual vibrations out , with a belt primary to change the ratio a bit and 23-47 sprocket setup that old bike would run 70 -75 before the pegs started buzzing . Went to a belt rear and that sweet spot went up to 85 .

The SH93 standard is a runner so keep in mind it has lighter flywheels like the evos had and the low end torque is less than your used to but the redline is up around 6000 if you want to push it . It's a much more streetable motor than the HC version .

 

Just bought the SH93HC and should be at the house 1st week of April. Gonna install it when I get home on vacation soon after. Instead of running the dual plugs I am opting for comp releases which should help my starter last longer.

 

Keep the updates coming I'd like to follow this and compare notes . With the comp releases be sure to get ones that won't let anything drop into the cylinder when they fail and they do break .

 

limitation on a shovel isn't the engine, its the frame

had a 89" stroker, it was quick but you could feel the frame flex everytime I gave it full noise

93" low comp would be my pick of the choices you listed

in hindsight I should have left the bike 80" and used the money spend hot rodding the motor on a cheap ducati which has outright performance out of the crate and left the shovel alone

 

Bet the center down tube was cracked or broken where it meets the motor/tranny mount boss , about half the frames I see are like that and unless you know where and how to look it doesn't get found often . I've run the blue fuc outa mine for 30 yrs now from 74" to a healthy 93" with no issues .

 

^+1 yep. Been running a 98"er since '85; broke a lot of things... some more than once.

BTW, good call on the S&S 93" over the 103; not sure you noticed this in the literature: http://www.sscycle.com/product/Vinta...ne-p21217.html

"Unlike the SH93 and SH93H, the SH103 engine will not fit in a stock frame without modifications because the overall height of the engine is .300 inches taller than stock."

They're referring to a stock shovel frame; the 103 will fit in an evo softail with no modification required.

 

Grinder Bill,

It was a close one having to choose the 93HC over the 103. Not much difference in price and it was going into a Santee custom chopper frame so the height would not have been a problem. I heard a few bad things about blowing smoke and rebuilding heads after 15K miles on the 103s so I played it safe. Cant wait to get the 93HC installed and broke in!