It's taken me two years to work out what tuning route to go with for my 117 LRS.

I only recently learned that the 117 heads are restricted on the exhaust side and that this impacts choice of cam. As I may go with a big bore kit in the future, it's not worth upgrading the heads at this point as I live in the UK and would probably have to ship my heads back and forth to the US. Therefore I want to make the best of what I've got and do the heads in conjunction with a Zipper Redshift 128" kit later.

In the meantime, and trying to future-proof myself against buying components twice if and when I go with 128". my thinking is as follows:

Sawicki mid-length 2:1 (packed).

HPI tunnel ram breather

68 mm HPI throttle body and manifold and larger injectors

Redshift 468 cam - complete kit including rods, tappets and cuffs. I'm persuaded that the Redshift cam is the best to work with the stock 117 heads.

Trask crankcase breather.

Custom tune, or failing that Thundermax module.

I'm assuming I don't need to make any upgrades to the cam chest, clutch and oil pump on the 117 engine.

Is there anything I've missed, such as on the primary side? Ie. compensator etc?

And will this set-up (other than the cam) work without replacing all the above if I decide to go 128" with ported heads in the future.

Sorry if this kind of question has been asked a million times, but it's hard to figure it all out when I'm on the other side of the Atlantic and don't have all the expertise available on the doorstep.

 

For the build you are planning, I don't see any reason for head work or larger injectors. In fact, I've never heard of anyone doing it at this power level. The bang for the buck just isn't there. As far as the trask crank breather, are you talking about the replacement top cover for the transmission? If so, you can remove the cover, drill a hole in it and install a barbed fitting . The fitting, one way valve, hose and filter cost me about $30. There is a guy on youtube that gives detailed instructions on how to do it. I would use a Power Vision tuner. If you buy it from Fuel Moto they probably have a map that will get you close. A few autotune sessions and you should be good. My bike runs so good that I don't feel a dyno tune is necessary. Good luck with your project.

 

M8 heads are restricted? They flow better than twin cam heads with the extra valve. I have heard that the 117 air filter are restricted, first I have heard about the heads. I know there is room for improvement …..

 

If you do the Zippers 128 kit you will need a new cam. The 128 kit uses a 552 cam. If you pay a refundable core charge, Zippers will send you the heads and then you just have to ship the old ones back to get your core refund.

I have the Zippers 128 kit on my 23 Road King. It is great. Here is what I think you might also consider:

Thundermax tuner (it is easy to tune and works well with the 128 kit)
Zippers or S&S cam chain tensioner
Feuling cam sprocket
Billet compensator ramp
Rekluse torq clutch

It's also key to check the crank run out. Mine was out of spec and I had to spend an additional $2K for a new S&S crank and bearings.

I also have the 468 cam on my Stage 2 street bob and it is great for torque and power

 

what was your run out. Mine came in at .003

 

.012. HD quality control can't be beat

 

wtf! Sorry to hear that. Glad to hear it’s straight now.

 

I was basing that on Redshift's own video. Restricted in the sense that the intake side can handle a lot more than the exhaust side can expel. Nothing wrong with what they put out now but if I'm reading it right exhaust ports need enlarging to accommodate a big bore kit.

 

No, I wouldn't go for head work unless adding a big bore kit. I like the 468 cam option because it has been designed specifically to get the best out of the stock 117 heads. Hence, if I went 128" I'd do the heads at that stage when ordering the kit.

I added injectors purely to avoid having to add them to a later big bore order. Though I suppose now you mention it, that they wouldn't be hard to find in the UK, so yes maybe that is over the top at this stage.

Yes I was referring to the replacement top cover crank breather. it's a hell of a lot of money though for what it is and as there's no evidence of blow-by as yet on my stock engine, I'd certainly appreciate a more cost effective way of doing it.

 

Thanks. Those were the things I wasn't sure about. I get confused whether the 117 needs those upgrades as some upgrades were at the factory for the 117 over the 114. But I'm never quite sure which ones.

When I buy the cam i won;t be fitting it myself so I'd expect the tuning shop to check the run-out. I'll probably fit the exhaust and breather myself and leave the cam install to the workshop.