Hello all, I’m putting together a rider Shovelhead, nothing crazy but will be ridden fairly hard. I want to build a solid engine . I have the opportunity to get a 4-1/2 stroke s&s crank, I don’t want to bore the cases to 3-5/8 so I will be running 80” barrels. I’m debating between the 4-1/2 stroker or a 80” crank. Would love to hear from people with real life experience with these engine combo’s. What are your thoughts? Thanks

 

Personally I love being stroked....but maybe this isn't the forum for that revelation....

With stroked motors comes higher piston speed, with higher piston speed comes higher wear but to some the price is worth it for the great gobs of torque it delivers.

I had a C3 Corvette, stroked to 6.2 litre and it was like the Starship Enterprise, you mashed the throttle, and everything went blurry until you arrived somewhere else in the universe...I've ridden stroked Evos that feel pretty much the same.

 

I put the 4-1/2" S&S Stroker kit in my 1976 FXE back in the early 1980's. It made plenty of power but to be honest if I didn't stroke it and all the other mods, I would probably still have that bike. I had .040" or .050" oversize pistons in the standard (but bored out) 74" cylinders. I put more miles on that bike than all my other Harleys combined. I blew the transmission all across the highway back in 91 and it also took out the engine in the process. I had 2 plugs per cylinder and head work by Lakeshore HD in Chicago, Andrews "B" grind, and S&S Super "B" back then. It would run, but in the long run it was more of a pain in the butt; it would have lasted longer as stock. Young, dumb, full of you know what!

 

4 1/2 by 3 1/2 is considered stock wear issues - if your a abbynormal and beat it it will bite you if your a human being and ride it well i have seen 100,000 miles on a few

 

The whole point of being young is to be dumb..only time you can get away with it Lol!

 

Thought I should clarify, I have mechanical sympathy, meaning it will be treated respectfully, not over revved etc, I just want to build a good solid motor without compromising reliability, thinking of running an Andrews A2 cam, hydronic lifters, some very mild port work, kibble white valves and guides, Andrews springs to match the cam, somewhere around 9.0-1 comp pistons, super E carb, the engine will be blue printed to correct tolerances etc

 

In general terms, that doesn't describe "most" strokers.

 

My First impression is...What Exactly do you expect to Gain...especially with a Shovelhead.. No Matter what Anyone Says..Money spent on Performance for a Shovelhead, is Much better spent on an Evo..best Cost/Reward ratio out there...Still. Back in the '80's...yea..Not many Options for Performance, except to get a Sportster.. Flame On!!!!

 

... and there weren't kits ( a combination of parts in a package ) back then ... Dyno's weren't everywhere so seat of the pants was a factor then out to the track ... You bought what your group had tired in many cases ... S&S , Delkron, STD, Truett Osborne ... True enough there is better bang for your buck doing an EVO ... but an EVO ain't a Shovel

 

And a Shovelhead Never was a Performance Machine..No Matter What one did to it..
I enjoy My Shovelhead for What it Is!!