Just retired from the military and decided to get my first Harley, after riding my Slim S for 4 months I feel slightly underwhelmed with the level of performance. I'm now looking to give it a bit more power. The local Harley dealer hasn't been much help with advice on way to go so I'm hoping someone with more experience than myself might be able to point me in the right direction.

I'm looking at the Screamin Eagle 117 upgrade with possibly a Kuryakyn Blood Groove Hypercharger and possibly Rush Slash slip ons.

Question 1: I'm looking for more a acceleration than top end speed. The cams that come with kit are the SE-259-E cams, is their a better cam for what I want regards acceleration or are these about right for the job?

Question 2: After giving up looking for a suitable retro look black fishtail system I've opted for Rush slash slip ons, mainly to keep the style similar to the stock exhaust. Is there much of a draw back regards reduced bhp increase compared to a full system?

Question 3: I'm not overly convince the style of the blood groove is retro enough for the bike but not found anything else that's better looking that can provide enough flow... Anyone got a better looking retro high performance cleaner?

Lastly Harley want to charge me approx $520 for the software mapping kit.... Is this the norm as I envisaged this was just as it says software not hardware and they would simply remap the bike on the garage laptop.

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions. Cheers Wayne

 

I'd rather bolt a hypercharger to my face than put that kind of chrome-plated frippery on my bike.

GM

 

Much better tuners and cams if you look at the aftermarket stuff. Maybe some engine builders will chime in as well. Are you having the heads done?

 

At this stage I'm open to any suggestions as I may as well do it all in one hit to save on redoing things. Not considered the cylinder heads and every article I read seems to the contradict the last.

The only reason I'm looking at the blood groove cleaner is that it states it's good for up to 130 bhp builds.

 

Hi Wayne
There will always be better, faster, stronger packages but the HD 117 upgrade kit you mention is pretty good as it comes.
Doing a bit of a search should point out other options. One consideration for you is the ability for your shop or a dyno tuner near enough to you to be able to tune the ECM. The further you move away from stock set up the more important a good tune is to take advantage of the parts you've fitted and being in Wales rather than the US, that might be something to consider.
Dealers will typically install Screaming Eagle packages as that is where their familiarity lies and also it reduces any warranty issues down the line.
I take it the dealer is talking about installing a SE pro super tuner which is basically a flash tuner box that allows your ECM to accept a new map. So essentially you are correct about the software, but the cost comes from the box itself rather than just the map. This allows you to take that box to anywhere of your choice later on and have the bike properly tuned as it is likely that the dealership will simply choose the appropriate 117 map and download it as it comes... or are they going to dyno setup your bike?
There are a variety of different tuner boxes available to do the same thing, some better than others, but I think the most important thing is finding someone familiar enough with HD's and the tuner box you chose to be able to give you that good tune.


Regards the hyper charger..I'd definitely look at another option...there are many high flow options out there that look and perform better, even HD's round filter has kind of a classic retro look and in black would look pretty decent. Roland Sands & Rough Crafts seems to be all the rage at the moment huh? Your dealer should have a lot of aftermarket catalogues for you to look through.


You can always get an exhaust coated black if you see something that you like but only originally come in chrome.


Definitely do some more research and take your time.

 

Almost every aftermarket air cleaner can provide more than enough flow for your build. There is a lot left on the table by not doing the heads IMO. Even a mild port job will be money well spent. The heads on my 124 are mildly ported to match my cams and where I want my power. I went for mid range power as most of my miles are on the freeway at 2600-3200.

 

As far as air cleaners I prefer the simplicity and cost of DK customs.



http://www.dkcustomproducts.com/Air-...Intake_c10.htm

 

As far as tuners I prefer FuelMoto. They also would have a good opinion on cam/head choices. They can pre load the tuner with your engine combination.


http://www.fuelmotousa.com/p-28398-d...er-vision.html

 

Exhaust. Well if money wasnt an issue id have a SS Burns pipe but too pricey for me.

 

I was looking at the Crime Scene Choppers Speedline filter but can't see the flow capacity and not being an experienced engine builder I'm not confident fitting something that's an unknown quantity.

Harley webpage states I should use "The Screamin' Eagle Street Performance tuner" which is £250 not the £420 the local dealer stated so not sure what they were pricing up and they weren't to detailed in any explanation other than the job was going to take 13 hour to fit the 117 kit.