I'm thinking of going with a 95" kit. I can get screamin eagle jugs & pistons for around $350.00. The install dosen't look hard. I was wondering if the gains were worth the cost & effort. Also, I was going to up the compression. How high can I go before I need to run race fuel?

 

I'm running a 10.25:1 compression on my 95" Wide Glide.

Where I live we can still get 92 octane "real gas" (not the blended crap), so I probably could have gone with a higher compression. Friend of mine is running 10.5:1 without any problems using the same fuel.

But I stayed with 10.25:1 instead of going higher because I make a lot of long runs on the bike, and didn't want to worry using lower quality gas if need be.

I might have gained a couple of extra horsepower going with a higher compression, but the piece of mind of not worrying about fuel issues in different areas of the country is worth it to me.


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If your going that far it only makes sense to save up & do it all. your biggest gains will be raising your comp & a good set of cams. I raised my comp by milling the heads. 9.8:1 also I had comp release installed. $500 for pistons,jugs,cams, clutch kit. $500 for port-polish, milled & comp release on heads. $500 for SERT & dyno tune. I have about 2k in my build with 90 hp & 101 trq

 

Just my opinion, but I don't see the need to install a compression release unless you are running more than 10.5:1. Myself and a number of guys I know are running TC's with compression in the 10.25:1 to 10.50:1 range, without compression release, and not one of us have had any issues.

But I do agree that if you go with the 95" build you might as well upgrade the cams at the same same. Easier to do it then than later. Depending on how much you want to spend it's also a good time to 'clean up the heads' if you are looking for substantial horsepower gains.

One of the most populat cams out there right now is the SE 255. It's a high lift cam (lift 550/550, duration 211/235), and provides a nice torque increase in the low to mid RPM range.

Others like the SE 204, which will show nice power increases in the mid to upper RPM range. It has a lift of 508/508 and a duration of 236/240.

I'm running the SE 258 in my 95" TC. They are a little more radical (lift of 550/550 duration of 258/258) and provide excellent horsepower and torque numbers in the mid to upper RPM range. But if using the SE 255's you will also need to go with adjustable pushrods, and something like the SE valve spring kit.

But with good cams and some headwork it's not difficult to build a very dependable 95" TC engine that puts out 90 to 100 RWHP, even if you limit the compression to the 10.25:1 range because of fuel concerns.

 

you might not need the C/R but believe me I can tell a big difference when I don't use it. they bike starts so much easier with them! even more so when its hot. if you send your heads out it's only an extra $100 installed!

 

Surely you don't plan on running high compression pistons with stock cams. You don't mention cams. 10.5:1 works fine on a 95" with the proper cams, although you'll need head work to make them perform. It will run fine on premium pump gas. Just going to higher compression will not make for a good motor. Get cams and heads matched for your pistons, or just use stock compression pistons for your big bore kit, if you're running stock cams and heads. If your parts don't compliment each other, you'll have at best a poor running bike, at worst a lot of problems.

 

I have Andrews T-50 cams in it now. I'm not planning on changing them. When I had the cams done the tuner and I chose them with idea that I would be adding inces and compression later. I just wanted to make sure that I am not going to have to run race fuel. I'd like to go 10:1 and then just have my stock heads ported and comp. releases installed. My plan is to do all the install work myself and I'll have the head work and tuneing done by throttle city.