Ok, First Post, gonna jump right in:
Have an '08 Street Glide completely stock. Been waiting for winter to do any upgrades as 7 months of the white stuff makes good upgrade time.
Been thinking about the 103 Stage II kit. I know I could go with HQ or another 'build' but have decided to keep this one straight SE. Just a choice. A majority of my riding is between 2500 - 4000 RPM. Stage II gives the bump right in that area, but with head work the HP's come on a little later, and the TQ bump is marginal. The questions I have I guess is:
DO I do the heads? I would say yes as it doesn't add much if any labor time to the build.. any thoughts, port/polish stock heads? Buy new ones?
2nd Question, what compression ratio are you 'builds' running? At what point does a 10.+ compression become a realibility or a factor?
FYI, my first dealer gave me a quote of 14 hours for the build, seems about 4 hours long to me....
here is my first ideas,
SE Heavy Breather
SE Stage II 103"
SE Pro Super Tuner
D&D Fat Cats

Thanks, got about a month before I pull the plug..

 

If you want to stay with SE go with the Performance Heads for 103, thats what I did and I luv the Ride

 

The catalog I have only shows a stage II which does not include heads.

I have a '09 Roadglide, totally stock.

 

I'm probably going to be the only one that is going to tell you this, but I always try to be straight up with any opinions I give.

I had an 07 that I put the 103 in. I did the SE heads, roller rockers with supports, SERT, 255 cams, Fat Cat, 90 degree high flow air cleaner, etc. It was about $4,000.00 worth of work and goodies. In my mind, it never delivered what I had hoped for. And maybe I wasn't being realistic about what the finished product was going to be, but it wasn't the right tool for me.

The gas mileage, in my opinion, sucked. After doing a careful tune on the bike, a couple of times, the bike would average 33 mpg on the highway at normal cruising speeds running solo with no gear. 2 up and any head wind at all would push it as low as 29. Granted, if I would have had a 6 gallon tank it would have helped a little, but where I live, there are loops where that kind of fuel range was useless. I did a 4000 mile vacation this year with two other Road Kings. One was an 01 with a 95 injected and the other was a stock, carbed 04. Both bikes got better mileage than I did, at all times, in all conditions. And when I took a run at the 95ci just to prove that more cubic inches is always a good thing, he handed me my ***.

As far as how the bike ran, it ran hard and quick above 3000 rpm, all the way to redline. But that isn't where I was trying to run most of the time. Having a 6 speed and a motor that only pulled hard above 3000 was kind of self defeating, for me. And my seat of the pants dyno never felt that the 103 was ever any better than the 96 at getting the bike off the line.

Long story short.....I won't break down another motor without going at least 110. And it will be built from the ground up for torque. Like I said, that is just my experience and I am not trying push you away from the 103, just offering another opinion.

Good luck.

 

When you move away from the HD kits, and don't want a kit/package from a reputable vendor, you are now in the area of performance engine design soliciting advice from cyber "experts." You're soliciting advice on the internet for a "little headwork," cams, compression, etc. It's your bike, your money, and your crapshoot on the outcome of that process.

What do you want and what is your budget? A lot of guys are happy with a simple Stage II BB kit, no headwork, and dealer download.

Personally, I'd buy a Head-Quarters Sport Touring 103/107 package with 10.5:1 compression. Delivers over 100+/100+ with the torque over 100 from 2500 to 5000 rpm, reliable, and 40+ mpg on a bagger.

The previous poster who spent $4K for an SE build found that a lot of the SE performance stuff is really for high rpm use; not what most bagger owners want.

Good luck with your research and project.

 

Just got my 08 Ultra back from the dealer last night. Had the 103 stage II installed. I rode 25 miles as soon as I got it but breaking in the new stuff I did not exceed 4000 RPM. Hard to tell if there is really a big difference without really getting on it. Seat of the pants tells me it wanted to go but we will really find out as soon as I get close to 600 miles. I will have it dyno tuned at that time and will really be able to tell you the difference as I had it dyno tuned with the stage 1.. Shoot me a message in a few weeks and I will let you know what I think.. Oh yes, the dealer charged me 12 hours labor for the install...

 

Sorry to hear you will be using SE parts, the after market is the only way to go for performance IMO.

 

My 103 Most be out of the Norm, I get approx 43MPG and it flat-out out Runs all my Buddies that are running 95ci. Sure it's not a HQ are other Performance Engine but it is a Hard Running reliable Bike and the total Build for my 103 was approx $2000

 

please i hope you get this message before you spring for the parts. remember that link that ties your front cylinder head to the frame right above the front exhaust pipe? the heads i was going to get for my 08 sg didn't have the holes drilled into the bosses for attatching that link. it's a rod with two spherical rod end bearings that swivel, as does the one down toward the bottom front of your motor if yours is an 08. the only cure would be either to have your heads done by someone who's good with porting, i.e. hq, or to have performance heads milled and drilled for the lateral link. hq heads would be my choice as i'm planning on doing the same thing when the bike is out of warranty.

 

IceH-
Do your heads have the Automatic Compression Release?