These T-Man kit builds really produce some impressive numbers! His shop is about a hour north of me.

 

+1. I have never had a better experience at a shop in my life. I had the pleasure of working with not only Ron and Bob while I was there, but also several of the guys in the back. Every one of them are class acts.

Zach

 

Well, I'm home now and the wait begins.

I got to meet Ron, good guy and understands what I want and the importance this build and my bike are to me. I feel that I made the right decision, but only time will tell

I didn't meet Bob, but I'm sure I will. I will making a few trips up there before all is said and done with the final tune.

I asked them to take ALOT of pics of the build, I hope they do. That way I can post progress pics here.

 

Sounds great, good luck on the build, hope to see the pics.

 

why do you say The heat and starting issues were due to wrong heads, with the wrong pistons, with the wrong cams, etc...and basically, too much compression.? Just curious- what combo were you running anyway? The SE 103BB/ SE 255 kit? If that's the case, i may be in the same boat when spring/summer rolls around... What temps were riding in to experience this? Thanks!!!

 

Will be taking the bike in Tuesday for 255 cam,HP 10.5 pistons,heads ported/polished were you saying to much compression for that cam. Intrested in your comments , thanx

 

I was curious on brypink's 107 build... His signature indicates he has the SE 255 103BB combo, but is going with the Tman 107 kit due to starting/heat issues with the wrong heads, cam, compression, etc... I have the SE 103 BB Pro kit with SE 255 cams and was curious on the heat/starting issues he experienced... I hope I am not in the same boat come spring/summer... 10:1 compression... may need automatic compression releases installed...

 

10:1 with that cam and SC heat...I can virtually assure you that you will need compression releases. I live in SC too...and my Night Train is 10.6 to 1, so a little higher, but it's not even CLOSE to being able to start without the compression releases and I have a larger cam that keeps the intake valve open later than the 255.

My cranking compression via a gaugue is about 195 lbs. You may want to check yours while the weather is cool and if you are in that ballpark then you may as well get the releases put in now while it's the slow season.

 

Alright guys...I'm not an expert but I'll try to explain this as best as I can.

I have the SE 103" Stage II Big Bore kit. It comes with cast flat top pistons and 255 cams. The Service manager recommended the SE MCR heads. Well, this combo created a 10.8:1 CR. That CR is too boo koo for the 255 cams. If the forged pistons would have been used, all would be ok (or at least I've been told). As is, it's a tuning nightmare...and engine nightmare. Pinging from hell that can be heard over my stereo and exhaust AND occurs just rapping on the throttle at idle. This combo also creates heat because my engine is well over 225 lbs of crank compression (this is the part I'm not too sure I have right...at least the terminology). This is why I say wrong heads, wrong pistons, wrong cam, etc.

If doing the 103" Big Bore kit...do the Stage I and use a SE 259E cam if you must use all SE parts (I learned the hard way there is ALOT of BETTER stuff out there than Screamin' Eagle products). I'm still unsure if the 259E cam will work with a CR of 10.8 though. No one would from HD seemed to know.

I dealt with the dealer (service mgr) too much and after 4 trips back and numerous phone calls...I've decided to cut my losses and do a build the right way...once and for all.

TR owner of TMan Performance is HIGHLY recommended for his years of knowledge and expertise. And it was evident after talking to him for mere minutes on the phone. He is getting very impressive numbers from his builds and easily giving other builds a run for their money.

Ron and Bob from RC Cycles are well known and Bob could easily be one of the top tuners on the West Coast. They come highly recommended and I've seen their numbers using TMan's kits (it's posted all over TMan Performance website).

 

Oh yeah, I can barely get it started even with the compression releases. Forget it if the engine is hot.