Completed my break in and got a good 200 mile trip while I was at it. This bike definitely likes to ping when it's hot. To rectify, I'll start planning my upgrades now. I'm wanting to keep it reasonably quiet (a little rumble is nice), staying with SE parts primarily, and will be using the SEST for tuning. Also, as I'm not looking to maximize power, I want to leave the top end intact; just looking to get it running cooler and getting some low end torque while I'm at it. Stock compression is 9.6:1 and I also want to keep mileage as high as possible

What I have already decided on:
Jackpot 2:1:2 head pipes
SE Thunder Street mufflers (supposed same as Supertrapp and old SE pipes)
SE Ventilator Intake
SE Super tuner with smart-tune

For the cams, I really like the SE-255's low-end torque and dyno profile. I don't want a mid to high rpm cam. But, as I'm also trying to relieve some heat and pinging, the new Andrews 48H seems to be possibly a little better with a later intake close and more overlap, but it's new. The SE-255 is tried and true and I can find a reasonable map to start tuning with.

I primarily ride without a passenger and do a lot of riding in the mountains. I seldom see 5k rpm. Recommendations as to which would be the best solution for my needs?

Mark

 

Pinging already? Why? Are you using 93 octane gas?

 

I live in the Rockies and 91 octane is the highest we can get and that is what I use. It will ping rolling on the throttle 2500 to 3000 rpm when it gets hot.

Mark

 

You need to pull some timing...I had the same problem when hot, even using 93 octane...

 

Thanks Brad -I had to do that on my last bike (103 with 54H cams), but was hoping to drop the heat a bit if possibly first.

Mark

 

What did you NOT like about the 54H Cam ??

 

I liked it in my Dyna, but I had bumped the compression up to about 10.5:1. It ran very well - 100 ft lbs of torque from 2200 - 5000 rpm, peaking at 112 at 4000 rpm. It's just not the power curve I want for this bike and I don't want to increase the compression over stock. As noted, I had to pull timing out in the midrange to counter the pinging - the builder got a bit more compression than I had asked for (wanted 10:1), so swapped the 37 for a 54 and the later intake close helped in reducing the dynamic compression a bit.

Mark

 

Swapping the 255s for the Andrews 48 will reduce your CCP by about 3 PSI. That might be enough to make the difference. You still might need to pull some timing out, but not as much as you would with the 255s.

Have you considered a Woods 5? It hits early, and has been known to do very well in the 103 motors.

 

i have the 255's with the 103, run 91 octane all the time. no pinging. Also, installed the sert, so mileage is down some, but it pulls like a freight train all the way up to 4500. no hard starting, as i keep it pluged up when not in use. Spend the extra $$$ and put the SE compensator on it. It will take care of a lot of starting issues. I do not have compression releases and have had zero problems with starting, in all types of weather. Have 7K on the clock now and it just keeps getting better. bike is 2010 RG custom

 

I put the SE compensator on my Dyna, but now the 2011 touring bikes have them stock. Also, the 103 Powerpak comes with an ACR, that is a nice item to have in case. Did you do any Dyno tuning with your SERT or just loaded a matching map?

Thanks,

Mark