how hard is it to compression test one of these? my buddy had a kit we used for single cyl 2strokes but I have a feeling this would be alot more complicated.

on a side note I'm not sure if it makes me lucky or unlucky that this is my fourth hd and the first that had a faulty fuel guage. I was so used to all mine working that I forgot some of the first advice I was given when I started riding was "never trust a fuel guage that comes free with a hd" I was loosing it for a second when she started cutting out before my brain started catching up lol. 5.08gal to fill...

I'm trying to decide if I want to try emailing the shop local to where the first owner lived or take the time to ride over.. id like to just email because im not a very social person but I think showing up would probably have better results. they may even recognize the bike.

I need to get on the ball and pick up the haynes/Clymer manual for it and make some adjustments. I also need to research tuners and consider getting one. for all i know it has a crap tune that is set for fuel economy or something..

so far i need to:
roll apes forward
take freeplay out of throttle
add freeplay to clutch lever
remove heel shifter
adjust pegs on crash bar

 

Checking compression is easy; plenty of You Tube videos. Forget the Clymer manual and spring for the HD service manual; best tool to have on the bench. How "social" do you have to be to show up and inquire about your bike? Look into the Power Vision tuner; pretty much the "go to" fuel management system these days.

 

You're right about cr. When I wrote that I was thinking about the cr when I did my 07 big bore. Wrong big bore. My 95 big bore was on my 99. Both those bikes are long gone. The 95 big bore was 9.4:1 with stock heads & flat top pistons, although there is a big bore combo that could be a 10.5:1 cr, this mystery motor appears to have SE Ported heads so not likely the high cr build.

 

Yep, like I said. For a 95" to make 10.5 static, heads have to be decked or pistons domed. The Kompressor heads have been decked .050" and the second one in the chart has domed pistons. The build in question shows manual compression releases which begs the question on compression.

 

I hope I'm misunderstanding how that works lol... from what I gather because the bike is a 2005 I would have to buy the power Vision tuner for $439 then by the auto-tune kit for another $400.

is that right?? I'm totally cool with dropping $439 on the power vision but spending almost a thousand on the setup is something I don't think I could bring myself to do. I'm hoping I misunderstood how that works. I can see spending $439 because it is the best when all the competition is around $250 but spending over $800 when the competition is $250 seems kind of crazy.

 

Cold crank compression test will tell a lot. I'm betting low. Big heads, big cam, low compression = soft performance.

 

No you will not need the auto tune kit. The basic unit will do a good enough auto tune for most people. Buy from Fuel moto . Tell what you know about the bike and they will give to a tune for it with the tuner. Also should you decide to dyno it many tuners will now use the Power vision.

 

Most tuners that tune with the Power Vision will sell the customer a "license" which will run $150-$250 depending on the tuner. This way the customer doesn't have to purchase the Power Vision hardware/software. The customer then will pay another $300-$400 for the dyno tune; again, depending on the tuner. Most tuners will provide the customer with the tune on a thumb drive for future use which another tuner that tunes with the Power Vision could use for a re-tune if other modifications are made in the future. Still not cheap but IMHO a better option that purchasing the hardware/software and a dyno tune.

No need for the auto tune feature. If interested in DIY tuning and a less expensive option, check out the V&H FP3. The system gets great reviews online as does V&H tech support. Plenty of YouTube reviews and tutorials online that claim the system is easy to install, app for your smart phone, etc. Of course, it's not a substitute for a dyno tune but lots of guys very happy with the system.

 

once I know what im dealing with for sure that will make the tuner choice alot easier. the more I thought about it the better the pv w/ target tune sounded but if I've got a bum cam setup or some other issue thats robbing performance skipping the target tune/ auto tune to fund the replacement of those parts might be a better option for me. she was struggling to get much above 90mph riding into a real strong wind today but I think I make a pretty good parachute to catch wind and slow it down. speed was still climbing but REAL slow like.

maybe I'm overlooking simple stuff and jumping into expensive solutions lol for all I know someone may have changed gearing at belt or something. first gear near idle does take quite a bit of clutch manipulation to keep slow enough for maneuvering in tight spaces and doing u-turns. I don't remember my 96" wideglide being like that. my sporty definitely wasn't lol seemed like that thing could almost do a figure 8 in a single parking space after riding the wg.

hoping to make it to dealer this week to see what I can find out. once I know what I have I guess I could atleast order the tuner with a map from FM and decide from there what route to go. Hopefully I'll be able to get my buddies compression tester set up in the next day or two and see what we're working with there

 

How can FM develop a map or target tune if you don't know the details of the motor configuration?