Tri Glide Engine Mods

[Jenady]

We traded our 2012 CVO Ultra for a 2013 Tri Glide in December. Since then we put around 400 miles on it. It is very difficult to compare the performance of the two machines and I do not expect the heavier trike with smaller displacement to keep up with a Screaming Eagle. But I do want more.

I spent a lot of time reading here and trying to figure out what to do. The dealer says we have until the end of February to mod the engine and still have the warranty intact. We did get Rinehart True Duals, SE air filter, and the tuner that this shop uses installed. It runs good and pulls better than I expected. The mileage is only 28 mpg though.

So here's the deal, I have the SE cams out of the CVO. I could have them put in but have no idea whether there will be noticeable improvement. Other cams are deffinitely possible. I like the idea of having the heads cleaned up or possibly replaced. I just don't know if this is money well spent.

We will be touring and often will pull a Bushtec trailer. I am not a little guy and with my wife behind me the load is around 400 pounds. Then add baggage
and the trailer. I just believe more torque will be needed.

I appreciate opinions from anyone who knows about these things.

 

[eagle1]

check out the S&S 510 gear cam. it is the largest cam you can install with out head work. and it eliminated the cam shoes.
i installed one in my '09 t/g at 11k,with new lifters. cost was $2000.00 at a local bike shop. and it really peped up the performance.there was moderate cam shoe wear at that time. at 28k . i do hear the gears whine a bit, but they can't go anywhere, so press-on.
i also upgrades to performance machine stage 1 brake system. that gave me a 4 piston caliper & that helped a-lot. i figure its worth it if it saves me from one accident.

 

[Mr.Wizard]

We traded our 2012 CVO Ultra for a 2013 Tri Glide in December. Since then we put around 400 miles on it. It is very difficult to compare the performance of the two machines and I do not expect the heavier trike with smaller displacement to keep up with a Screaming Eagle. But I do want more.

I spent a lot of time reading here and trying to figure out what to do. The dealer says we have until the end of February to mod the engine and still have the warranty intact. We did get Rinehart True Duals, SE air filter, and the tuner that this shop uses installed. It runs good and pulls better than I expected. The mileage is only 28 mpg though.

So here's the deal, I have the SE cams out of the CVO. I could have them put in but have no idea whether there will be noticeable improvement. Other cams are deffinitely possible. I like the idea of having the heads cleaned up or possibly replaced. I just don't know if this is money well spent.

We will be touring and often will pull a Bushtec trailer. I am not a little guy and with my wife behind me the load is around 400 pounds. Then add baggage
and the trailer. I just believe more torque will be needed.

I appreciate opinions from anyone who knows about these things.

The CVO cams are SE255's, many have them installed on their TG and are happy with them. Several cams have been installed are in use on the TG's. I can't think of one person that has said their cam was awful.

With that being said, the above 510 is a great cam. Now here's the BUT...

Seems your dealer already took your bottom end torque away from you then tried to tune it back in with "their" tuner and robbed you again with the fuel mileage. You didn't say what that tuner was and that's OK, probably the SEPro tuner. Putting duals on a trike robs your motor of bottom end torque. This is now why you are looking for a cam to compliment your TG.

Since you have the extended warranty and your dealer has set a deadline for engine modifications why not just ask them what cam will give you back the TQ they took away with the duals. Tune it again and this time get better than 30 MPG. Start by handing them the 255's.

Hate to sound all "matter of fact". Seems your dealer has the ball. :Shrug:

 

[FLTR2008TRIKE]

The CVO cams are SE255's, many have them installed on their TG and are happy with them. Several cams have been installed are in use on the TG's. I can't think of one person that has said their cam was awful.

With that being said, the above 510 is a great cam. Now here's the BUT...

Seems your dealer already took your bottom end torque away from you then tried to tune it back in with "their" tuner and robbed you again with the fuel mileage. You didn't say what that tuner was and that's OK, probably the SEPro tuner. Putting duals on a trike robs your motor of bottom end torque. This is now why you are looking for a cam to compliment your TG.

Since you have the extended warranty and your dealer has set a deadline for engine modifications why not just ask them what cam will give you back the TQ they took away with the duals. Tune it again and this time get better than 30 MPG. Start by handing them the 255's.

Hate to sound all "matter of fact". Seems your dealer has the ball. :Shrug:

:Agree:

 

[Trent]

Jenady...I have done pretty much the same thing to my '11 TG that you did,,,except I installed V& H Power duals.. I also put in the SE255 cams and lifters. Very happy with the cooler temps and more power now, and I am no lightweight either. I get 32 MPG no matter how I ride. My dealer cant dyno a Trike, but with the computer map we used, we figure it is doin' at least 100hp. I recently changed out my Ness Big Sucker to the just out SE Extreme Breather. I could immediatly tell a power difference with it also. Supposedly, the Extreme Breather adds another 5 HP right outta the box. Lowered the tone of my exhaust too, which was already very low.
Cant go wrong with the 255's...they work very well for me.

 

[kimber45]

The 255's work great for me.

 

[msocko3]

The CVO cams are SE255's, many have them installed on their TG and are happy with them. Several cams have been installed are in use on the TG's. I can't think of one person that has said their cam was awful.

With that being said, the above 510 is a great cam. Now here's the BUT...

Seems your dealer already took your bottom end torque away from you then tried to tune it back in with "their" tuner and robbed you again with the fuel mileage. You didn't say what that tuner was and that's OK, probably the SEPro tuner. Putting duals on a trike robs your motor of bottom end torque. This is now why you are looking for a cam to compliment your TG.

Since you have the extended warranty and your dealer has set a deadline for engine modifications why not just ask them what cam will give you back the TQ they took away with the duals. Tune it again and this time get better than 30 MPG. Start by handing them the 255's.

Hate to sound all "matter of fact". Seems your dealer has the ball. :Shrug:

:Agree: I may as well jump in line with FLTR2008TRIKE and Wiz.

 

[jcolson]

There's no way you are getting 100hp without doing head work and not installing 10:5-1 compression pistons. Trust me ,I've got the proof!

 

[Trent]

Like I said,,,we dont know fer sure, and I am aware of that But..... We used the same map that was used on the same engine mods as mine on an Ultra, and it dyno'd at 105 HP...saw it with my own eyes..Of course you lose a lotta that going back to power two wheels....Had a Bud do the pistons too, and his bumped up to 118HP. The pistons fer sure do make a difference. And this I do know...I can do 75 mph in 6th gear, at 3,000 rpm,,, up a 7% grade for several miles with my sweet co-pilot sittin' behind me.
And that is just fine for me.

 

[msocko3]

There's no way you are getting 100hp without doing head work and not installing 10:5-1 compression pistons. Trust me ,I've got the proof!

:Agree: The SE255 doesn't have enough legs up top to see the 100 hp mark, I've seen lots of SE255 dyno charts and not a one hitting the 100 hp mark even with head work.

 

[msocko3]

Like I said,,,we dont know fer sure, and I am aware of that But..... We used the same map that was used on the same engine mods as mine on an Ultra, and it dyno'd at 105 HP...saw it with my own eyes..Of course you lose a lotta that going back to power two wheels....Had a Bud do the pistons too, and his bumped up to 118HP. The pistons fer sure do make a difference. And this I do know...I can do 75 mph in 6th gear, at 3,000 rpm,,, up a 7% grade for several miles with my sweet co-pilot sittin' behind me.
And that is just fine for me.

So your bud did a 103 with some piston work and the SE255 cam to get 118 hp? Thats 1.1 hp per cubic inch, I've got a 120 with plenty of good stuff and I'm in the 1.05 hp per cubic inch range. I can't see an engine with 17 less CI making only 7 less hp than the engine with 17 more CI, especially when the smaller engine is running a cam which was designed to make the EPA happy.

I will say the SE255 is a decent cam with a nice amount of low end, I ran it for a year in the 2010 Triglide I had. It pulled real well until about 4,000 and then it would nose over, it pulled hills real nice, much better than the stock cams.

 

[FLTR2008TRIKE]

I will say the SE255 is a decent cam with a nice amount of low end, I ran it for a year in the 2010 Triglide I had. It pulled real well until about 4,000 and then it would nose over, it pulled hills real nice, much better than the stock cams.

:Agree:

 

[TheBobs]

About 83 hp. Over 100ftlbs though. Was happy with the SE255s, but had some pinging problems.

 

[Trent]

M3...Oops...my Bud has a 110...They have his bike on the way over 100 chart in the shop...
Now..the Ultra..that is what it showed, and after I saw that, I did the same mods to mine. Bad dyno info? Dunno...

 

[Jenady]

Thanks for all the great feedback. I am thinking I should have triked the CVO instead of trading it. It was making 111.6 hp and over 123 ft lbs of torque. The tuner on that bike and the Tri Glide is Dynojet Power Commander V.

Now wonder if it is better to live with the trike as-is and save money for a 120?

 

[Trent]

So M3...In your experiences and knowledge,,,which I have total respect & admiration for...do you think the best HP increase you would see on a 103 from the 255's and other mods would be around 20HP?

 

[FLTR2008TRIKE]

Thanks for all the great feedback. I am thinking I should have triked the CVO instead of trading it. It was making 111.6 hp and over 123 ft lbs of torque. The tuner on that bike and the Tri Glide is Dynojet.

Now wonder if it is better to live with the trike as-is and save money for a 120?

No doubt 120 would be a real kick in the pants for overall power. Do you still have your stock exhaust pipe?? As a idea you could ship the stock headpipe to Fullsac and get a sport pipe swap. Fullsac Performance - '09 CVO 110" Stage II Sleeper Kit - Lake Havasu City, AZ and have them recore your stock mufflers HOME then sell the Reinhart system or use the current Reinhart mufflers and sell the headpipe assembly.

This will give you the lower rpm torque back you lost with the true dual system

 

[FLTR2008TRIKE]

So M3...In your experiences and knowledge,,,which I have total respect & admiration for...do you think the best HP increase you would see on a 103 from the 255's and other mods would be around 20HP?

Im sure M3 will agree with me on this. HP is a total number that is a waste of time chasing with a trike setup. You need to think torque numbers and more torque numbers. The more linear the torque number rises, that HP number will rise some too, but the HP numbers will still be lower then the torque numbers.

The 255 is not a HP cam, its for low rpm torque in a stock engine. It runs out of breath by 4100 rpms and falls down on any power after that. You will gain more "grunt" or torque with the 255 cams to move the trike easier then the stock cams. The other components that play a part in the power increase is your AC, exhaust and the tune you receive

 

[msocko3]

Now wonder if it is better to live with the trike as-is and save money for a 120?

It all depends on what your expectations are, you can breath on that 103 a little bit and get a decent gain. I'm a power junkie, I've never owned a stock Harley, but then I'm fortunate in that I can build what I want for the price of parts, my labor is cheap.

 

[msocko3]

So M3...In your experiences and knowledge,,,which I have total respect & admiration for...do you think the best HP increase you would see on a 103 from the 255's and other mods would be around 20HP?

About the best you could expect is in the 20 hp range with a good air cleaner, exhaust and someone who knows how to tune it. With that being said, I agree 100% with FLTR2008TRIKE, torque is what heavy bikes and trikes need. When I was figuring out the build for my 120 last year I looked for good low end torque, I'm over 100ft/lbs right off idle and 115ft/lbs by 2,500 rpm and peak at 135ft/lbs SAE at 4,000 rpm.

If a person is looking for just a bolt in solution the SE255 works pretty decent, I lean more towards other cams due to the SE255 being more smog friendly which causes a little hotter running engine.