What to do with my motor?

[Walt M]

I have a stock 04 Electra Glide with 92k. after market exhaust (88ci). I do alot of 2 up riding so I'm looking for a little more power/torque. I have a $2200.00 budget. 3 shops 3 different opinions.
My personal thought was a big bore kit.

Shop 1 - Buy a used low mileage motor from a newer bike ie 96cc, he said if I do a big bore kit I would also have to rebuild the bottom end or I would blow it up due to the added compression on a used bottom end.

Shop 2 - Big Bore Kit , Fuel Management and K&N Filter, Bottom end will be fine as long as the bike was cared for.

Shop 3- Because the bike is running fine with no problems, Gear driven Cam kit, Fuel Management, K&N Filter and use the saved money for a trip to the mountains.

I'm sure there are members here that have considered these options as well... Which way did you go and how did it work out?

[trikermutha]

If it were me I would leave it alone until the engine puked..92k is a lot of miles to try and give it more power at this stage.

[trike lady]

May I suggest that you save your money, have the engine rebuilt by Harley Davidson under their rebuild program or go for the gusto and get an S&S motor.
That's my opinion and just a thought.

[Greezy]

I have a bike that is almost the same as your 2004. It is a 2003 Ultra Classic with about half the mileage you currently have. The bike already had the stage 1 kit installed when I purchased it, but I put stock mufflers back on since the SE mufflers had lost the packing making them very loud. At about 18,000 miles I had a problem with the fuel lines in the tank, so while it was in the shop for that I had S&amp;S 510 gear drive cams installed for reliability. Since the S&amp;S 510 cams do not provide much additional lift, no head work was required. <br />
<br />
About that same time I started using Mobil 1 full synthetic oil and noticed that the oil temp showed about 20 degrees cooler and I did not have to add oil every couple thousand miles because the full synthetic does not vaporize as easily. After the cams were installed I noticed that the MPG dropped from low 40 MPG to mid 30s. To get the most from the cams I had a Dynojet Power Commander V installed and dyno'd. After being tuned it showed HP and torque to be about the level of a stock 96 CI even with stock mufflers but seems to run some what cooler than the larger engines. In 2015 I had the bike converted to a trike with the Motortrike kit, which has pulled my MPG down to 26 - 31 MPG depending on how I am riding.<br />
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I was a bit concerned that it might no have enough power to pull well as a trike, but I have had no trouble running on the freeway with the traffic at 70 - 75 MPH or more, and while it may not run a quarter mile or stop light to stop light with some machines it works well for me....it may not have the torque the larger engines have, but down shifting when traffic slows keeps me going just fine.

The only concern you may have is that gear cams and a tuner will still eat up sizeable chunck of the funds you have budgeted for upgrading, but those changes require less work on the engine than the other optioins and should be less costly depending on how much the labor sets you back.........Greezy

[rhino 2]

Performance on a budget usually in will the long run will cost more in money and down time..
I would go with number 3... Its the less invasive of all the options ..

[Sunman]

No matter how well it is running 92K is a lot of miles. I wouldn't spend major performance money on a motor with that many miles. As someone suggested, I would have the motor rebuilt under the Harley rebuild program and do some performance upgrades at that time. Just my opinion.

Sunman

[RickDeVon]

I would be just a different on the build...I would do the Harley rebuild with a 95" kit and SE203 cams or S&S 510 geardrive...

[Bikerbozo]

As far as mileage, my old backup bike is an '04 Electraglide with 123,000 original miles. Engine and tranny still going strong. Needed to replace clutch basket when teeth going to tranny stripped. Other than that, I wouldn't hesitate to take it anywhere.
Good thing I keep an eye on what auto spell check is up to. Mine changed "tranny" stripped to "granny" stripped. I am pretty sure most of us didn't want to picture that!!! Of course, it did say that "granny" was going strong.

[BillR]

Good thing I keep an eye on what auto spell check is up to. Mine changed "tranny" stripped to "granny" stripped. I am pretty sure most of us didn't want to picture that!

It's toooo late, now.

[Sunman]

Good thing I keep an eye on what auto spell check is up to. Mine changed "tranny" stripped to "granny" stripped. I am pretty sure most of us didn't want to picture that!!! Of course, it did say that "granny" was going strong.

I wouldn't spend performance upgrade money on "granny" either. Lol.

Sunman

[rhino 2]

I wouldn't spend performance upgrade money on "granny" either. Lol.

Sunman

Why not? 'Ninety is the new Seventy.....

[Walt M]

So does Granny have a opinion on the upgrade?
I'll check on the rebuild program but that may be out of my budget range knowing HD prices.
If I went with a Big Bore Kit isnt that a partial rebuild on the top end? It's new cylinders,pistons,rings,gaskets etc or am I missing something?

[rhino 2]

My opinion hasn't changed... Go for the least invasive of the 3 you mentioned...
When you start adding performance parts to an older engine .. Other parts will soon go south and brake the budget...

[Gorilla]

Walt, Rino2 is correct. With a motor with that many miles on it doing a top end kit and not doing anything below normally is not a good plan. The new and bigger parts above are going to put more stress on the older parts below and they MIGHT just give out. The whole motor has kind of grown old together and renewing just the top end might throw the whole system off. If you can not get the funds together for a total rebuild or factory crate motor, a search for a low mileage used motor in the displacement area you want, might be the most economical answer.

[clint44]

So does Granny have a opinion on the upgrade?
I'll check on the rebuild program but that may be out of my budget range knowing HD prices.
If I went with a Big Bore Kit isnt that a partial rebuild on the top end? It's new cylinders,pistons,rings,gaskets etc or am I missing something?

A 103" Longblock from H-D that will fit your 04 will cost $4,495. A 95" Longblock that will fit your 04 will cost $3,895. You would still need cams,lower rocker boxes,upper rocker box covers,or cam cover. I would be hesitant to re-use your old cams with new lifters that come with the longblock so figure another $300 or more,for new camshafts. Cheapest way to go would be to find an older 96" or 103" engine in excellent condition that will bolt up to your transmission. Don't think the newer Twin Cams will.

If it were my trike,I would find a good Harley performance shop like Fuel Moto (one of our sponsors) and let them refresh your Twin Cam.