Solid Running Ride
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1. After Market Cams - Used, the bike first came to us with a Crane 316 camshaft. This yielded slightly-better-than-average pull for a 730 lb bagger. However, the new cam was never matched to the pinion gear, resulting in a trashed cam and pinion gear. New cam, with matching pinion gear thankyouverymuch, is a Crane Fireball 326. Also a new top end job which breathed new life into an old engine. Thanks to Dean Shayna at D&S Performance for the cam and top end. BTW: This is a great cam for slightly higher-reving, older touring bikes with 70 tooth rear pulleys. It starts to come alive at 2,500 rpm and really cuts loose at 3 grand. 2. Carbs, Mods, More Carbs, More Mods - Originally, the stock CV carburetor was pretty dogged. It's float pin had a problem getting stuck in the open position and dumping gas at stoplights (hate it when that happens) and the unit generally couldn't hold a steady idle. The diaphragm was deteriorated and everything was gunked or clogged up. Being too damn cheap to switch to another, higher performance carb, the choice was for a cheap close-to-new take-off replacement, another stock CV carb. The flow and performance of this stock carburetor was then improved by drilling the plastic back plate full of holes and replacing the filter element with a K&N high-flow filter. Next, the carb was enriched by tweaking the mix control and increasing the jetting. This was all fine and dandy, until THAT carb started having it's own problems, including stuck float pin, sloppy throttle response and "drifting" idle. The constantly sticking float pin problem was traced back to rust in the gas tank, something a good cleaning helped (soapy water, a packet of B-Bs and a whole lotta shakin'). The other carb problems weren't so easy to fix, since everything seemed pretty much clogged or worn out inside, including the slide. Rather than buying a rebuild kit, a friend gave me a 8k miles-new CV with Screamin' Eagle air cleaner and Dyno Jet kit, which he pulled off in favor of an S&S. This newer CV did the trick for a while. Modifications included pulling off the Dyno-Jet diaphragm spring and replacing it with the more durable stock spring that had been shortened by about one half inch during the previous carb's tune-up by D&S Performance. This seemed to improve throttle response. Then Dean had another go at it with some more rejetting, resulting in a smooth excelleration curve, great response, good intake, good tan burn marks on the spark plug ceramic and plenty-o-gas making it's way to the fire. IMHO the emulsion tube is probably the single most important part of the Dyno Jet kit. IMHO, the CV is a superior designed carburetor for low-revs-performance, but it comes up short in terms of durability. Also it doesn't deliver near the open-road-pass-an-eighteen-wheeler, monster-pickup of an S&S carb. Which brings us to this Update! The CV is now gone and in it's place is an S&S Super E. I am finally a convert. It performs consistently, with smooth acceleration and a big boost from 2,500 rpm on up. The CV's Screamin' Eagle rig, Dyno Jet Emulsion Tube and jetting now resides in a friend's bike, after a drizzling, wet afternoon of beer drinking and wrenching. 3. Pipes - A big performance inhibitor on Evolution engine H-D Dressers is the overly restrictive factory stock mufflers. The replacement choice was easy: Samson fishtail slip-ons, with their warm-but-agressive sound, offer a halfway decent performance boost over stock, are relatively inexpensive and they hit the retro style right in the eye. Side note: The combination of the Crane 326 cam and these mufflers produces a sound that's pure music. 4. Summary of Changes/Adds So Far - Here is a list of all that's been done so far, in no particular order, including the cosmetic stuff:
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