Ultima 120 El Bruto tale of whoa ...

[BigE1340]

Purchased a 2016 Ultima 120 El Bruto for my 1995 bagger and it has no been real good to me . Last year with only 5k miles on it the lifters spit the rollers out and lodged in the oil pump locking up the motor pretty quickly , so then pull the motor send into Ultima for rebuild and this year with less than 2k miles on the rebuild it literally spits out a 1.5" chunck of the base gasket on the front cylinder WTF ? Called Ultima and waiting for an answer now . Had a RevTech Gen3 100" previously that ran fine without a lick of trouble over 70K miles on that alleged "bad engine" . Not real happy with Ultima right now.

[Deye76]

Hope they take care of you.
Another reason why I say a crate/assembly line motor is a roll of the dice. Generally a bench built motor by a trusted wrench, is more reliable. Only time I had a failure with a bench built motor was years ago when S&S had a bad batch of pistons in their Shovelhead 86" stroker kit. IIRC the pistons came from TRW.   

[BigE1340]

I called Ultima and they were very helpful , they said crate up the motor and send it in . I can pull the front jug a lot faster than the whole motor. I struck a deal with them where they warrantied the parts and I ate the labor . Made the repair and all is well for now. I have to say that Ultima's customer service is very good !! They have never given me a hard time ever . Thank You Ultima !

[Deye76]

Yes, customer service is very good, when my motor failed they were right on it.

[capn]

BigE, Change out those Ultima lifters before they bite you again.

[Deye76]

IIRC John Sachs says Ultima is using good lifters lately.

[BigE1340]

Who is Johns Sachs ?

[pwmorris]

https://www.v-twinforum.com/forums/evolution-engine/539570-ultima-120-a.html#post5861480

[Deye76]

Who is Johns Sachs ?

A well known engine builder who has helped Ultima, and others in the industry. He contributes here on HTT for many years.

Rocker arms are a different story. After looking at the pics pwmorris linked, exactly the same failure on a rocker arm in a friends Ultima 100" he got last year. Mine is approaching the 3K mark so I'm expecting "noise" any day now. After the oil pump failure at 8 miles, hoping for a break with the rest of the motor.

[capn]

For peace of mind its best to change out those Ultima rockers and lifters. Thats what I did on the 120. Have 8K miles now and no noise from valve train. Am still gonna put new lifters in at 10K miles.

[Deye76]

With .640 lift cams would have thought roller rockers would come in them. I wouldn't have minded paying extra up front.

[capn]

The Ultima motors do come with roller rockers.

[BigE1340]

Thanks guys for all the info ! Very helpful !

[capn]

Just had lifter roller go out on the 120. Didnt come apart but it did ruin the cam.Looks like the roller quit spinning and scored a lobe.Well Im gonna try the Ultima lifters I took out and I also got a 248 Ultima cam.Job is half done now.

[Burnout]

20-50w oil and no oil cooler I'll bet.

[capn]

There is an oil cooler and 20/50 till summer. Then back to straight 60 wt.

[Deye76]

Not to start a oil thread, but what's wrong with 20W-50? I run 20W-60 synthetic, can't imagine straight 60 would make that much of a difference.

[capn]

I have not seen 20/60 in my area. I ran 60 wt. Amsoil last summer and it seemed pretty good.I got lucas in it now but Ill be going back to amsoil . It gets so hot here in Louisiana that even 60 gets thin and I dont ride in traffic.

[JW113]

For the love of Jeezus, no oil thread!!

So what's wrong with thin oil?



-JW

[capn]

I was not a believer in Amsoil 60 till a shop I worked at the owner was a harley trained tech and thats all he uses for oil changes on all HD bikes year round.He convinced me to try it and I like it.That 120 has not used any oil in 10k miles.

[Hillside Motorcycle]

OIL?
Did someone say an oil thread?......

[Burnout]

Will changing to Amsoil 60w cure my asthma?

[capn]

It may cure your scooters asthma