Mild build on my FXR4

[elvislee]

Mikey Dude!!!!...What a job you done man...I'm Damn proud of ya!!!....You have done here for all us dumb ass's who couldn't tell ya crap about wrenchin is give us who may want to try this ourselve's the confidence and the reference to actually try. Man, what a GREAT job! Can't wait til ya get that baby on the road and give us the skinny on how she runs...     

[fxr4mikey]

here's the rest of the assembly pics

getting ready to install the 'ez install, adjustable push rods'

the long one is the way they are shipped, collapse it down to install it


I put some assembly lube on all the 'O' rings before I installed them


then I installed the metal washer in the lifter block, then the 'O' ring, replaced the 'O' rings on the push rod covers, and installed the new 'O' rings in the heads where the push rods enter




then I put the tube over the push rod, installed it into the head, then the lifter block .....  and thanks to another GREAT TIP from my Wonderful Friend Harley, I made a clip/hanger with a paper clip and rubber band to hold the tube up out of the way while I adjusted the push rod




then I set about to adjust the push rod ... the instructions called for me to make 4 full turns .... these rods only have two flats on them, so that was easy.

First I adjusted the rods so that there was no vertical play, and the rod was 'SNUG'

Then I lined up one of the flats on the rod with a flat on the locking jam nut and marked both of them with a red sharppie ..... counted four turns and locked them down.



all four push rods installed and retainer clips installed


Then I got ready to install the middle and top rocker boxes. I replaced the umbrella valve with new ones. The new ones are from James, and sit differently in the box than the stock ones.  This concerned me a bit because the valve does not sit down tight against the bottom of the box.  I concluded that the pressure in the box would force the valve down, it's 'soft'. 
In this pic you can see the difference in the design, and why the James valve doesn't sit all the way to the bottom in the rocker box - james valve is on the left  :whistling:




then I removed all the old paper gaskets from the rocker box bolts and cleaned them up


all rocker boxes installed ... I had to use my 'calibrated right arm' to torque down all of the bolts on the lefthand side ...




OH Yeah, this is for anyone that has to lower your engine in the frame .... tilt your head over to the left and look at these two pics .... this is the frame right under the primary ... in order not to scratch things up, I took some foam pipe insulation and cut a little piece out of the center to make the opening large enough for the frame, placed it on the frame and lowered the engine




so now I set about to put the engined back up in the frame and hook up the motor mounts.


then the voltage reg and coil/bracket




then assemble the choke cable on the Mikuni carb
.... follow the instructions that come with your carb
on the top is the plunger and spring that comes with the Mikuni ... you'll notice that they are both larger than the stock HD stuff


then the battery  .... I don't know about 'other' bikes, but  dealing with the batt in the FXR4 is a PITFA !!!
You can't get ahold of it .... so I cut some strapping and placed it down under the battery so that it can be installed/removed easyly ..... also this allowed me to hold the battery up while I got the neg side bolt started...




and when finished just tuck the ends down into the case


here's a shot of the bottom of the front pipe ... got this mostly last Aug. up in Michigan doing the 'Circle Lake Michigan Tour' ..... :yikes:


when I started putting the exhaust on I couldn't help but notice the difference in the exhaust port from the stock heads ...
here's the stock exhaust port (yeah, I know, it's dirty and way to rich) - you might notice that the port consumes the entire 360 degree opening


here's the SE head


exhaust installed ....... my least favorite part of working on the bike .... exhaust   




and then the A/C .... and she's ready to FIRE !!  :woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:

[fxr4mikey]

Mikey Dude!!!!...What a job you done man...I'm Damn proud of ya!!!....

Thanks Blaine, I hope that it's of help to others, I've had FUN doing it !!!!!!!!

You have done here for all us dumb ass's who couldn't tell ya crap about wrenchin is give us who may want to try this ourselve's the confidence and the reference to actually try.

Don't be afraid of it ...... it's not very hard at all really.  Well, as long as you don't go below the cylinders ... if you get into the crank case you need all kinds of special tools and stuff. Above that, for the EVO, it's not very complicated really 

Man, what a GREAT job! Can't wait til ya get that baby on the road and give us the skinny on how she runs...   

I'll be posting up my evaluation of the changes later .... in a day or two after I have more miles on her.


I rode yesterday, 135 miles ..............  can you say    'GIDDY UP'

[Black Diamond]

Great news Mikey!    I can see you smiling from here!    Man, that was quite the odyssey you took us on. What's your intitial impressions on the W6?

JW

[elvislee]

Damn that bike looks good Mikey! I am jealous man! How's she runnin man? Details, Details, Details   

[fxr4mikey]

Great news Mikey!    I can see you smiling from here!    Man, that was quite the odyssey you took us on. What's your intitial impressions on the W6?

in one word   'WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW'

JW

In more than one word 'HOLD ON TIGHT'  !!!!!!!

in 3rd gear at 70MPH she still has the front end un-loaded .....  hows that for pulling !!!!

she gets on the cam right at 2K and doesn't come off until in the mid 5Krpm's ........... I've only hit the limit (6K) twice so far .... once yesterday and once today .....

If I could be happier with my choices and the outcome .... I don't know what could make me that way   .......   BLISSFUL, just DELIGHTFUL, makes me almost wet just thinking about it   LMFAO

I rode another hundred miles today ............... GIDDY THE HE77 UP !!!!!!!!!!  The ride is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo different ..... so much more power, and I LOVE the sound !!!


I did have a  problem, I'll post that up in a minute  ... cause it's kinda interesting, but resolved ..... it was electrical in nature

man .... those heads, and that cam, together are an awesome combination .... I'm sure that the Mikuni carb (bigger throttle body than stock) and after market air cleaner have a lot to do with it too .... but the engine breathes so much better ... she has a 'hum' to her now ..... not to mention the POUNDING she does when you jump on her !!!

[fxr4mikey]

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I got her FIRED UP yesterday :woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:


I rode 135 miles .....

She has a small carb adjustment from 'just off idle' to about 2K rpms.  I'm working on that today ....

My report about how 'she's different' will follow




If I could put my SMILING FACE in here, it'd take up your entire screen ..............

[COLOR="Red"][SIZE="7"]
GIDDY UP !!!!!!!!!!!!!![/SIZE][/COLOR]

[fxr4mikey]

turns out that it WAS NOT a carb problem.

I started checking stuff last night and this morning she wouldn't start

after cranking on it for FRIGGINEVER .... I JUST HAPPEN to touch the rear exhaust .... it was warm, so for whatever reason, I got an idea to touch the front one .... STONE COLD ......

so I pulled the plugs, the rear one fires real nice, even close to a blue color sometimes .... the front one is VERY VERY weak and only reddish in color

so I swapped the coil wires, same thing
so I swapped the plugs, just for fun, same thing
so I change the ign from single fire, put the stock dual fire coil in, put it together, BAM !!!!!!!!

FIRE IN THE HOLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Started right up, on the first revolution !!

Warmed her up, took her out for 30 miles..... After 10 miles I was riding like I always do ... sorta 'HOT' .....
only hit the rev limit once.

She takes the throttle from ANY position, no hesitation, no spittin and spudderin like yesterday .... and runs REALLY STRONG !!!!!!!!!!!

all I can say now is

[COLOR="Red"][SIZE="7"]
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW[/SIZE][/COLOR]





Latter I checked out the ignition module and the single fire coil ..... I'm getting the right electrical signals from the module to the coil .... therefore the coil is bad
I'll pick up another single fire coil and change it back ......

I don't know what NO NAME brand coil I have .... bought it off e-bay about a year ago for like 30 bucks .... musta been a throw away     

[Sc00ter]

Outstanding result, Mikey!!  It has been great fun and very interesting watching and reading of your progress!!  Great job!!!!  

[fxr4mikey]

Damn that bike looks good Mikey! I am jealous man! How's she runnin man? Details, Details, Details   

Glad you like the way she looks Blaine .... you should ride her man !!!!!!!!!!!!  make your eyes bug out   

she runs GREAT !!!!!!!!!!!!  couple of minor, normal, carb adjustments to make and shes' dialed in !!!

Details to come in a few days .... gotta rest, ride, enjoy, do it over again, and again, and again .....
then I can collect my thoughts and post up some details about my assessments of the changes

[fxr4mikey]

Outstanding result, Mikey!!  It has been great fun and very interesting watching and reading of your progress!!  Great job!!!!   

Thanks Scooter !!!!!!!!!

[fxr4mikey]

just a couple of 'better' pics of the finished effort 

[lengbyroadking]

I seem to remember reading that you used the stock cam gear. Was the removal and reinstall done at a machine shop? Is this a good idea?

[Black Diamond]

Great news! Do you happen to know how much difference there is from the stock heads vs your SE heads. I'm asking because I'm just putting the W6 in without milling the heads for now. Wondering if I have the same dramatic increase. Man you have me jonesin to get mine back.

Sure sounds like the cam is working where you'd want it to also!

JW

[fxr4mikey]

I seem to remember reading that you used the stock cam gear. Was the removal and reinstall done at a machine shop? Is this a good idea?

I had the local Independent Dealer make the cam gear swap for me.
He took both gears off both cams, put the stock gear on the new cam, charged me $35

good idea, to me, YES.  In this method I did not have to worry about the cam and pinion gear lash .... I knew they matched up because they already had 26K miles on them.
If you don't do this, you need to measure the lash between the too gears and insure that they are 'in spec'   reference your service manual for that spec

[fxr4mikey]

Great news! Do you happen to know how much difference there is from the stock heads vs your SE heads.

Yes, stock heads have a 83CC combustion chamber and produce 8.5:1 compression ration
SE heads have a 72CC combustioin chamber and product 9:5.1 compression ration ....

both of the above statements are made with reference to stock pistons and cylinders and head gasket

You can change that up by going with a thinner head gasket, such as the .030 Cometic head gasket (which I did) which increases the compression ratio a small amount.. or mill the heads down, and or port and polish, or all of the above...... For me, I just took what I consider the easy road and bought the SE heads and bolted them on


I'm asking because I'm just putting the W6 in without milling the heads for now. Wondering if I have the same dramatic increase.

you will notice an increase, but NOT AS MUCH as when you have higher compression heads.... Like I got    (sorry, couldn't help myself  LOL).. ... cams need a specific compression ratio where they work the best .... you will get the best performance from that W6 (according to my conversation with Bob Wood) running a range of about 9.5:1 up to just over 10:1 ..... ideal, according to what I was told, would be try to get my bike in the 9.75:1 or 9.8:1 range

Man you have me jonesin to get mine back.
Yeah man ..... if you could even HEAR this thing you'd get moist    LOL .... call me up Jeff, I'll start it up and you'll hear what a monster it is    hahahahaaaa

Sure sounds like the cam is working where you'd want it to also!
OH YEAH,  it's EXACTLY where I want mine !!!!!  I'll give more details on that later ..
Best of luck !!!

JW

[Herulf]

Outstanding result, Mikey!!  It has been great fun and very interesting watching and reading of your progress!!  Great job!!!!  

X2

[ClassicRider2002]

-

Mikey~~~

You have done something special for all of us as FXR Owners, thank you! for letting us all see what you have done throughout this build, but regardless, it still wouldn't have been as helpful as it has become without your effort of detail!!!!

For those of you that don't know Mikey originally began this "build" on another forum, at CVO HARLEY and so there is some additional discussion that was held there as well, if anyone is interested you can simply reference the "LINK" below for other information.....

CLICK HERE

Just be aware that I believe you must become a member to see "photos" that are posted.....

Regards,

"Classic"

[fxr4mikey]

Just wanted to mention the 'break-in' process that I used  .....

I broke mine in hard over the first 40 miles. I warmed her up in the driveway until the rocker boxes were quite warm to the touch ...

then I rode her for 7 miles to get her fully warmed up

Then for the next 30 miles I rode her like this ....
3rd gear (almost ALL the time), 30MPH, HIT IT, wide open throttle up to 70MPH (sometimes only up to 55-65, but mostly to 70)
then shut the throttle down and let the compression slow the bike back down to 30MPH, then HIT IT again, and again
went out about 20 miles, and returned doing the same thing.

As far as I'm concerned, she's all broke in.
I've changed the oil and filter ....

Now I ride her ANY WAY I want to

I just try to pay more attention to making sure that she is fully warmed up before I jump her bones

[98flstc]

Just wanted to mention the 'break-in' process that I used  .....

I broke mine in hard over the first 40 miles. I warmed her up in the driveway until the rocker boxes were quite warm to the touch ...

then I rode her for 7 miles to get her fully warmed up

Then for the next 30 miles I rode her like this ....
3rd gear (almost ALL the time), 30MPH, HIT IT, wide open throttle up to 70MPH (sometimes only up to 55-65, but mostly to 70)
then shut the throttle down and let the compression slow the bike back down to 30MPH, then HIT IT again, and again
went out about 20 miles, and returned doing the same thing.

As far as I'm concerned, she's all broke in.
I've changed the oil and filter ....

Now I ride her ANY WAY I want to

I just try to pay more attention to making sure that she is fully warmed up before I jump her bones


Mikey

Its great to hear your pleased with the build. I'm still going easy on mine until the weather warms up. Maybe today I'll play a little hookie and finish up the break in.  I will say that my intial impression is very favorable. The bike is much more responsive,crisp and pulls like never before.

I'll post more details later,

98'

[fxr4mikey]

Just wanted to mention the 'break-in' process that I used  .....

I broke mine in hard over the first 40 miles. I warmed her up in the driveway until the rocker boxes were quite warm to the touch ...

then I rode her for 7 miles to get her fully warmed up

Then for the next 30 miles I rode her like this ....
3rd gear (almost ALL the time), 30MPH, HIT IT, wide open throttle up to 70MPH (sometimes only up to 55-65, but mostly to 70)
then shut the throttle down and let the compression slow the bike back down to 30MPH, then HIT IT again, and again
went out about 20 miles, and returned doing the same thing.

As far as I'm concerned, she's all broke in.
I've changed the oil and filter ....

Now I ride her ANY WAY I want to

I just try to pay more attention to making sure that she is fully warmed up before I jump her bones


Mikey

Its great to hear your pleased with the build. I'm still going easy on mine until the weather warms up. Maybe today I'll play a little hookie and finish up the break in.  I will say that my intial impression is very favorable. The bike is much more responsive,crisp and pulls like never before.

I'll post more details later,

98'

YEAH MAN !!! COME ON with the DETAILS !!!!!!!!!!!  Tell us ALL ABOUT IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fxr4mikey]

Just wanted to say THANK YOU TO EVERYONE that helped me over the last year, plus, while I was picking parts and trying to figure out how I was gonna do a build on my bike.


I got more out of doing the build on my bike than I could have ever imagined.  I couldn't be more pleased with the outcome!!!

But I got so much more out of it than just a better performing motorcycle!!.  It was a Most Wonderful Experience !!  I'm sure glad that I did it, and I'm sure Glad that all of you were there rooting me on !!  Thanks  EVERYONE !!!!


Mikey

[fxr4mikey]

Just wanted yall to know ..... I put about 15K on the build last year ..... still NO PROBLEMS and the bike runs GREAT !!!!

She's HOT and ready to RUN  !!!!!!!!!!!

[evo58]

congrats Mike, congrats for the nice and clean job, perfect and made with a special care as i see,
the tires... they are made near my hometown, im using the metz too on the front and rear, but as i was reading the americans bikers dislike them, did you keep the 9:5:1 on the SE heads???
congrats
Evo

[Buddy WMC]

congrats Mike, congrats for the nice and clean job, perfect and made with a special care as i see,
the tires... they are made near my hometown, im using the metz too on the front and rear, but as i was reading the americans bikers dislike them, did you keep the 9:5:1 on the SE heads???
congrats
Evo

FYI,
Metzeler has had some documented problems with the tires made in Brazil delaminating. I have seen this first hand on bike brought into the shop, large chunks of rubber just flying off the tire. When I personally saw this, I removed my Metzelers and swapped them out for Avon Venoms. I'll pay for a bit more wear with the softer compound Avons, to loosing a tire at high speed. A search will reveal the issue, just facts.