Fast Lane Head Work

When I find or use what I consider to be an excellent product, I like to spread the news. This one applies only to those of you that do your own engine work but if any of you are thinking about it then what I'm about to show you will make the job much safer and cleaner. I usually have between one and six bikes in the workshop at any one time. Most of them have the cylinders bored to accept bigger pistons which takes around three weeks. During this time I have pipe insulation around the con rods and a clean rag or piece of sponge stuffed in the hole in the crankcase to support them safely and minimise the chance of any foreign objects falling in there - no more! I came across these superb products shown here https://www.9fingerfabrication.com/s/shop and sent the owner Mike a message. He responded very quickly and in no time a box was on the way across the pond. The crankcase plugs fit perfectly, they do exactly as they should and the lifter tools are just what's needed to make any cam work simple and efficient. I wish these were available 20 years ago! No nonsense, functional tools that will make any engine work much easier and safer!

The old girls need lovin' too. Three Shovel heads in for new guides and valves. Now all vacuum tested and better than new ..

Here's something to keep in mind if you run a 2005 Twin Cam or Sportster engine and start seeing increased oil consumption. 2004/2005 was the year when HD went to improved head castings and 7mm valve stems from the earlier 5/16" stems. This involved a new valve stem seal design to the earlier types. The first release of these new seals was as pictured below with a black material. These seals are prone to going brittle and allowing oil to bypass which runs down the guide bore and over the back of the valve creating havoc with the air flow pattern as you can imagine. Performance will decrease because of this and oil usage will increase. The black seals were only in use for a year or so, then they went to a more durable orange Viton material. If you have one of these engines and you're ever planning to pull the heads off it's worth changing these seals out ..

Today was another productive day at the dyno! This is a 117" Dyna that just about got 140 torque - but not quite. Something weird going on at around 2500 RPM which we think might have been something to do with the fact that the front pipe had a section cut out and welded back together. This was to gain ground clearance as the owner rides hard. This is the second biggest torque number I've had so far. To put it mildly this will be a fun ride ..