ironhead performance impossible?

[Dragstews]

No Replacement for Displacement.......

[IMG][/IMG]

[fehd]

fdny, I remember this from XLforum. Still the baddest sounding Sportster of ANY kind Ive heard.

[ironhead303]

I have never heard this and i was just about to order a ultima single fire unit for mine. Whats the deal with ironheads not responding well to singlefire ignitions?

I have a ultima single fire in my 80 IH and it runs great, I have tons of motor in it, it will smoke any 1200 evo out there, just wish I had 5 gears and it would be untouchable, Have an ss carb with the air bleed drilled out thing screams down the road. buy it you will get better gas milage and it will not skip a beat.

[Hendrixbilt]

Holy shit that fucker sounds good! I wonder if that is a stroker. It says no replacement for displacement. Wonder what CC's that engine is.

[Hendrixbilt]

You mentioned the words reliable and work on it.
You my friend own a Ironhead and if you want reliable and not to work on it then best thing is to build it run it down the road well runnig video then moth balling it.
The more preformance the more you will be spinnig wrenches if you want to keep her going. If you want reliable and not to work on it then you may want to sell that steed and pick up a 2003 or newer Sporty and start with that.
I can tell you without paying someone to do the work your going to be into the motor just in parts a minimum of 1500 on the cheap(used stuff) and that is not counting the labor to do the work, the research or the machinework..
When going the used route for parts reliabilty drops.
A simple Cams, Pistons, Carb, ignitionand exhaust combo will tilt the pocket book at 1100.00 in parts alone. I just redid the valves, guides and seats no porting on a set of heads and the cost was about 200 a head. kick in flowing them and it gets expensive.
Some guys money isn a thing. You have to look at do you want it to growel or bark. To growel your probable looking at 1100 to 1600 if your doing the work to growel. To make it bark 3000 plus and that is resourceful.

Just wanted to say thanks for the info on my Ironhead. You were right on so many things. Someone had been into the transmisson. That trans would have come apart, for sure. I had Boston Mike out of Sandford, Fl. go through the bottom end. Well worth the money. He straighted out many years of half asses and patches.That lttle bit of info saved me lots of future hassle. He installed a 75-76 shifter shaft while he was in it. I also had him install a good set of "P" cams. Not the cams I was really wanting, but I picked them up for like $60.00, so they'll work for now. I can always change them out later. So now I have a good solid platform to work off of. I went ahead and got a single fire and upgraded charging system. I have a CV carb that is probably going on it for now. Trying to get some free time to put it back together now. I want to run it for a while like that and see what I have before I go into the top end. I can do that in the frame.

This has been one of the smartest thing I did, when it comes to this Ironhead. I went back tonight and re-read this thread, I read info I didn't see the first time. Mile High Murdercycle posted an Andrews cam spec sheet that I just now saw. I would have never found that anywhere else. There is a post by "fehd" who sounds like he has pretty solid ironhead that is all about performance. I like it.

I just painted the motor tonight and am looking to start putting this bike together in the next month. I'll take some pictures and post them if anyone is interested.

Thanks again

[dondoucette]

Well I have to agree with most of what has been said here.
I started with what was supposed to be a runner only to find out my engine had many issues all outlined here http://www.chopcult.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19820

After a lot of research I decided on the following. Wiseco 10:1 forged pistons, there is lots of discussion about double plugging or power grooving but either way the hemispherical heads in an ironhead hide the flame from some of the air/fuel mixture so addressing this issue will net more horsepower and better fuel efficiency.

If you're going to build horsepower you MUST address all areas of the engine or you will be plagued with failures and reliability, Mike Sorensen of Sorensen Performance, a local Shovelhead guru has the bottom end of my IH, everything will be rebuilt and the rotating assembly balanced when I get it back, I can't recommend this enough, the IH will vibrate anyway, an unbalance bottom end will just rob horsepower and eventually will cause reliability issues.

I also CAN'T stress the importance of the IH transmission, ANDREWS can solve most of your issues in this regard but lets not forget the clutch, I chose a Barnett Scorpion and also thanks to Mike Gattone I upgraded the ball and ramp to a hydraulic set up. The IH stock clutch is fine for 40-50HP but will show its limitations soon after that.

I chose the R5 cams from Andrews as the best I could get without too much head work, I will of course be porting a polishing to improve increase flow. YMMV

I LOVE the look of drag pipes but a two into one thats tunable like the SuperTrapp in my opinion is the way to go.

I also got rid of the generator all together and went with POWERAYTHOR alternator, its smaller and has an integral regulator, I do not want charging issues to plague me, also on the idea USE GOOD WIRES!!!! 30 year old crap is just that CRAP! While your at it install a decent starter, smaller with more torque, you're going to need it, I also am installing a kick on my bike too, I have no idea if I will actually be able to kick it (im not installing any decompression valves) but I like the looks of a kick so I'm hoping my fat ass will be able to kick it.

I wish I had time to test several ignition systems, I'm tempted to go with points for the simplicity but I am also looking at electronics for reliability, the Jury is still out.

Use the best parts you can find, be prepared to spend some DYNO time to get it dialed in, spend now or spend later, it's way easier to buy good parts now and touch everything on the engine than it is to half ass it now and deal with failures later. If you think a grand or two is gonna do it I wish you luck, think triple that unless you can TIG, machine, test, and assemble everything yourself.

Good Luck with your build I am subscribing to this thread to see how you get along.

[irishironhead]

Hey guys love the thread! I am an IH first timer and have had most of my questions answered right here. I have an 84 IH with alternator. What would be the smartest way to go about upgrading the charging system?

[maxcapacity]

What are you trying to upgrade? If it works just leave it alone. If it doesnt work be prepared to spend some dough. A stator failure isn't that big a deal, but if your rotor is gone that's a few hundred just to hold it in your hand.

[NeoDutch]

Sure you can go real fast on an IH, for about half a mile and it'll only cost you a few hundy per yard.

[backwithabang]

I have an 80 which I'm trying to sell, switched to back to points. Use a 5 ohm dyna coil. Top end is like .3 over and have a super e with a v stack on it. (It came right off a shovel so it runs a bit rich), but the v stack helped over the normal teardrop and filter. It kills in the low end, hits a flatspot (definitely the jetting) then will accelerate to the point it shakes like Michael j fox and scares the shit out of me. (It's a rigid). I couldn't be happier with an 80 ironhead

[eroticjesus]

Having a plan for what kind of performance is your first step. Just slapping a few parts that are "high performance" is a great way to grenade an engine.
Formulate and decide what your engine build will be, what you will be using it for.

This book should be required reading for anyone who gets an Ironhead.

http://www.amazon.com/Harley-Davidson-Torque-Monster-Motorbooks-Workshop/dp/0760329117/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356318765&sr=8-1&keywords=Torque+monster

[dirtbag]

Hey guys love the thread! I am an IH first timer and have had most of my questions answered right here. I have an 84 IH with alternator. What would be the smartest way to go about upgrading the charging system?

Get a alternator conversion from saddlebagrail he is on a few forums notably the xl forum and does a conversion on a 40amp alternator for these its pretty sweet and puts out good power,i want to try to jump start my truck with it to see if it can do it..the smaller 17 amp one i have heard is a cheesy wannabe and costs the same,the 40 amp one is the price of a new generator.

[Hendrixbilt]

fabrication complete......but no oil pressure...lol

This bike build has been through a broken marriage, 2 fucked up little stripper bitch girlfriends and damn near a bankruptcy. Somehow , I have been able to get this thing somewhat complete. Then ....when we go to start it......and no oil pressure. It sheared a key way in the oil pump is what Boston Mike seems to think. I guess when they sit a long time with no oil running through the "aluminum" pump, the "steel" gears will rust or "ca rode". I've got a couple other bikes I ride so this has just been a project that sat on the bench for a while sometimes. I have a lot to learn about these old IH's. I love the way it turned out though. Not real crazy about the color. Going to do something with the tins. Need's some black. Iron Works mag wants to do a photo shoot this weekend, so hopefully we'll see it in the mag. I'm defiantly riding it to Willie's this Oct.

I really want to thank everyone that replied to my questions on this blog. The help I got from everyone is incalculable and was greatly appreciated. I would shake all your hands and buy you a beer if you were in front of me.

Thanks again guys,
Billy

[bobscogin]

people used to race these things. I know they can produce horsepower. I guess I'm looking for reliable horsepower. Not a ton, just 80 reliable HP.

Yeah, they used to race them; against other motorcycles that were designed almost 60 years ago. If you want a fast and reliable Ironhead , you can built one for a ton of money. If you just want a fast Sportser, start with an Evo or preferably a Buell. You'll be starting with an engine that makes more power stock than you will get reliably out of an Ironhead.

Bob

[Guest]

,,did you air bleed oil pump?remove sending unit turn eng over off /no start till you have pumped 5 fluid ounces of oil then replace the sending unit ,,oil pump has to be air bled if oil lines removed ,,,,