ironhead performance impossible?

[cb550Matt]

I am still going on with my 75 ironhead build, it has been 2 years so far and still going.

The motor is stock stroke with +.010 Jim;s pistons 10.5:1
S&S heavy duty rods
Stock flywheels
Jim's mainshaft crankpin and pinion shaft
Andrews R5 cams
Andrews pushrods
CV carb
Karata primary belt drive
Barnett scorpion clutch
hydrolic clutch conversion
Trock trap door and shifter pawl ( yes ron trock stuffs)
Andrews close ratio transmission gears, mainshaft, and idler shaft

Things I am still going to get done
biasly roller rocker arms
dual fire heads
gapless 2nd ring on both pistons

I took the kick start off since my knees are messed up from my time in the Navy and I rather ride than kick over a highcomp bike anyday of the week.

It is not a cheap setup even keeping in mind that I bought most of the parts over time on the classified ads here and over on the jockey journal.

The bottom end was balanced and put together by Dragstews and the rest has ben slowly put together by me.

[Grantman]

I am still going on with my 75 ironhead build, it has been 2 years so far and still going.

The motor is stock stroke with +.010 Jim;s pistons 10.5:1
S&S heavy duty rods
Stock flywheels
Jim's mainshaft crankpin and pinion shaft
Andrews R5 cams
Andrews pushrods
CV carb
Karata primary belt drive
Barnett scorpion clutch
hydrolic clutch conversion
Trock trap door and shifter pawl ( yes ron trock stuffs)
Andrews close ratio transmission gears, mainshaft, and idler shaft

Things I am still going to get done
biasly roller rocker arms
dual fire heads
gapless 2nd ring on both pistons

I took the kick start off since my knees are messed up from my time in the Navy and I rather ride than kick over a highcomp bike anyday of the week.

It is not a cheap setup even keeping in mind that I bought most of the parts over time on the classified ads here and over on the jockey journal.

The bottom end was balanced and put together by Dragstews and the rest has ben slowly put together by me.

Sounds like a good solid HiComp IH. When My wife says "That thing sure is taking a long time" I just remind her that Rome wasn't built in a day and quality takes time. Speed takes lots of money but she doesn't need to know how much, right?

[Motorradfahrer]

Sounds like a good solid HiComp IH. When My wife says "That thing sure is taking a long time" I just remind her that Rome wasn't built in a day and quality takes time. Speed takes lots of money but she doesn't need to know how much, right?

That right there is the key.

[enduro850]

turbo

[bradhilburn]

Yes to all of the above. Look up pics of Harley drag bikes from the 70s and 80s. Almost all Ironheads. You can do everything to them. Cams, dual plug it, high compression pistons, port, polish, change gear ratios, you name it. Start with a nice mild cam (Y grind is a nice mid to upper range cam that does not require head work, but you want at least 9:1 compression). Then put a nice ignition in it, make sure your pipes are not shorter than 30" (old timer told me that seems to be correct, though I couldn't tell you why other than super short pipes are never good for horsepower/back pressure), and a 2 into 1 also seems to give these guys more umph. Make sure you have a good carb, a lot of people will swear by a S&S, but a CV kills it on these things. If you must run a S&S make sure you do the air bleed mod to get rid of the flat spot in the mid-range. My IH would eat a 1200 sporty for breakfast with just a CV, 2-into-1 exhaust, and a Crane ignition, all with stock "p" cams. The only thing it had was more top speed, which is a given with an extra gear over me. Just dive in, no matter what you are going to be wrenching on it. As long as you aren't dumb, you won't fuck up the motor any more than you would ripping the piss out of it stock (i.e. if Andrews says the cam is for a stroker, don't run it). The biggest thing with a Ironhead to keep it running is to maintain it properly, and listen to it. The motor is so primitive, you can hear everything going on inside of it, if something doesn't sound right, shut it off, and figure it out! Dive in and play though man. Also a good place for more info is XLForums.com. Go straight to the Ironhead section, those guys know their shit. Good luck and have fun my man.

The newer model S&S E has an air bleed valve that is adjustable. you have to buy a 60 dollar jet kit to do it they dont sell just single jets and they arent normal sizes. but it is there

[bradhilburn]

I am still going on with my 75 ironhead build, it has been 2 years so far and still going.

The motor is stock stroke with +.010 Jim;s pistons 10.5:1
S&S heavy duty rods
Stock flywheels
Jim's mainshaft crankpin and pinion shaft
Andrews R5 cams
Andrews pushrods
CV carb
Karata primary belt drive
Barnett scorpion clutch
hydrolic clutch conversion
Trock trap door and shifter pawl ( yes ron trock stuffs)
Andrews close ratio transmission gears, mainshaft, and idler shaft

Things I am still going to get done
biasly roller rocker arms
dual fire heads
gapless 2nd ring on both pistons

I took the kick start off since my knees are messed up from my time in the Navy and I rather ride than kick over a highcomp bike anyday of the week.

It is not a cheap setup even keeping in mind that I bought most of the parts over time on the classified ads here and over on the jockey journal.

The bottom end was balanced and put together by Dragstews and the rest has ben slowly put together by me.

nice. where did you find the trock trap door?

[cb550Matt]

nice. where did you find the trock trap door?

Talk to Dragstews he has a friend who is a hoarder ... it will cost some cash