I've been shopping around and thinking about a 07 Road King because that is when they started building the 96 motor from the factory. If I bought an earlier Road King, say an 03, could I buy your stuff, bore the Jugs and have a 103" solution? Mostly trying to learn something here. 

 

My thinking is for all practical purposes you have a new top end there. So If I bought a 40K mile 88" RK bike on the cheap and then built it to a 103" I might could save some serious dollars!

I have lost 30lbs and have another 30 to lose before I'm seriously shopping for one. That's the deal I made with my better half. My last one was a 1600cc Road Star by Yamaha.

 

 

 

 basically....an 88 and a 96 have the same pistons and bore.  what makes an 88 an 88 and a 96 a 96 is the lenth of the piston stroke.  on the 96, the pistons connect to the flywheel at an outer more position, this is called a stroker crank.  So on the 88, you have two chioces.  choice A is to do the most common upgrade and put in larger cylinders ands pistons....yes...the 103 kit for a 96 which would bring a 96 to 103 would take an 88 to 95.  from 95 to get to 103, you need the stroker crank.  Choice B, is to go from 88 to 96 by just changing the crank to a stroker crank.  later going from 96 to 103 by doing the larger bore upgrade.  The pre-07 models are highly sought after becuase they use a one piece crank vs the two piece in post 07 models and the crank bearing architecture is a lot stronger.  so basically, folks are buying 88's, adding larger pistons and cylinders, and running awesome 95" bikes.  SInce the 95 bikes have pistons connected to cranks at a lower circumference than a 96, the 95's will smoke a 96 any day of the week.

 

 

Here was my project over the weekend. 

 Anyone guess what it is? 

If you are really sharp you might notice what is on the top shelf of the shelves in the background. 

 

 

 vertically opposed pistons....so I would say a BMW.

 

 

speakerfritz:

 vertically opposed pistons....so I would say a BMW.

I made it too easy.  Yes, you are correct.  It is one of these.  

I restored hot rods for many years and got that out of my system.  This is bone stock, 110 HP, 550 lbs, 50 MPG and as quiet as a Honda.  Not too expensive to own if you pick it up used and can do the maintenence. 

 

 Thanks a lot for the HD displacement education, LOL. I was trying to over simplify those upgrades I guess. Seems to me that there is a used factory RK sweet spot at about $10K. If you were in my shoes shopping for a used one, which way would you go? 

 

 I would not buy a harley built  2007 and 2008 .  I would buy pre-2006 with emphasis on 2003 and earlier or 2009 and later.  Harley pretty much had a good thing going til around 2004.  Pressures to meet higher epa lead to cost cutting which impacted cranks, bearings, etc.  The epa targeted dis-improvements have left a lot of harley riders uncomfortable due to heat issues and associated repair cost due to engines having higher compression numbers while running leaner....basically lots of heat is being produced.  so 2003 and earlier would be #1, 2005/2006 #2, 2009 and later #3.  I would skip 2007/08 altogether.

 

 

 As always you are a wealth of knowledge and willing to share. I appreciate it!

I have been looking at 2003 to 2007 and wanting the 07 for the bigger motor. Now you have me rethinking all that  There are plenty of reasonably priced pre 04s out there. 

 

just finished today. been working on and off for about 3 weeks. 103 kit installed, 257 cams installed, forged 10.5:1 pistons installed, reworked 09 heads installed (my bike is 07), oil pressure relief valve mod installed (hot idle PSI is now 16 instead of almost zero), oil pump intake screens installed, forward top 09 style engine stabilizer link installed. Still running bike with DIY XEID's (which work fine). Yet to be installed is my 30T/68T sprocket change, SE Compensator, new clutch basket. Bike started up first shot. Did a few loops up and down the street and the bike runs amazing. My upgrade combo is just enough of an upgrade to wake the bike up. Did all the work myself. Doing a tool police call and yard clean up, then off for a local cruise. __

 Very slick. Nice work. 

tigerwoodKhorns:

I restored hot rods for many years and got that out of my system.

 

Excellent choice.. I don't mind fixing cars per say, but I actually enjoy wrenching on bikes. Very satisfying to maintain them..regardless of type. 

Nice, just in time for a great season of riding,

 That engine looks great! Please let us know how it performs after the cruise.

 

 so far..got 60 miles on the engine....runs great...better than expected....you keep hearing on the Harley forums that going from 96" to103" is a waste of time and hardly noticable.....on this engine...I installed 257 cams instead of 255 cams and I used 10.5:1 forge high compression pistons instead of flat top cast pistons.....this 103" build is a big time character change.