07 road king cams

[pieps]

I have purchased an 07 road king classic and I am having my dealer install the 103 engine kit and SE performance heads with stock head gaskets SE race tuner and a 2into1 exhust either propipe or a fatcat and I am wondering about cams I want to stay with SEcams the bike will be driven mostly in the 2500-4000 rpm range two up and loaded and sometimes we pull a small trailer with our camping gear in it approx. 400lbs loaded. what would you suggest. We had an 02 electra glide with 95" se heads and 203 cams I know you can get the 103 kit with 255 cams are these going to give methe low end power or should I go to something else
thanks Pieps

[Mike]

The SE performance heads, flat top pistons, .045 gasket (stock) and 103ci displacement adds up to 10.5 compression which is too high for the 255's. Detonation will be a major poblem, forcing much of the performance to be tuned out. Starting and heat may also be problems. A better choice, in the SE series, would be the 251's. These are compatible with those heads/compression and developes torque early while still maintaining good top end. Tuning will still be critical but will not sacrifice performance trying to cure detonation.

The exhaust will have the greater affect on where the torque ramps ups. For really good 2-4k torque, the stock head pipes with V&H round slip-ons are a great choice. Of the two 2-1's, the Fatcat is better for your application because it puts the torque dip at around 2-2.2k rpm, just low enough that it is rarely seen or you are just pulling out of that range so then your into a pretty good curve from there on. The Pro pipe has a deep torque dip right around 2.5-2.7 rpm and may be encountered routinely with your riding style. OK with lighter bikes, but when running heavy it takes longer to get through it so it becomes more noticable and may require more frequent downshifts to pull out. The Fatcat will make similar peak numbers to the Pro. Examples of how these systems performed on the dyno are on this site for your reference and you'll be able to see the differences in the torque curve shapes.
Thanks, Mike

[pieps]

for my application would I be better off with the fatcat or the V&H round slip ons I prefer the look of the fat cats but I am looking for performance bottomend so I could easily live with the V&H system with HD headpipes also will the HD oil cooler be sufficient as we plan on going to Reno for first weekn of August,very hot, thankyou you have a great website and I really appreciate your help here
thankyou Adrian

[Mike]

Thank you for the kind words. I've attached a dyno comparison of the Fatcat to the V&H Ovals (similar performance to the Rounds on a stock 96ci).
Between 2.5-3.5k rpm the D&D has the advantage, from 2-2.5 a slight disadvantage. The 2.5-on with the D&D will get better vs. the VH as you add performance upgrades.
The oil cooler is always a good thing and the H-D unit is one of the best.
Thanks Mike