Thinking about Turboing my Harley

charheep said:
Back to Ted- I like his plan. Cheap turbo, throw it on and see what happens. Kinda like Roadkill. One episode they trailered a gas powered turbo to feed the tow car.
Make some videos of what you did and I would watch that.
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Whatever I do I will take pictures/videos of and post them somewhere.

I do think the cheap turbo idea would be a lot of fun. I saw some pictures and with how small these turbos are, I think I could have it in a place that doesn't create lots of issues for me as far as getting too close to my leg. Of course I always wear gear anyway.
 
Wingsofglass said:
What kind do you have now?
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Oh I have no idea. I bought it years ago, it's been on the bike and still works. It does allow the user to change programming (which I have done). It's a piggyback computer of some sort.
 
Packaging a turbo on a motorcycle is a bit harder than on a car and I believe that will be your biggest issue. Keeping the heat away from the rider on a touring bike and having space for your knee on the turbo side is one concern.
I modified a Sportster 883 to a 1200 many years ago and left nothing untouched. Compression, ignition, cams, induction, exhaust etc. and rode that bike hard for 65,000 miles. Never had a breakdown and burned very little oil between changes. It helps that the Sportster was also offered as a 1200, which meant that the 883 was way overbuilt to begin with.
Modifying vehicles is fun and I’m about to embark on changing a 250cc dual sport into a 351cc bike. Rather straightforward as I can buy the cylinder, piston and rings as a kit. Nothing to do but swap cylinders and I like that! Good luck on your turbo Harley.
 
Brad Smith said:
Packaging a turbo on a motorcycle is a bit harder than on a car and I believe that will be your biggest issue. Keeping the heat away from the rider on a touring bike and having space for your knee on the turbo side is one concern.
I modified a Sportster 883 to a 1200 many years ago and left nothing untouched. Compression, ignition, cams, induction, exhaust etc. and rode that bike hard for 65,000 miles. Never had a breakdown and burned very little oil between changes. It helps that the Sportster was also offered as a 1200, which meant that the 883 was way overbuilt to begin with.
Modifying vehicles is fun and I’m about to embark on changing a 250cc dual sport into a 351cc bike. Rather straightforward as I can buy the cylinder, piston and rings as a kit. Nothing to do but swap cylinders and I like that! Good luck on your turbo Harley.
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The packaging has been my biggest concern every time I've looked at it. Of course at $90 shipped it's cheap to just buy the turbo I'm thinking of using and hold it up in various places to see where might fit. And then I could also save it for use elsewhere if I decide not to do the Harley after all. There are mini superchargers as well but I think the packaging for those would be just as bad, and then I have to deal with a belt.

If I wanted to go a more common route (that also doesn't involve turbo lag) I could also pull the jugs and do the 103 upgrade and/or just put in high compression pistons and cams. But then I'm probably pushing $1k into it for the project. I'm inherently not a fan of turbo lag though.
 
Turbo lag on a bike is more critical than turbo lag on a car, especially if you’re doing a bit of spirited riding in the twisties. You want to have complete throttle control. That’s why superchargers have the advantage over a turbo on a motorcycle...no lag.
As the old saying goes “ there’s no replacement for displacement.” I have the 103 on my 14’ Road King, and while it has great low-end performance (100+ ft-lbs torque), the top end still sucks. An engine that gives you everything you want and still hold together usually cost you a lot of $$$. A turbo makes sense if you can figure out a sensible installation and deal with the few issues already noted.
 
I had (and have) been also looking at the supercharger idea. Superchargers do cost more (about $190 vs. $90 shipped). However, looking at where the air filter and throttle body are, it may be doable. Figuring out where/how to run the belt is probably the biggest concern.

For reference, here's the mini supercharger:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Supercharg...-Booster-Mechanical-Turbocharger/254290784992

And the turbo:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Replacemen...1996-2005-VW-Passat-Audi-A4-1-8L/254519175991
 
Dad bought a brand new 2008 GL1800 wing when I had the FLHTC, I put about 500 miles on the GL1800. I would never get another HD after that, they just aren't for me.

I can't wait to see what Ted does with his HD.

Nowadays I'm out of the motorcycle scene being amputee and all, kind of a relief as living in Lincoln proper ruined motorcycles for me. I loved living in the country riding motorcycles everywhere including to/from work with way fewer cage drivers to avoid.
 
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bnt83 said:
Dad bought a brand new 2008 GL1800 wing when I had the FLHTC, I put about 500 miles on the GL1800. I would never get another HD after that, they just aren't for me.

I can'at wait to see what Ted does with his HD.
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Thanks :)

My MSF instructor had a GL1800 and I got to ride that once. I really liked it, nice and fun bike and very comfy. Sadly he died in a motorcycle crash on it a few years ago.
 
Great, now I am looking online for a used HD to buy. I dont need one, but I miss having one. Maybe this time I just get the Ultra I always wanted.
 
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charheep said:
Great, now I am looking online for a used HD to buy. I dont need one, but I miss having one. Maybe this time I just get the Ultra I always wanted.
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And I'm doing my standard "scope creep" thinking about the best way to go about this... and I'll need to do some measuring.

As much as I like the supercharger idea, I don't think that it's feasible to do. The belt would be too difficult to deal with. That would bring me to the turbo, which I think is still small enough that I could fit in a reasonable spot but I would need to play around with holding it in various locations (and seeing where my legs and any passenger's legs would end up) to see how feasible that is. Cheap and fun, but if it can't physically fit, there's not much point.

And then that goes to high compression pistons and cams which I know will fit in the envelope and cost more, but maybe not that much more at the end of the day since a turbo will be a lot more than the $90 eBay cost by the time all is said and done.
 
Would you change the pistons for lower compression with the turbo? Or will stock be ok?
 
charheep said:
Would you change the pistons for lower compression with the turbo? Or will stock be ok?
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Stock compression is 9.2:1, which would be fine with mild/light boost.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I know Steingar will chime in with "Sell the Harley and buy a real motorcycle."
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steingar said:
What's the best way to get 50 more hp out of your Harley? Sell it and buy a Suzuki.
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Looks like I was right. Or at least close enough, since Michael's words were technically different. :)
 
timwinters said:
yep, I've owned three over the years. The first one was a 1957 panhead. The last one was a 2005 ultra glide.
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BTW... this was a voice to text brain fart that wasn't checked closely enough. It was supposed to read "I've owned/ridden three over the years." I did not own the 57 panhead, it was my brother-in-law's and I put a lot of sweat equity into the restoration so he let me ride it anytime I wanted to when I was in high school.

just like his 57 triumph TR3. I helped extensively with a frame up restoration on that machine so I got to drive it anytime I wanted...FUN car!!

R.I.P. Rudy...miss ya, man.
 
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The funny thing is the Harleys I've ridden have some grunt. I'll give them that. But they're heavy, and that's always going to get in the way. KTM makes a Vtwin bike that's stylish, comfy, and OMG fast. I WANT. The KTM190 Superduke.

That said, if you really want fast you want in-line 4 power. There just is no substitute for ringing one of those things out. My old Honda 954rr could leave any Vtwin in the dust (including every Harley ever made), and it was old.

Yeah, I say get a different bike. Harleys aren't made to be that fast. Isn't what they do. Want a fast bike? Buy a fast bike. Lots to choose from.

I'm sort of hopeful that the Harley Bronx will perhaps break some new ground. I'm a big fan of Streetfighters, got one myself. I am somewhat worried though, I doubt Harley has the ability to make an aluminum frame like my bike has. I doubt they have the ability to make engine components out of aluminum, like my bike has. My bike is about 450 pounds, it is a bit heavy because of the single sided swingarm. I doubt Harley can bring a bike in at that weight. Their Vtwin engine won't do what the liter in-line 4 engine in my bike does.

Harley is actually in deep trouble. All they make are big Vtwin cruisers, and their demographic is aging out. Motorcycle sales are down across the board, but Harley is suffering more than most. The Bronx and their new Pan American are their efforts to reinvigorate their line. I'd love to see it, but they are stepping into ponds with lots of other fish where they're not the big fish. I don't think anyone buying a Streetfighter or an ADV bike is going to buy one just because it says Harley on the side.

I really want to see Harley continue to thrive, but I really don't think they can coast on their name anymore. I don't think there are too many folks like Ted around, who will just buy one for the name.
 
Oh Michael...

Sometimes the goal is one thing outright. Sometimes the goal is adjusting one aspect of a package.
Sometimes the goal is the journey, not the destination.
 
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