I’m slowly getting my pre-trip checklist done. My new tires arrived via UPS Thursday. Pretty amazing considering I ordered them out of CA Wednesday morning. I received an email Thursday morning informing me that my order had been sent to a “fulfillment center,” obviously some local distribution point — probably in Houston. So this morning I’ll be pulling off my wheels and taking them to have the new tires mounted and balanced. (No, I don’t mount my own tires anymore, especially since the rear one is tubeless and I don’t know anything about properly breaking the old bead or setting the new one.) I’ll pack the bearings an install new brake pads prior to putting the wheels back on.
I got the bike inspected yesterday, so now I’m legal. (Yay!) I only have about 15 miles left on break-in, so when my buddy Blair is available — probably next weekend — we’ll install my new Andrews EV27 cam, my new Timken cam bearing and my Screamin’ Eagle Heads. I got a sweet deal on the heads. They normally retail for nearly $1000 — I bought mine from Blair with just about 1000 miles on them for $200, plus he gets my stock heads when we pull them off. (He’s going to use them to experiment with porting and flowing on.) I still have my Mikuni HSR 42 carb and my SE Stage 1 breather, so these additions will complete the package. Well, except for exhaust. In that instance I opt for form over function. The most efficient exhaust system for my bike would be a 2 into 1 system, but I just don’t think it looks right on a Harley. I’m not trying to win any races here and I’m not willing to sacrifice aesthetics for maybe a 2HP gain. Nope, called me old-fashioned on that count. But, I had this same setup with my old motor — minus the SE heads — and I was very satisfied. I’m anxious to see how much better it will be with the performance heads