Okay so compared to the numbers usually seen in here a 1981 Shovelhead is fairly boring. But I had a chance - gift from my brother - to get Alice on a dyno so I went for it, and thought I would share the results.
She peaked at 73 ft lbs of torque with a curve that was flat as a pancake.
Pulls were done in the 1:1 5th gear in her 6 speed overdrive tranny.
From the research I've done 81 was an experimental year for the Shovelhead. They went low compression, and used longer valve guides for reasons no one seems to remember ... And the max lift for an 81 - without taking the engine apart - is only .430. So my cam choices for this stage of the project were extremely limited.
Best - and virtually only - choice I could find was the Andrews 1 grind torque cam at .427 lift. So I went with it, a complete S&S Hi4 single fire ignition kit, the S&S carb she already had, and a 2 into 1 exhaust (that was a bitch to find for a Shovelhead..).
The guy running the dyno was doing short pulls from 1-4k because of her age, and did not want to believe she was still a stock 80" looking at the numbers she was producing ... But she is.
I have a much more radical build planned for her, but I don't want to risk pulling the engine down without having a sufficient cash cushion to ensure she'll get put back together. She spent way too many years collecting dust in a bone yard to risk having her end up in a box. And most of the initial phase of the Alice project involved upgrading the chassis, suspension, brakes, transmission, and driveline to ensure she would be able to handle the planned power increase gracefully.
She is insanely fun to ride, and everyone that has ends up coming back grinning like an idiot.
Something about that rear exhaust bolt on a shovel. I've heli coiled mine a while back . I also installed a bolt lock on it so it doesn't come loose again. Good to know there's a alternative if needed though.
Great story on showing that SG who's boss.
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