97" Axtell big bore reliabilty?

[sixshooter44]

I have a 89 eglide that needs the top end redone, I have some spare cash and was thinking about going to the Axtell 97 inch kit. I ride alot, probably get over 20 thousand miles this year, am I going down the wrong path-should I stay at 80" or will the big bore be reliable. Thanks in advance

[rcsoftail]

If built right, it should last. Are you looking at their cast iron cylinders? If so, you can not highlight the edge of the fins since they will rust. Not sure if that is important to you. Another option instead of spending money on cylinders and pistons would be to get a good port job done on your heads. I had Hyperformance send my heads to R&R to weld up and cnc port the heads on my old 80" evo and also shave the heads a bit for a 10:1 compression ratio. The performance increase was significant along with quick throttle response and a smoother running engine. The port job was probably close to the same cost as the cylinder kit you are looking at. I am not sure what the performance difference would be between a set of well ported heads vs a big bore. I am sure some others here have some opinions. If you have a lot of miles on the bike, you may be ready for new rings and honing, which may be why you are looking to go with new cylinders and pistons.

[Hillside]

The Axtell Mountain Motor kits work very well.
Ron and crew have manufactured those cylinder/piston kits since the beginning of time.
Even the family of the Andrews EV-27, 3, or 46 grinds, with your heads addressed by any competent machine shop in your area, will show you FANTASTIC power. Fact.
Scott

[sixshooter44]

Thanks for the replies that is the answer I was looking for, I will be running ported heads, one of the wood w6 variant cams, and I have a rsr 2-1 pipe- are there any other little trick parts that I should look into?

[lowriderglen]

I traveled from SC to Des Moines last Thursday to visit Axtell and talk to Chaz. They are mfg an excellant product with state of the art cnc equipment. Chaz is very sharp and is willing to help out any way he can. These guys have been at this game a very long time and it shows in the quality of their product.

[Hillside]

Originally Posted by sixshooter44

Thanks for the replies that is the answer I was looking for, I will be running ported heads, one of the wood w6 variant cams, and I have a rsr 2-1 pipe- are there any other little trick parts that I should look into?

You will need to re-balance the crank for the heavier piston weights.
Scott

[cthecope]

better yet 6 shooter why not just follow this link www.hilsidecycle.com... i have an 87 eglide there now...dont know if im going to 97 yet but give them a call and they will steer u in the right direction...fact!

[whitebuell]

I would throw away the standard cases, they all crack sooner or later around the lifterblocks and on the base of the cilinders .
Specially if you are going to put some more inches in the engine.

[claydbal]

put a 21 motor sprocket on her and hold on.