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FLO Headworks: |
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| Now that my Web site's pretty much finished, some of my friends (who started out as customers) are writing in with pictures and testimonials. If you're a customer of mine and would like your machine featured here, give me a call @ 805-481-6300 and send a pic in JPEG or GIF format. Or if it's easier, just mail me a photo and a note at the address at the bottom of this page.. |
From Dennis Morelli:
In December 2007 I brought my bike all the way down to the FLO Headworks facility in Oceano CA to get their "Trick Stuff" done to my 2005 Twin Cam FLTRI. Their team took just a few days to accomplish the mission.
Heads CNC with Tooled Finish Intake Ports and Dual Plugs
After 5,000 miles it still runs STRONG. Now in December 2010 after 3 years I just wanted to say how pleased I am with the work you did on my '05 Road Glide a couple years ago now. If you remember, I took the bike without having the second coil installed because you could not get the wiring info in the time that I was at your facility, so you sent it to me later. Well, the time passed and I got on to other things and didn't get around to installing the second coil until this last summer as I was going to Sturgis and wanted it in there for the trip.
On previous trips I had checked my mileage as I usually do just for the hell of it and generally got about 47 mpg (Imperial). On my first day heading to Sturgis with pretty much all mountain riding, when I filled up at the end of the day, 53mpg. I couldn't believe it. So, of course, on the rest of the trip I had to check it to see if it just a fluke. The worst mileage I got to and from Sturgis traveling an average of 65-75 mph, was 52 mpg. Not bad I must say. And did I mention, the bike runs great and has great power. Hills are no longer an issue and it's fun to ride. Thanks Perry, if I'm in your area I'll be sure to stop in and say HI.
Regards, |
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From Jim Scott:
Holy Shit! That pretty much sums it up. When I made the choice to let Perry work his magic on my heads, and use his cam. I had done a lot of research as to what to do. I talked to many and got so mixed up on what to do. Then I ran across Perry's site, so I called. He was not too busy to answer a lot of questions. Then I listened and liked what I heard. I have a 2001 fuel injected Road King with a Power Commander that John "The Dyno Guy" mapped. It has a little over 12,000 miles now," HARD MILES!" I'm on my third rear tire. Its fun hitting 2nd when turning and then 3rd leaves a nice “S”, almost like a dirt bike in the sand. .my motto is "ride it like you stole it." And let me tell you,I thought the wheelie at 70 mph was b/s! But there no bull shit here! Just bad-ass torque all under 6,000 rpms. My heavy Road King will pull the wheel 2" off the ground in third. In Sturgis on the way back from Devils Tower we had to refuel. The only gas was 10% ethanol. Not one ping in 100 degree heat. Now the Road King with another kit overheated and has on other occasions too. Never have I heard a ping. All I can say is buy the kit. Your bike will last. Perry's customer service after the sale is great and that is VERY important. Sincerely, |
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From Dan Marotta:
Perry was friendly, knowledgeable, helpful, and easy to reach whenever I called with a question. I found the machine work to be excellent and the installation and breakin instructions to be easier to follow than the service manual. The only hitch was with the extra spacer provided with the cam set. When I installed it I found the cam gears were significantly out of alignment so I left the spacer out and the gears lined up perfectly. The next time I called Perry to report that the bike was up and running well, he mentioned that some users did not need the spacer. That should be mentioned in the instruction sheets. The kit I bought was complete down to a tube of anti-sieze thread lubricant. All gaskets and o-rings were provided as was a set of Jim’s cam change tools which where loaned to me with a deposit which was refunded. I opted for the dual plugged heads and wire harness and the tooled finish on the intake ports. The clearances on all parts were great and I did not need to make any adjustments, i.e., piston ring gap setting. Having just completed my 1,000 mile break-in, I opened the throttle for the first time. The results were startling! This ain’t your Daddy’s Harley! It’ll be another 1,000 miles before I see a dyno tuner for final tweaking and that’ll probably happen in the next month or so. I can’t give any horsepower or torque numbers since I haven’t been to the dyno shop, but I can say that I’m very satisfied with the results. Dan November 9, 2018 UPDATE from Dan Marotta: Hi Perry, I was just reviewing your site, saw my picture and comments from 2004 or 2005, and decided to tell you a bit more about my bike and experience. My 2004 Wide Glide now has about 135,000 miles on the clock and has not been opened up in the past 110,000 miles since building with your heads and cams other than to replace the cam bearings and cam chain tensioners. After installing your heads, pistons, and 525 cams and tuning my EFI bike, I noted a very good improvement in drivability and mileage. At 75 mph on the Interstate, I routinely see mileage in the upper 40s to about 50 mph. Riding the back roads at 55-65 mph, I see mileage in the mid-50s and once, riding through Yellowstone National Park, where the traffic is heavy and the speed limit is 45 mph, I was surprised to see that my mileage for that leg of the trip was 62 miles per gallon! Best, |
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| From Craig Spalding, Chandler, AZ:
27-Dec-2004 In the fall of 2002 I had the opportunity purchase a motorcycle that had a lot of meaning to me. This bike is a 1949 Harley-Davidson FL (Panhead) that had been chopped and customized by a friend of mine in 1971-72. In 1977 I was 15 years old working for my friend. He would ride this chopper to work and it was my first exposure to street motorcycles. The style of this bike forever influenced my view of motorcycles. When I had the opportunity to purchase this bike I couldn’t pass it up. The bike had not been started or ridden since 1983. It had been stored in a dry storage room off my friend’s garage for 20 years. I knew the bike would require a complete rebuild to bring it up to riding standards. After getting the bike home I began the time consuming process disassembling the entire bike. Each piece was removed, cleaned, and it’s condition was evaluated. I knew that this motor had never been run on unleaded gas and would need an unleaded conversion. Using the internet, I did a lot of research. I found the FLO Headworks web site and was impressed with the amount of technical data available. I requested more information and received a catalog with a complete price list of the services offered by FLO. Additionally there were numerous technical articles that were very informative. This convinced me to give Perry Kime, owner of FLO, a call to discuss my needs. During this first phone call I became sure that Perry was the right person to trust with the conversion of my heads for use with unleaded gas. I boxed up the heads and shipped them to Perry within the week. As I got farther into the bottom end of the motor I realized that I did not have the special knowledge needed to build this motor properly. Again I talked to Perry. We discussed the my expectations for performance and reliability. After some thought, I crated up the remainder of the motor and shipped it to FLO. Throughout the entire rebuild process Perry and I talked regularly via phone and email. Perry did a great job of keeping me informed. FLO performed the following services during the motor rebuild: 1949 Panhead
When I first received the motor back from Perry I couldn’t have been happier. It hadn’t looked this good since it first rolled off the Harley-Davidson assembly line in 1949. Perry had used top quality parts and fasteners everywhere and it showed. I got the motor back in December 2003. It took me until May 2004 to complete the assembly of the bike. After adjusting the saturation pin placement on the electronic ignition the motor started on the second or third kick! When Perry and I first talked about my expectations, I stressed reliability and easy starting. Perry and FLO Headworks hit the mark. Since completing the bike I have ridden it about 4000 miles in temperatures ranging from 27F to 115F. This is my everyday rider now (I haven’t owned a car in years). No matter what this bike starts easy (rarely requires more then one or two kicks). The bike has only left me on the side of the road once and that was due to a broken clutch cable. The motor has been very reliable. I couldn’t be happier with my choice to have FLO Headworks and Perry handle this crucial piece of my chopper rebuild. Thanks Perry, for all your hard work and for delivering a motor that met/exceeded all my expectations. Craig Spalding
Oiler Kit Install, S&S Panhead P/A Ignition Install Panhead - Craig Spalding, Chandler Arizona
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| From Joey Jackson, Buell Cyclone owner:
I purchased my Buell Cyclone new in 2000 and never intended for it to remain stock. As a long time hot-rodder and former performance specialty shop owner, nothing stays as delivered from the factory. Although I have many years of head porting and flow bench experience, I'd never touched an XL engine, much less, a Buell Thunderstorm cylinder head. I knew to get the most out of my bike the combination had to be right so I needed an expert's help. After calling all over the country and speaking to many "experts" in the field of V-Twin performance, I was still not satisfied with what I was hearing. I felt like a lot of smoke was blown up my ass along the way. When I came across the "FLO Headworks" website I decided to call. After my initial discussion with Perry, I had a better idea of what it take to get the performance I wanted, 100+ RWHP. I felt like Perry was well versed and truly an expert in the field of V-Twin performance. We talked many more time before I was ready to send my parts to him. We discussed head porting, valve size, "tooled" finish, valve springs, dual plugs, cam specs, blueprinting the factory carb, ignition systems and more. A big plus for me was the numbers. Performance is a game of numbers and for any combination to work well, the numbers have to match and Perry definitely has that figured out. I finally sent my heads and carburetor out for the work. The Flo Headworks mods included larger valves, fully ported heads with tooled finish, dual plug conversion, installation of FLO's spring and retainer kit at final assembly and blueprinting the factory carb. Also, at Perry's recommendation, I selected a cam set and purchased a "PowerArc" ignition system to light it off. My first ride after putting the Buell back together was surprising. It was more than I expected. With a little bit of "tweaking" the performance became smooth from idle to wide open throttle. The fact that the rear tire, then nearly new, was turned to powder in less than a thousand miles speaks for itself. Finally, the Dyno, the test to see if the goal is achieved. First, let me say "Thanks Perry", your advice was right on. The session proved that you don't need high compression, mega carb and super long cams to make plenty of power. - Joey Jackson, Orlando, Florida
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| From Jeff
VanHall, XLH
Sportster owner:
I
would like to thank Perry Kime for the outstanding job he has done
on I began the process in the fall of 2002 when I shipped him the heads and cylinders. Horsepower was at the top of my list of expectations which Perry accomplished by porting the heads, adding dual plugs and coils, a power arc ignition, and Wiseco pistons with machined domes. After receiving the parts back, I was so impressed with the workmanship I shipped the engine block for overhaul. Even though the lower end was a running basket case, Perry replaced the transmission, added Andrews cams with Jims tappets and transformed my tired 48,000 mile motor into a better than new iron head. All my horsepower expectations were realized while contained in a smooth running package. All through the process Perry was accessible by phone and email. Even after the motor was complete, he was available during the tuning process. It is now a year later and with 3000 miles on the rebuild, I am very happy with the performance Perry has added to my bike and recommend him highly for any rebuild or performance enhancing applications. - Jeff VanHall, West Melbourne, Florida
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| From Jeff
Koopman, Knucklehead owner:
1947 Knucklehead
- Jeff Koopman, Philadelphia, PA
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| From Kevin Harding, owner, '57 Panhead Chopper:
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© 2000-2014, FLO
Headworks. Contact Perry Kime at 805-481-6300 or via e-mail. |
Engine detail, Long Hog.
