J&P Cycles Motorcycle Community

Has anyone out there put a reasonable number of miles on a Revtech engine yet? I am now waiting on the outcome of my second failure. The first occurred at 500 miles, completely destroying the engine ripping the top off the rear piston. At the time this occurred I was on a highway trip, just completed the second oil change, sitting on 3000rpm, when the rear piston seized. CCI were not a problem and replaced the engine. After having the dealer fit the new engine, I followed the break in procedure to the letter, but at 5000 miles the rear piston has seized again, once again while travelling at 3000 rpm. I have spoken with three other in Australia who have had the same problem in the last few months. I am beginning to suspect the ignition module as a possible cause, as the engine is running below the vacuum that closes the VOES. I wonder if the advance mapping is not suited to heavier bikes (FLT). Another theory bandied around is that the pistons and barrells do not expand at compatible rates. Either way, I am not certain what the cause and ask of those with experience. Cheers Taz

intersting I always thought revtech put out quality products!!! I guess if I buy an engine it will be HD or S&S

i have spoken with custom chrome, and they say their system is not equipped for voes, so you may be right about the heavy bike needing a different curve- as far as the angel fire ignition, the first ignitions they used were thunderheart, who got a bad batch of diodes from their supplier, and therefor had some failures- since then, cci has switched to an ignition made by crane, which is why that ignition was replaced with a crane,it's what they come with now- i may have more info for you in the am tomorrow, as i am scheduled to talk with some of their technical staff in the morning

As a matter of interest, when I had the 80" engine in this bike, I used to run three and a half inches of mercury on the VOES, and with the bigger motor that was increased to five and a half inches as it pinged its arse off at 3.5. It is interesting that you talk of suing them as being in Australia it is not really a viable option. I would prefer to sort the problem as the power delivery and torque are very pleasant, and really make the bike a pleasure to ride. Cheers Taz

i spoke to cci this am, they really did not know why you are having the problem, however, they assured me that they would warrant any problems through your cci dealer- if you have specific questions about your motor problem, you can email steve_bistro@customchrome.com--he is in charge of the technical department at cci, and he is willing to talk to anyone about any problems you may have with their motors or trannys

I would like to point out that basically I am happy with the motor, and I am not looking to bad mouth CCI as their service is fine. I am merely trying to collaborate information, as stated in the previous post, they do not know what is causing the problem. If I have used this forum in the wrong context feel free to tell me so. ps. Thanks for the e-mail address for CCI, it will make communicating with them from Australia much easier. Cheers Taz

your use of this forum is fine-just wanted to give you what info i had, and hope it helps

My name is Steve Bistrow and I am the Customer Service Managaer at CCI. To those of you in Australia having problems with your RevTech motors, please feel free to email me at steve_bistrow@customchrome.com and I will be happy to discuss your problems with you. I do not understand why you are experiencing the problems you have related, but I will do my best to get to the bottom of them and resolve them for you.

Well boys and girls--it doesn't get much better that that-- Cheers to Mr. Bistrow for standing up for their product so far... regards all, aye

I have to agree with EVORIDER. CCI is standing behind their product. I may have to have warranty work done on my engine. (you can see on this message board I have been having a problem with my engine blowing white smoke. I am not happy about it, but like I said it seems like CCI will correct the problem. Its nice to have the 2 year/20,000 warranty, which is twice as long as the factory warranty.

Frank, the only problem with long warranties is that they can sometimes 'bite' the original supplier/seller--especially if the problems are caused by say, a third party supplier of parts to them... I do think its great that Revtech are so far making a stand--very refreshing, but it could cost them a lot of $$$$$ to do so. Regards, Evo

Speaking of long warranties, somebody else already said this, but it is valid enough to post it again...I would rather invest in a proven motor that doesn't blow up on a regular basis, built by a company that's been building motors for a long time even if that motor only comes with a 6 month warranty, than a motor that actually requires ya' to use the warranty, no matter how long the warranty period is or how good they back it...I am glad to see that CCI is responsive to the problems and I am sure their big inch motors are a kick in the ass to ride, but until they get all issues resolved beyond a shadow of a doubt, I won't buy a revtech motor. Ain't personal opinions grand? Edited by - Hawg Ryder on 12/13/01 11:49 PM

I have a 2001 special construction bike equipped with the Rev Tech 100 inch motor, Mikuni HSR 42 carb, and stock 2-2 pipes. The motor is only has about 730 miles on the clock and was being broken in according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Almost from the start, I noticed more white smoke than should be normal for a new motor, especially from the back cylinder. When I pulled the plugs, I found them to be fouled. When my local shop did the 500 mile service they advised that the rear plug was fouled but that this was normal with moly rings. The problem continued and I returned the bike for a leak down test. Well, the rear cylinder had 15% blow-by. After checking with cci my shop opened it up and advised me that the rings had failed to seat properly. CCI is taking care of it as the motor is under warranty. I've had several other V-twin bikes over the past 30 years and never experienced this problem before so my question is what would cause the rings not to seat properly, and what needs to be done to prevent it from happening again? BTW, the ignition also failed and is being replaced. Sakman

Improper cylinder honing, rings installed upside down, rings installed in wrong order, rings with too much end gap, rings with not enough ring gap (although that one would scar the cylinder walls a bit). How to prevent it again? Simple, make sure they assemble the motor correctly...and by the way, moly rings should seat almost instantly. All these anecdotes sure make me wanna' run right out and buy a revtech motor...NOT! Good Luck. Hawg http://forums.delphiforums.com/hawgryder/start Hawg Ryder's All HD Tech Forum Edited by - Hawg Ryder on 12/20/01 10:47 PM

After reading the all your info I have to ask What kind of mileage can one expect to get from a Revtech ? I have rode a 100" and like it but if it wont last for the long haul I guess its back to the old stuff