RB Racing Intercooled Turbos...Big Twins and VRod

Turbocharging is the only way to get reliable, big horsepower out of these dinosaurs.

There seems to be, based on 40 years of doing this, way, way more people who want to talk about turbos then there are people who just say "Do it".

We are not in the education and Devil's advocate business...So save your endless questions for those internet experts who have not ever dealt with every facet of turbocharging as we have. There is more BS floating around on this subject and we will not get drawn into discussions of same.

People call us up and want to tell us we can't do what we do with "x"...These days we just say "You must be right, we obviously were mistaken" and send them on their way. We are not in the education business.

44 years of turbos...racing, records, and endless sophistication. Does not come easy.

Turbos...RB Racing Horsepower Perspective

In the Early 1990's we were making 275 hp out 104" Evo motors like Mike Geokan's famous #226 Blue Bike. We did not run them higher because we limited the airflow with the turbos we chose.

The bike featured our RSR Fuel Injection System with four 50lb/hr injectors running in a stage mode. We wrote a fuel injection program for it and that program was never changed. We wrote the program before the bike turned a wheel with the turbo. There was no testing. Mike was adamant about "not wanting to learn anything new". He didn't have to.

Early on at Bonneville the #226 bike would suddenly shut off running about 22 psi of boost...something we had never seen before with Suzukis, Harleys, Kawasakis or any other turbo bike. We had brought spare microprocessors. The RSR ECU had two microprocessors, one to house the operational code and one to house the serial programming data. When the bike shut off we checked everything and switched the microprocessor that held the data and the bike ran again but in subsequent runs shut off again. We figured it was electrical interference from the spark plugs as it happened under high load. Mike's solution was he would need a pile of microprocessors and change them after each run. We asked him which glove he put on first before he ran...left or right. All he had to do was alter that order and the bike would run. That went over well. We drove back to LA made some additional changes on the input programming circuits and drove right back up to Boise...that's 1800 miles driving with no sleep and insisted the bike be re-wired to get the plug / ignition wires away from our electronics.

To this day more that two decades later the bike still runs and Mike still believes you have to change the "chips" after each run. No...It was the gloves.

These days we no longer have to run four injectors in a staged arrangement as injectors 2200 ccm or larger are available in high impedance (12 Ohm) values.

Prior to that, in the late 1970's and early 1980's, we were making 150hp Shovelheads.  In the early 1990's we manufactured our own closed loop RSR EFI system for our turbos...that powered Drag Racing Harleys to a 7.75 @176mph and a National Pro Gas Championship in the quarter mile.

Above picture: Carl Pelletier of Competition Motorcycles delivering the 139" Turbo ORCA Motor to be installed in the Bonneville Bullett. RB Racing designed all the special parts like the 1/2" A-1 cylinder studs and the water-cooled cylinders as well as the pistons and other items. John O'Keefe did the porting and installed the Ferrea valves we had made. Carl did all the final machining and assembly. We used the engine to test new ideas...Some worked and some didn't but we never lacked power..Over 400hp.

Our Bonneville efforts these days use sophisticated Cosworth Pectel SQ6M controllers and 500 hp turbos. Our street bikes come with 360 hp turbos. Horsepower depends on a lot of factors like displacement, rpm, boost level , and cylinder head design... And, as it rises, the Harleys show their weak points...clutches, cylinder sealing, cranks and connecting rods, and final drive belts to name a few. Carl Pelletier above with the RB Racing Bonneville 139" ORCA Single Cam motor with 8" rods, no gaskets, turbo ported SA B2 heads, Inconel valves, custom 1/2" cylinder studs, 32-2 crank trigger crankshaft , and water cooled barrels. Not one Harley part. Way past 400 hp.

Horsepower can be gotten by anyone if you cram the can full and light a match. The question is.."Is the engineering good enough for it to be reliable and is it practical enough to be driven anywhere"...Fast is a given. People forget the rest...like practical air cleaners for high horsepower. Always look at the air cleaner...if there is one...And, would you put that air cleaner on a V8. It's an IQ test.

No Direction Home...Bob Dylan

People spend $15,000.00 on a T143 (Engine, 70mm efi throttle, exhaust, install) to get 165hp. We got 275hp 30 years ago with a 104"motor and lately 200 hp at low boost with a 95" motor...and 345 hp with a Bonneville 139" motor with 19 psi of boost. Logic in the horsepower chase is missing.

Turbos are just low compression motors (8.5:1 or so)...not 10.5:1 heat sinks. 40 years ago we were doing 150hp Shovelheads. Nothing has changed.

Hey...it keeps people busy chasing the pecking order dream. First place is always turbos, although with lots of nitrous, a bit iffy piston-longevity wise,  can provide explosive power increases.

Does Get Complicated



Fixtures and a lot of knowledge are required to make turbos for EVOs Twin Cams, VRods, Race Bikes, and specialized ORCA motors with Bosch Fly By Wire Pectel SQ6M Controllers etc...for both Bonneville and Street bikes. These fixtures are just the tip of the complexity involved.  Pallets of raw parts, thousands of dollars in waterjet and laser cut parts and mandrel bending, plus over 1000 pages of documentation, software, CAD files, many three ring binders, and hopefully not too much brain fade.

Intercooler Fabrication





Here we are welding up a 300+ HP HD Turbo Intercooler after machining and prepping the parts for it. Air enters and exits at the larger part of the tapered end caps. After this the intercooler goes for ceramic coating. This chews up a couple of days off and on.  Expensive.



The intercoolers are sized to drop the inlet charge temperature closer to ambient i.e. if the charge temperature pre-intercooler is 150F and the outside air temperature is 80F and the bike is moving at cruising speed and then under acceleration, at say 8 PSI, then the inlet temperature will be close to the ambient 80F.




Various spigots for turbo connector hoses..EVOs, Twin Cams, OEM EFI systems, Cosworth Pectel FBW systems...For our intercoolers and plenum chambers. Does get a bit complicated, but with specialization and the intended uses, it always does.


Genuine Garrett Turbo.... Raw Castings


Start out with a genuine ceramic ball bearing Garrett Turbo...Add custom housings and you are at $1,500.00 before we start modifying things for a Harley V-Twin.


    

They just don't fit optimally the way the come...so we have to do surgery.




We use genuine Garrett Ceramic Bearing 360 HP Turbochargers. These come in as raw, machined castings in iron and aluminum. We then modify the compressor, exhaust housing and the turbo center section with machining. welding, sanding, and bead blasting operations. The parts are then ceramic coated for corrosion protection, heat retention, and heat dispersion. With more that 25 years going to the Bonneville salt flats, we know how importatnt anti-corrosion coatings are...not to mention operation in the real world.



Then there are the 38 years of previous fixtures dating back to Shovelheads and parts which have since been discarded. Gets expensive. Thousands of man-hours.

Many Hours Later..Orca Turbo Pod

  

Cutting, machining, welding, anodizing, water jet cutting, ceramic coating, fixturing and assembly operations...It is no longer a $1,500.00 turbocharger but an Orca Turbo Pod that will go past 300hp and 25 psi of boost. Whatever it takes to make your 850lb Harley Dresser move. Past 200hp @12 psi. Dial the boost from your handlebar when you are riding.

On a Twin Cam 95" the turbo puts out about 165hp and 164 ft/lbs torque @ 9 PSI of Boost.

Annealed Copper Turbo Gaskets



Cherry Red with torch then drop in cold water. Turns copper into a soft condition. We anneal all our turbo and wastegate gaskets. No goo or silicone.


Wastegate Testing



With three regulators we test Boost Pressure, Exhaust Back Pressure, Adjustable Boost 8-25 PSI, and wastegate valve sealing. Here boost is controlled by a pneumatic controller. With advanced Cosworth Electronics we can control the wastegate with Phase and Anti-Phase fast acting solenoids.

  300Hp Intercoolers


RB Racing Harley Turbocharger System: Intercoolers Coated in Ceramic Black High-Emissive Coating for optimal performance and corrosion protection. You can run your big twin through the gears at low boost and about 180 Hp and the intercooler discharge temperatures will be close to ambient. We don't use small restrictive intercoolers or, even more stupidly, put the intercooler under the bike like one firm does.

Airflow in and out of the intercooler must be smooth so each of the 13 channels flows the same which is why the hats must be tapered. You cannot simply butt the turbo discharge up against the base to the intercooler as some firms do.

Front view left above. Rear view right above. The intercooler mounts securely with billet clamps to the crash bar. The intercooler is rigidly mounted and the turbocharger and turbo plenum move with the rubber mounted engine. Special flex bellows couplers (see below) connect the moving and stationary parts. Proven in years of use.



 



Turbo Plenum Chambers: All machined from billet and welded. Integral boost and water injection ports plus billet compressor discharge valve. No nuts, no bolts, no windows, and no blow through filter. Designed as a surge reservoir and to break up directional airflow before it enters the throttle body. We have five variations on these to cover multiple applications.

Oxide blasted and ceramic coated with a heat dispersant ceramic.



Plenum for our RSR EFI Systems with 56mm Throttle Body: Idle Air Control Stepper Motor, Compressor Discharge Valve, Boost reference port.




To protect our Harley Turbo Intercoolers against corrosion and to dissipate heat we use special Ceramic Heat Dispersant Coatings which are applied after we fabricate and blast the parts. These coatings are impervious to carb cleaners and other chemicals as well as normal soap and water cleaning. This is not powder coating as that would be an insulator and degrade the intercoolers efficiency. Plenum chambers are also coated.

Twin Cam 88 PLenum Chamber. Optional water injection port.

Milwaukee 8 Turbos...Not now

We looked at the M8's and they are a packaging nightmare to do correctly. Maybe later, but development with the issues they already have, i.e. oil sumping issues, extremely high compression and cranking pressures, and, coupled with the difficulty of doing proper charge cooling means we'll pass for the present. Development runs over $2,000.00 per day for personnel, overhead, and shop expenses...We've been down that road more times that we care to share.

Recently a customer from San Diego stopped by to buy a chain drive swingarm...Turns out he had forked over close to $10,000.00 for an M8 Trask Turbo and it turned out to be a slow rolling disaster and he off'ed it to someone.

We asked him some technical questions as to what the turbo confuration was etc... In short it would never have worked and what he was told by Trask made no sense whatsoever, only BS words to get him out of Arizona. What the hell, they got his $$. In the local street scene here in L.A. word went out fast.


Twin Cam
Turbo Systems



You take the fixtures pictured above and add 100 manhours of fabrication and shop time and you end up with these parts...and these are not all the parts in a system. You simply cannot make this kind of power "building" a motor. Every part of the system has been upgraded in terms of fasteners, polishing, ceramic coating as well as CNC machined parts like our wastegates and compressor discharge blow off valves. The 360 HP turbocharger has been extensively modified.

Evo Turbo Systems and EVO ORCA Motors


Specialized Evo Single Cam ORCA motors up to 139 Cubic Inches. 113 Cubic Inch pictured. Does get expensive.

 
360 to 560 HP Turbo systems on ORCA Single Cam EVO Motors. Proven systems with over 30 years of development.

Turbos..Practical Power

Buy an 850 pound Dresser and find out you have a very low hp/weight ratio. So you can go spent $12,000 to $15,000 on a custom big inch high compression motor with an $1,100.00 throttle body, bigger injectors to get maybe 150 to 165 hp or spend about half that for a 130 hp SE120R. A big inch motor may or may not be streetable as power really only comes from added compression. A 10.5 to 12.0:1 motor can be a less streetable motor than your stocker. You can only go way up in bore size as the engines cannot get taller.

Put on turbo and you have either stock levels of streetable power or more power than any of the above big motor choices. On the other hand we have found that people have no problems spending $15,000.00 or more on big inch motor conversions and we encourage them to do so. Our typical customer has experience with turbos, knows what they do, does their own work and can handle the installation and tuning.

People who foist turbo installations off onto unsuspecting shops are only complicating the matter. In short, if you are the right candidate, it will all work out...If you are not, go the big motor route and stay away from high horsepower, streetable turbos.

165HP @ 9 PSI Boost... 2003 Twin Cam 95 Cubic Inches

 

Torque is the game..Take it to 4 or five psi of boost, short shift, and do it again...80 mph instantly. Or, if the handlebar adjustable boost control knob is set at 9 PSI, get 165 hp now. Torque allows you to effortlessly roll-on and pass that line of Semis, or leave the other bikes behind. Tuning perfected in actual riding with RSR Dual Air Fuel Ratio Gauge. On the above bike, with 95 cubic inches, it makes 200 horsepower and over 190 ft/lbs of torque on pump gas @13 PSI of boost. Boost is adjustable to 25 psi.


Perry on his 95" Twin Cam with his OEM Delphi controller reprogrammed with RB Racing's 236hp Injectors (9 gram/sec). TTS MasterTune.

Doc Sweeney: "Trip done: 5950 miles 28 States in 9 days. Bike performed well"

Doc Sweeney and his TC88 Turbo on a marathon 28 state run. Genuine Pinto gas tank along for the ride. "And miles to go before I sleep". Doc Sweeney covered 4500 miles in the first week.."running fine". Next up...a R1200GS BMW and off to Alaska...all 50 states. The TC88 was shipped in from Hawaii. All 50 States.

Oil spot behind the bike is from a Honda Goldwing that had an unfortunate movement when it saw the turbo.

Something Wicked This Way Cometh..Road Toad

There is nothing that outruns turbos. You have to build big inch high compression motors to make power and they are not your best daily drivers or anything you want to take on a trip. Only turbos give you a stock or low compression engine with power you can dial up at will. If you want fast and civility you pretty much have to go turbo.

We use large 360 hp turbos that deliver enough air to outrun anything. Even at 8 psi you will outrun any built 110 and at 12 psi it will leave a SE 120R engine like it was standing still. You can drive it coast to coast and not have to worry about passing a line of semis in the middle of nowhere...Whoosh! We like Road Glides but, at 850 lbs, they are short-changed in the power to weight race. We can correct this.

We've been at this turbo stuff for a long, long, time and made all sorts of variations on Big Twins over the past 30 odd years dating back to Shovelheads. These FLT/FLH turbos are the best we have ever done and are light years better than anything else out there, technically as well as practically.

  

There is no compromise in ground clearance and no hot turbo tail pipes next to your leg either on the left or right side of the bike.  The intercooler drops charge temperatures close to ambient and is sized correctly for the power output. A turbo without an intercooler, or too small an intercooler, is just plain stupid. These pictures were taken after 9000+ miles of testing.

Leg clearance is the same as with a normal air cleaner and everything right and left resides within the stock crash bars. You can ride like a cruiser or play road racer without any compromise. We like high speed turns and squirting ahead of crotch-rockets is an interesting pastime.

Road Glide Turbo aka "Road Toad"

Our 2004 FLTRI Road Glide aka.."Road Toad". Good way to cover a lot of ground in comfort. Road Glides, like all Harleys, have a low center of gravity and peculiar reverse triple clamps that give quick steering but keep the trail at 6". Add a turbo and it effortlessly whisks past other bikes, semis, hills and anything else it comes up against.

Testing: Whenever we let people ride it they come back amazed at how civil and quiet it is and the way it just keeps pulling in any gear. The last guy that stopped to ride the Road Toad was a Canadian customer of ours who turbocharged his GL1800...complete with front and rear laser jammers and other evading mechanisms we can't mention...He was really impressed..except for the brakes. We upgraded those later on. We have had customers from as far away as Australia stop by to ride the Road Toad.

We typicaly do about 10,000 miles of testing before we go into production. When we are too busy to ride we have "Turbo Ron" keep putting miles on the bike as he has had two of our turbo kits and has over 1,000,000 miles of motorcycle riding and has been on Glides for a long time.

126 ORCA...Building a 360 HP Road Glide aka Road Toad


Road Toad Upgrades: We upgraded the suspension parts, brakes, and put in the 126" Orca S&S SA B2 engine that we got for the Road Toad. When the 126 Orca engine went in the belt drive went South and a chain final drive was installed. To handle the increased power we installed a full race clutch assembly and converted it to hydraulic actuation. The 126" S&S SA B2 engine fits FL models through 2006. Ours is a 2004 so it fits.

How much does this all this cost?....About $15,000.00 for the specialzed turbo motor and another $15,000 for more sophisticated high-end engine electronics, complete mil spec wiring, and an advanced sensor package. All in due time. You can follow the progress by clicking on the above link...Later models (2007 and later) can get SE120R engines but these also have to be built for turbo use...forged turbo pistons, stronger piston pins, better bearings, and revised oiling systems.

Brief Turbo History: We've been at this for over 30 years and have designed more turbos systems than about anyone...Last time we counted it was for over 25 different motorcycles a dating back to SOHC Honda 750's, not to mention Shovelheads, lots of BMW's, Kawasakis, Suzukis, and even odd ones like old Triumph Bonnevilles...Probably about 1500 Turbo systems in all. These days we limit ourselves to Harley's and certain BMWs. We stopped making turbos for the in-line Japanese fours after setting a large number of speed records at El Mirage and Bonneville, winning magazine contests and horsepower shoot-outs. We put off the redesign of these Big Twin turbos for five years while we were working on the Bonneville Bullett bike...there just wasn't time or money to do both. Development is way more expensive than it used to be and we choose our projects more carefully these days.

We don't do this for the money, that's for sure...It's way too much effort going in for what comes out. It's more of an art form and we do it because we like turbos, and we like being with our friends on projects like the Bonneville Bullett at Bonneville...and we like to ride.

Forged SE120R Turbo Pistons

We had some clients with SE120R motors in Baggers with 12:1 Compression pistons and Hurricane Heads...still not enough power. A 360hp RB Racing Turbo and some forged lower compression turbo pistons was the answer. They also had to go chain drive with one of our billet chain drive conversions. We keep these in stock. Note the Top Fuel type piston pin. The pistons come in at 393 grams with thick domes for the added compression. $500.00 per set. These are setup for the stock multi-layer SE120R head gasket and 4.060" bore.

Radial Mounted 4 Piston Calipers

The stock Harley Road Glide brakes never gave us the feel we wanted so we decided to do something about it. We did a lot of 24 hour endurance racing in the 1970's and our bikes always had the best brakes....usually AP Lockheed with Brembo "Oro" iron rotors. With the 126 Orca Turbo going into the Road Glide we decided to fab up a set of radial mount 4 piston calipers that were of one-piece construction. No flexing and we get a solid lever with far better stopping power. Brakes are what we call "reverse horsepower". Since we'll have more that 300 hp on tap we needed 300 hp rated brakes. Besides, they look trick.

While we were at it we also upgraded the 2004 forks to some chromed 2008 units. The 2004 forks only had damping in one leg...anything to save a buck.

Turbo Exhaust

Turbos are surprisingly quiet and they don't like any restriction on the exhaust side...We use a precision heliarced and chromed 2.5" two piece dump tube that does nothing to restrict your velocity. It exits below your floorboards where the heat is not a bother. It does not run inside your leg...we did that one time 30 years ago and decided it was not a good idea. You don't see any seams on our welded parts. We are way too professional for that. No long tail pipes...we went down that road a long, long, time ago...31 years ago to be exact.

Turbo Art

Turbo exit pipes headed for various client bikes...Road Kings, Road Glides and Ultra Classics. Secondary pipe bolts or is welded to these for exit beneath the floorboards. Quiet, no restriction. No long pipes or mufflers to rob power or break. After over 30 years we know how to make things that work, make maximum power, and don't break.

Over 30 years of turbo art and develeopment. A goes to B to C to D to E and so on...and then you go really fast.

Turbo Movie 01...Road Toad 8 psi

Our Twin Cam 88" Road Toad in rush hour traffic in Los Angeles. There isn't much open space in L.A. like there is going up the middle of Nevada on the way to Bonneville. This gives you a brief idea of what low boost looks like on a Road Glide Twin Cam 88" with Branch O'Keefe Turbo porting and some mild SE 251 cams. 1.52 Bar is about 8 lbs of boost.

No, we did not wind it out to 140 mph, nor turn the boost up to 25 psi...not in LA traffic. Not with cameras on the freeways and pesky good-natured citizens with camera cell phones calling the police. 30 years ago we had ambulance drivers calling the cops when we zipped by them under boost...That took awhile to figure out.

Turbo Movie 02... Full Dashboard

A movie on a gentle cruise and acceleration at only 1.5 Bar (8 psi) we moved the camera back so you could see all the instruments. Our additional injector controller handles fuel requirements under boost. You can see it activate in the lower right hand Dual Air Fuel Ratio gauge. The topmost red l.e.d will light when the 3rd injector kicks in. For street use we like to keep EGT numbers around 1450 Deg F. The Orca Turbo Dash will also display Celsius. In this movie the Optional Priority Breather Valve has been installed.

We have also posted this video to YouTube.

Newly Redesigned Big Twin Turbo Systems

03-0007
H-D Evo/Twin Cam Engines Standard 2 Bolt Ports and 32-2 Crank Position Sensor Crank/Crankcase; Pectel SQ6/SQ6M and Mil-Spec Wiring
360 HP Blackbird: up to 3 Bar 30 psi
Call for quote
03-0008
Twin Cam: Standard 2 Bolt Ports; Delphi EFI
250 HP Blackbird: up to 2 Bar 15 psi
$7995.00
03-0011
Twin Cam: Standard 2 Bolt Ports; Delphi EFI
360 HP Pro Street: 3 Bar 30 psi
$8595.00
03-0012
Twin Cam: SA / 4 Bolt B2 Ports; Delphi EFI
360 HP Pro Street: 3 Bar 30 psi
$9995.00
03-0009
139 ORCA (EVO) SA / B2 Ports; and 32-2 Crank Position Sensor Crank/Crankcase; Pectel SQ6M and Mil-Spec Wiring
360 HP Pro Street: 3 Bar 30 psi
Call for quote
03-0010
126 ORCA (TC88) SA / B2 Ports; and 32-2 Crank Position Sensor Crank/Crankcase; Pectel SQ6M and Mil-Spec Wiring
360 HP Pro Street: 3 Bar 30 psi
Call for quote
05-0001
Orca Digital Turbo Dash
Dual EGT Display, 3Bar
$795.00
03-1052
RSR Water Injection
Anodized Reservoir, Dual Stage, 220 PSI
$995.00
03-1013
Glycerin Filled Memory Boost gauge, Non-lighted; Incl Billet Mount
30 psi
$249.50
06-1004
Single RSR EFI O2 Display (NB).
Air Fuel Ratio Meter (only)
$249.50
06-1003T
Dual Delphi EFI O2 Display (NB) Specify Year/Model of bike.
Dual O2 Display (NB)
$295.00

TTS Master Tune Software and Tuning Cable (4 or 6 Pin)
Specify Year Bike
$487.50

Pre 2009: 2 Bar TMAP Sensor and (2)  9.3 Gram/Second Injectors

$395.00

2009 and Later: 2 Bar TMAP Sensor and (2)  9.3 Gram/Second Injectors
$495.00

Pre 2009: 3 Bar TMAP Sensor and (2)  12.9 Gram/Second Injectors
$395.00

2009 and Later: 3 Bar TMAP Sensor and (2)  12.9 Gram/Second Injectors
$495.00

Ordering and Payment Details

1. Turbos are only sold on a pre-paid cash basis with a Bank to Bank Transfer of funds. We provide transfer details when you decide to order the kit. Place your order online 24/7 so we have your complete particulars. No credit card sales. Order online 24/7, specify Bank to Bank Transfer, and we will provide details for Bank to Bank Transfer of funds.  There is a minimum surcharge of $50.00 on all bank transfers due to bank fees which occur on both ends of the transaction. Shipping charges are paid for separately by credit card. We negotiate the best shipping prices at time of shipment.

Customer is responsible for transferring the correct amount as the sending bank will deduct fees and end up transferring less than the agreed invoice which causes delays. Note: These items are sold on a direct basis only. They are not an item sold through any form of "Distributor".

2. Mandatory Items to Order: Delphi systems must order Dual O2 Display 06-1003.  You must order the Glycerin filled Max Indicating Boost Gauge 03-1013.

3. Customer must supply the two shift levers for modification (heel& toe). If not, there is a $175.00 surcharge for RB Racing to supply and modify.



   1. Typical Order: Delphi 250 HP Blackbird EFI Twin Cam..$9,027.00 (+ fueling option)

For a Delphi EFI Late model Harley this is about what you can expect to pay for more horsepower and civility than you can get by any other method. Terms and conditions and ordering details are listed above. Note: These items are sold on a direct basis only. They are not an item sold through any form of "Distributor".

Part Number       Description

03-0008               250 hp 2 Bar Delphi Blackbird Turbo Kit   $7995.00

03-1013               Glycerin Filled Boost Gauge w/ Memory     $249.50

06-1003T            Dual RSR O2 Display Narrow Band             $295.00

                          TTS Master Tune Software                           $487.50

                          Plus Fueling Option                                      Specify (see below)

Total                                                                                     $8827.00 (+ fueling option)


  2. Fueling Options: ...EVO to Twin Cam

Does get a bit complicated when you have nearly 40 years of Harleys. We've seen or done it all from Shovelheads up to the latest bikes.

  1. Twin Cam FLT/FLH non-FBW Systems: 2 Bar TMAP Manifold Pressure sensor and two custom fuel Injectors 9.29 grams/second capable of supporting 236 hp at an 80% Duty Cycle. Customer responsible for tuning 0 to 2KPa  (2Bar) via TTS MasterTune (see above for TTS costs). Add $395.00

   2. Fly-By Wire Systems: 2009 up Twin Cam FLT/FLH Series: Bosch 2 Bar Manifold Pressure sensor and two custom fuel Injectors 9.29 grams/second capable of supporting 236 hp or larger for applications beyond 236 hp. Customer responsible for tuning 0 to 2KPa  (2Bar) via TTS MasterTune (see above for manadtory TTS costs). For 2009 and later models with 12mm O2 sensors our exhaust turbo manifolds have both 12mm and 18mm O2 ports. Add $495.00. For applications > 250 hp fuel pump upgrades are required.

Applications beyond 2 Bar (15 psi) require  12.9 Gram/Sec injectors and a boost referenced fuel system...This is up to the customer.



    3. Scratch Built or Race No EFI Present with 32-2 CPS Flywheels: Pectel SQ6M controller; Complete Mil-Spec Wiring harness. It does get complex with traction control, phase anti-phase boost control etc. 8800 programmable functions. Over 200 man hours in the harness design alone. Injectors up to 2000cc. Only on quote and pre-paid basis.

Here's something to ponder. Road Toad: Used FLTRI $10,000.00-$12,000. Base Turbo System $8,995.00. Advanced Cosworth Pectel SQ6M Electronics, including traction control, data acquisition and complete Mil Spec wiring harness (200 man hours), plus tuning $25,000.00. Custom Instrumentation $3,000.00 to $5,000.00. Race prepared 126" S&S SA 126" Turbo engine $15,000.00. Then there's the race clutch, hydraulic master cylinder conversion, chain final drive $1,695.00, and all that installation labor $10,000.00. Figure about $75,000.00 and up. Cheap….and no custom paint or wheels to attract the uninitiated. No Orange County Choppers, no Jesse James.

   4. Some people want to use other efi systems like ThunderMax or Daytona TwinTec or some variation of a DynoJet Controller and supply their own injectors.. You are on your own if you choose this route. Don't ask for help from us. Those companies won't help either...you are the tuner.

                            3. Shipment of Turbo Kits


Some people in the past have picked up turbo kits here. Whenever we ship the kits it usually consumes several days to custom package, control the items, prepare the parts for shipment, and cart the boxes over for shipment with all the paperwork (triplicate for international shipment). We used to do this for free until we woke up. There is a $500.00 charge for the packing and cartage to a shipper. As stated above: "Shipping charges are paid for separately by credit card. We negotiate the best shipping prices at time of shipment." One turbo kit: Three double wall boxes with all parts individually packaged. 76 pounds.


Cosworth Pectel SQ6M Systems Throttle By Wire

These days FBW/TBW is pretty much the way to go and is a critical element in traction control and torque management strategies. The Pectel SQ6M comes standard with traction control and FBW capabilities. We use specialized 60mm Bosch Motorsport units on our Road Toad.

60mm Bosch

 

FBW/TBW Bosch throttle body for the SQ6M on the Road Toad. You have to fabricate this stuff. Gets expensive. Full fuel bypass. 1050cc, 1300cc, 1700cc, and 2000cc Injector Dynamics fuel injectors. Expensive Custom Fabrication and programming.

Chain Drive Swingarm

A belt has to know it's limits. As is frequently said, "Chains are for racing...Belts are for holding up your pants". When you start putting in high compression big inch engines, or high output turbos, you are going to start snapping final drive belts. Hayabusas, BMW S1000RR's, or any highly-engineered 180 to 195 hp street bike, would never have a final belt drive. A 140 to 360 hp Harley surely needs one.

We have complete chain drive systems for Dressers.

Does Get Complicated

When you have to deal with more than 30 years of Harleys you have all sorts of inlet and fuel systems. We deal with all of them and even some not pictured. Injector capacity, fuel pump and regulator capacity. Fuel rail design. Two or three injectors. Stand alone closed efi system for carbuteted bikes...all the way to high end Cosworth Pectel SQ6M controllers with specialized Bosch Fly-By-Wire systems. We have the methodology.

Doc Sweeney's TC88

Final road test for Doc Sweeney's Ultra TC88. Doc Sweeney flies in from Hawaii and rides the bike to Texas. We upgraded the oil system with an SE Billet Plate and new pump, put in turbo cams, an SE Race Clutch and fixed all the usual issues. The bike is a 2005 non-closed loop Delphi ECM. We use TTS MasterTune and our Dual Air Fuel Ratio Gauge to tune the bike in real world operation. Oh, we have a 750 hp Superflow CycleDyn eddy current dyno but the real world is where it's at...cold start, hot start, idle quality, transitional fueling, steady state cruise at all rpms and, of course, under boost.. The race plugs have to come out dead clean when we are finished...i.e. >40 mpg hwy...maybe not cruising @120mph...which we also test.

Besides steady state and dyno work we easily do 200 miles of instrumented road work.

Doc Sweeney really knows motorcycles. He has his own Motorcycle Museum full of rare early Harley, Indian and other motorcycles. Doc Sweeney cruised from Los Angeles down to the Texas Mexico border without incident save turning up the boost a bit to outrun a few things..then reeled off 28 States in nine days for a total of 5950 miles plus the run from LA to the bottom of Texas. We asked him to hold the boost to 9 psi on his trip but he did a few 12 psi (175hp @ 5500 rpm) test accelerations.

We went nuts trying to tune his bike initially. It turns out he had, buried in the bike, an aftermarket intercept box for his efi that kept altering our programming.

Turbos Down Under


We ship turbos direct to the purchaser without any "exclusive distributor". Turbos are something in our DNA and we don't want parts peddlers messing with them and having you stuck with their exorbinate markups. We won't build a cheap, poorly engineered, and inferior product just to play that game. We race them and we ride them...and make sure they are reliable enough and well engineered enough for you to go coast to coast or across the Outback. Bonneville or Bar to Bar...we've done it.

Poetic justice. We shipped a FLT Turbo kit to Australia which is being installed on a 2009 Dyna...not something we have done. We'll see how this works out. The engine has been prepped for the turbo kit. Poetic justice becase a long time ago we sent a turbo kit "Down Under" which got Jeff Richardson at ChopperWorks and bunch of PR for his, at the time, new business. Jeff split the scene years later owing a lot of people money...doing a "Runner" as they say.

Bike produced, in early testing, 200hp and 228 ftlbs of torque @ 11 PSI of boost.

"Who/Why Someone" Should Buy a Turbo


1. You have the money.

2. You probably have some experience with turbos or understand what they do...and then there is no choice whatsoever. More power than anything and very civil unlike overheating big inch engines full of compression. 2x to 3x normal horsepower. Enough said.

3. You understand that Superchargers, either gear or belt driven, are inferior to Turbos...No we won't explain this to you.

4. You most likely do the work yourself because you are either cheap, a gearhead, a turbo fanatic...or you simply don't want others messing with your bike. It is never a good idea to let anyone else ride your turbo bike. Never.

5. You want to ride and not "Park & Talk" or trailer your bike around to "Shows".

6. People call us up and want us to explain to them "why they should buy our turbo"...If you haven't already pretty much decided turbocharge your bike we really are not going to try to "sell you". You can compare our technology and engineering to anything else out there and decide for yourself. We offer some comparisons of what you get compared to other firms further down this page.

7. There are a certain percentage of people who will buy these that have zero idea what they are buying. We try to weed these out...40 years of experience has taught us that.

Stainless Steel Braided Oil Lines

We cover our RB Racing Turbo braided stainless steel oil lines in high temperature shrink tubing. We know you just love to see braided stainless steel lines but they get dirty, scratch everything they rub up against and tend to eat everything they come in contact with. Black is what you get.

Note: We test turbos with stock Harley-Davidson oil pumps not aftermarket ones. In the case of aftermarket pumps there my be too much volume or pressure and a restrictor on the turbo feed line may be necessary. Too much pressure will cause leakage past the compressor and exhaust seals of the turbocharger. Our turbos only need 9-30 psi of oil pressure.

Standard Inlet Priority Breather Valve


The Priority Breather Valve serves one function: Closing the throttle under boost it allows the boost pressure to vent before the butterfly which keeps turbine speed up during shifts and prevents backflow or "surge" through the compressor. Plenums polished or Black.

The turbo plenum to the left is for our RSR 2001 EFi System..The turbo plenum to the right is our Cosworth Pectel Fly By Wire plenum.

Both have sockets for the Priority Breather Valve. RSR has boost and I.A.C ports. Cosworth has two ports for the programmed Phase-Antiphase wastegate control.



We make our own and put it in up to four different plenum locations depending on the engine type..EVO, Twin Cam, ORCA motor, or specialized race system. We also make our own wastegates. We test these frozen as well as up to 300 Degrees F. These come with our turbo kits but are not sold speparately.

Evos and Twin Cams...Baggers Rule

Evo Road Toad..RSR EFI for early carburetted bikes

Inlet volume is critical with Harley turbos and even more important with 103/110/120/126/131 big inch motors. Add up the turbo discharge volume from the turbo discharge all the way through the intercooler and into the plenum...It has to be a multiple of the engine displacement for the engine to operate efficiently. Mount the turbo next to the inlet with or without small intercooler and you have a bottleneck built into the system. Two coffee-can sized pistons tugging away at the volume between the compressor wheel and the inlet valve require a stable reservoir of air to work properly. We only do it the right way.

RB Racing uses large 360 hp intercoolers and can employ an optional Priority Breather Valve on the back side of our inlet plenum. The Priority Breather Valve allows the engine to vent pressure when the throttle is closed under boost to prevent compressor surge.

With turbos you can cruise at high speed without boost, roll it on and slingshot past everyone. No need to pump extra air and fuel when you don't need to. If you want to go to kill mode then turn up the dial with your left hand and adjust the horsepower and boost to whatever level it needs to be handle the situation. Normally you leave the boost set at 8-12 psi, short shift at 5 psi, and you can outrun anything you come up against. We use large turbos, not small ones and they pump a lot of air at low pressure ratios. We have a Boost and Airflow Calculator to see what is required.

Take an 850 lb Road Toad and add a couple of hundred horsepower...You get the idea.

Evo Softail Fat Boy Turbo S&S 96" RSR EFI

Closed loop RSR Fuel Injection and 96 cubic inches. At 8-10 psi it will handle about anything. Large intercooler keeps things from detonating.

Front exhaust dumps underneath the bike. Turbos are surprisingly quiet in operation. Running closed loop at highway speed these things can get 50 mpg although that's not the main reason you put a turbo on a bike...You do it to whisk past anything that might want to run you, or just to pass a line of semis out on the open road. There is no way you could ever build an engine this civil that can make this much power.

Prototyping for Bullett..600 hp turbo

Pictured is one of our 139" Watercooled Harley Bonneville motors. Intercooled. Fuel Injected. Sort of serious. Well over 400 hp. Here we prototyped the exhaust manifold in mild steel with a special 2" on a 2"radius bend. Next we then made the fixtures and made the part in stainless steel. See the fabrication process involving purging the tubes with argon as they are welded.

We push the limits with these pushrod dinosaurs. How about 212 mph with 9 psi of boost at 4700 rpm in testing at Bonneville?

New Turbo Technical Publication

Jeff Hartman's new book features Mike Geokan's 139" ORCA engine on the cover and some pictures of the Bonneville Bullet. Very professional turbo book for those interested in the technology. Jeff covers a myriad of subjects in great detail and explains the math behind turbos, forced induction, and charge cooling.

360 HP Turbos are standard....Black Ceramic or Polished & Ceramic Coated

We start with $1500.00 custom 360 HP Genuine Garrett Ball Bearing turbos with custom housings before we start modifying them. There is a lot of work to get them ready.


We spend a lot of time and money to pretty up the turbo and modify it for the Harleys. Cutting, welding, polishing and ceramic coating as well as replacing rust-prone hardware with chromed and stainless steel parts. We also have our aluminum Intercoolers and Plenums polished and ceramic coated.  We do both Silver and Black Finishes on the turbo housings. Normally ceramic black.

It's not about "Show Bikes". We could care less about bike shows. For us it just has to be pretty and stand up to the heat and the elements. Bonneville is as rough as it gets.  All stainless hardware.

Boost and Airflow...Size matters

For over 30 years people have been asking us about "Boost". We prefer to talk about CFM at a given pressure ratio in relation to engine size and rpm...of course the conversation gets completely lost at that point. People only want to talk about how much boost they can run. Take the large turbo on the right at 8 psi and compare it with 8 psi from the smaller turbo on the left...Guess which one has more CFM at 8 psi or a 1.5 pressure ratio... If you guessed the bigger turbo you would be correct. RB Racing uses large turbos that move a lot of air at low pressure ratios so you don't have to twist your engine so hard to make the horsepower. The power is instantaneous with no lag.

Think about Honda's CX500 Turbo that was introduced 30+ years ago in 1981. It ran 19 pounds of boost on a 30 cubic inch engine and made 82 horsepower. Small engine, very small IHI Turbo. There's your 19 pounds of boost and 82 horsepower. RB Racing uses large turbos that make a lot of horsepower at low boost levels and astounding power at higher boost levels. Size does matter. We do not use cheap $600.00 small turbos like other turbo vendors use.

Screaming Eagle Super Tuner...SEST (discontinued)


"SEST" or Greek for the worst written instruction manual we've ever seen. We defy you to figure out how to get various charts and graphs to open and how to get to the advanced versus basic tuning options. We suggest you look around the internet as the manual is of little help.

We bought one of these to see what was involved. If you can figure out the software navigation issues and install a map that somewhat matches your bike, you simply ride around, observe the RSR Air Fuel Ratio Meter display and make edits. The tuning is fairly straight forward. Without the Dual Gauge we don't know how you would do it. We just ride.

These have been discontinued.

Steve Cole's TTS MasterTune

 

Before the Screaming Eagle Super Tuner (SEST) there was the SERT or Screaming Eagle Race Tuner. Acronyms, what would we do without them? Steve Cole was the guy behind the SERT until Harley decided to go with another contractor. Money. It's always about the money. Since Steve designed the original stuff, this new stuff i.e. TTS MasterTune is easier to use and has one benefit that the "SEST" does not have...You have the ability to save and restore your original calibration. In addition with the Green Analog Interface Model you can log up to four analog channels like Wideband Sensors.

We prefer software solutions to tuning late model efi Harleys and not use any add-on boxes or to replace the entire system with some "self-tuning", throttle-angle based, wide band controller. There are simply too many problems technical-wise with wide band sensors...Stuff they do not tell you about like pressure and temperature compensation issues and sensor latency. You are better off with the OEM O2 sensors. You won't believe this but that's your problem.

One point no one is going to tell you is that Harley has hidden tables that will richen up your injectors if you hold the bike under load, like on a dyno or wide open throttle for any amount of time beyond "x". They don't want you to fool with this. Guess what happens to those people who tune under full load.

We've used both the SEST and the TTS Master Tune. Both work about the same with both based on VE Tables. The TTS MasterTune is a more friendly system and has more features. 

USB Tuning cables must be purchased separately. Three versions are available: Specify Cable Number when ordering.

(1) Part # 2000014: 4 Pin J1850 (older bikes). $42.50 list price.

(2) Part # 2000011: CAN 6 Pin Cable Kit (newest bikes). $42.50 list price.

(3) Part # 2000014A: 2014 Touring models Only. CAN 6 Pin (have different pin allocations). $42.50 list price.

The Total Cost for a single bike TTS Master Tune (Blue) is $445.00 (tuner no cable). The Total Cost for a TTS Master Tune (Blue) Two Bike Programmer is $645.00 (Tuner no cable).

The Total Cost for a single bike TTS Master Tune (Green) is $595.00 (tuner no cable). 

A PDF Tuner Guide explains the operation of the TTS software.

In the late 70's, all through the 1980's and into the mid 1990's we used to spend about 5 months out of every year tuning things. No time for that anymore. It's best that you tune your own bike...add up the hours and write yourself a hot check. Or just pay somebody. We use a Supeflow CycleDyn Dyno and we ride in the real world.

Tales of Woe...Poor Packaging and Engineering

Anyone who hangs a turbo on the right side of your big twin and blows it directly into your inlet manifold without an intercooler is an idiot...we won't go into the reasons why. There are still several cavemen doing it this way. The bike pictured was offed on E-Bay after the owner dumped $11,500.00 into trying to make it work. Nothing fit, nothing worked, and it was a total disaster. The owner called us up several times and was really pissed off about ever getting involved in the deal. He spent $5,500.00 for a few ill-fitting tubes and a turbo...and another $6,000.00 in shop time trying to re-engineer the disaster. We spend a bit of time listening to these tales of "woe and no go".

Why spend all that money if a normally aspirated engine is faster. Hey...some people want a turbo and there are people who found out you can put $2,000.00 worth of parts and labor together and sell it to you for $5,500.00. Born every minute as they say.

The usual story is: " Nothing fit. The things that fit broke. My motor broke virtually every time I rode it. The manufacturer worked on it three times...I finally took it to my Harley dealer to fix the motor etc, etc." We listen to this and simply tell the people..."You wanted a turbo and you got one i.e. a few tubes and a turbo". There is a lot more to it than that. This isn't plumbing.

We've been asked a few times each year to straighten out these messes and we have, from time to time, offered a bit of help but, in the end, it's simply better to throw it all out and start all over...Of course by then the customer has already spent all his money. Recently we were leaving for Bonneville where we set a 200 mph record and got a call from a Harley Dealer who was trying to save a turbo project for a customer...We made them an AIC 400 aditional injector controller and delivered it to Bonneville...of course they did not use it and the motor croaked...and the other vendor's turbo kit self-destructed with the header spyder-webbing and cracking into many pieces. The guy wanted a turbo. Someone sold him a "turbo". The dealer and mechanics tried to save the project...end result...damaged motor and a turbo kit that self destructed. Doubt they have the money or will to do it again.

This is dumbass engineering at its worst. Designs like these are worse than we did almost 25 years ago with Shovelheads. They will quote you big numbers but the designs are so limited the real world catches up with you quickly. Don't try to go racing at the track unless you want to get embarrassed by some guy running an S&S carburetor and no turbo.

We would go to the dragstrip with Carl Pelletier and work on his Top Fuel Harley and see turbo street Harleys running high 11's. Get real. The first drag racing turbo Harly we made ran 7's out of the box.

Comparison...There isn't any

 

Items
RB Racing
Others
Turbocharger $1,500.00 Garrett 360 Hp Ceramic Ball Bearing Turbo with Custom Housings. Highly modified
$600.00 Small Turbo. Not modified.
Intercooler Standard: Large  Ceramic Coated 360 hp rated Intercooler None, or optional for $695.00 a 100 hp Ineffective Small Intercooler. Restricts airflow.
Exhaust Manifold Independent, dual slip joint, with Merge Collector. Does not support Turbo. Turbo supported independently by laser cut steel supports. No stress on exhaust port studs.
Log manifold, non-merge collector. Exhaust  pulses face each other. Exhaust port studs support turbo weight.
Fuel Control EFi models
 2 Bar (15 psi) or 3 Bar MAP Sensor.
RSR AIC400 Pre-programmed 3rd Injector Controller. Stock Injectors remain.

Or: Special Bosch Racing Injectors for 236 to 300+Hp. TTS Master Tune w/ 3Bar Sensor

Or: Customer may choose to use an aftermaket Fuel Controller. In this case tuning and integration is left up to the customer

Or: Complete revision with Cosworth SQ6M Electronics.
None. You are supposed to buy some aftermaker intercept box, or another ECU for $900.00...or do nothing.
Boost Control RSR Billet Boost Master Wastegate with boost pneumatically controlled from the handlebars. 8 to 25 PSI while riding
Integral flapper valve wastegate. Wrench adjust, limited control. Not adjustable by rider. 8 psi.
Fuel Control Non-EFi applications RSR Closed Loop Fuel Injection System controlling up to 500 horsepower.


Cosworth Pectel SQ6M
None or use carburetor.
Inlet Priority Breather Valve Standard: Allows both venting of boost pressure under closing butterfly for improved response and preventing compressor surge
None offered.
Gas Tank Modifications None for 250 HP Blackbird Systems.

For 360 HP Pro Street Systems new high output external fuel pump, filter, regulator and petcock assembly.
Must disassemble gas tank and install plastic vacuum boost line modification to oem regulator. Chincy, stupid. No options for high output except to switch to carburetion. No specialized fuel system.
Oil System Positive Oil Scavenge Simple Oil Drain to Cam Cover
Water Methanol Injection Optional: 1000 psi system
None Offered
Digital Turbo Instrumentation Optional: Orca Turbo Dash: Dual EGT probes; 30" Hg to 30 PSI; L.E.D. Instrumentation

Cosworth ICD Dash.
None Offered
Inlet Air Cleaner
360 Hp rated K&N Turbo Air Cleaner
Small, restrictive, single carb type air cleaner. They can't use a larger air clraner as it will run into the front fender when you turn the handlebars.
Turbo Tail
2.5" Non restricted exit. Well clear of legs with integral wastegate exit. Quiet.
Turbo exit routed under your leg. Long restrictive sections.
Air Fuel Ratio
Display

Memory Boost Gauge
Real time digital display with RSR Dual Air Fuel Ratio Gauge

Glycerin Filled 0-30 Psi with Memory
None Offered.

No Boost gauge.

If you want 130hp with a small turbo just go build your engine and skip the turbo scene.

Intercoolers..Size Matters

With our newer 360 HP turbos the power went up so the charge cooling had to keep pace. In the center is one of our old designs from the 1990's flanked by a couple of larger cores. The smaller intercooler was only rated for 150 hp. These two black intercoolers were made for a client long, long, ago, who decided the bike building business wasn't all it was cracked up to be...no money, so we kept them. Later on we just cut them up for scrap.We only use larger intercooler cores rated for 360 hp.

We use large intercooler cores rated for 360 hp with 13 passages for the compressed air and 14 passages for air cooling. In our designs we place the 14 passages directly in the oncoming airstream for maximum cooling. Run 25 pounds of boost and your charge temperature approaches 300 degrees F. If you cut the core in half your horsepower potential and cooling are severely compromised.

Click on photos to enlarge...Our Older Intercooler design Late 90's

Pictured above is one of our RSR Closed Loop EFI Intercooled designs from the late 1990's. We were running intercoolers four times as large as this on drag racing applications and more than twice as large on our 1990's Bonneville bikes. This smaller intercooler was designed to drop inlet temperatures about 75 degrees F at low boost levels...It was not designed for higher output because there was too much of a pressure drop.

Poseurs..Ineffective or Silly

Other companies seem to have copied our smaller 1990's intercooler design and location, only they use an even smaller intercooler. In some cases they even turn their intercooler sideways to the airstream which pretty much negates its purpose. Hey, it's something to sell. It doesn't do crap and causes a pressure drop to boot. We have no idea how the air is supposed to flow through the bottom of the intercooler on the above left. The manufacturer claims a 30 degree F drop....All we see is a restriction. These poor designs don't do shit.

In case you didn't realize it, compressing air (boost) makes it hotter. The hotter it is going into your engine the more prone your engine is to detonation. At higher race levels the compressed air can reach 300 degrees F. Employing a larger intercooler allows us to drop charge temperatures 75 Deg at lower boost levels and 150 Deg F at higher boost levels. Combined with our 1000 psi  RSR Water Injection you will make more power without engine destroying detonation.

Those air cleaners pictured above are 1/4 of what you would put on a Japanese inline four.

Vacuum Cleaner

Suck unfiltered air on one side then blow it through and air cleaner on the other side. Must be a Dyson design. These are typically setup with a very small charge cooler on the right side and have drive ratios that give you a 30 to 50% increase in horsepower. You might as well put in a higher compression bigger motor. 124's with B2/B3 heads typically make 145 to 150HP.

Actually, this is a belt driven supercharger and not a Dyson. It forces more air into the motor directly related to engine RPM and not to load like a turbocharger. On our turbos you can cruise at high cruising speed and not be under boost and then instantly go to whatever you have the wastegate set at, say anywhere from 8 to 25 psi. 8 PSI is what these Supercharger setups typically run at higher rpms.


RB Racing EVO and Twin Cam Intercooler

We're sort of specialized in Road Glides or "Road Toads" as we call them because they are one of the best bikes Harley has made aside from the FXR. Fun to outrun everything you come up against. Here's our charge cooler solidly mounted on the Twin Cam Road Toad FLTRI crash bar. We mount the turbo solidly to the engine with thick 3/8" laser cut steel plates. Silicone expansion joints allow the turbo and inlet plenum to move while the intercooler stays locked to the chassis.

Every once in awhile a customer will call and want us to build a turbo without an intercooler. We generally reply that "If you don't understand that a turbo compresses the air, and that as you compress the air it gets hotter, and that the compression stroke in the engine compounds this temperature rise, then you should not be getting a turbo." We don't think you'd be riding your bike around if it was a 150 to 300 degree Fahrenheit day outside.

We first put larger intercoolers on Evolution Baggers in the early 1990's. Pulling a constant boost over the infamous "I-5 Grapevine" the inlet plenum would roast your leg without the intercooler...With the intercooler it was barely warm to the touch. In short, we don't make turbos without intercoolers. We can run around with 8psi of boost, outrun anything, and the intercooler remains cool, and so does your inlet air.

EVO Turbo...1998 Road King

We mount our turbos on the left side and route our exhaust down out a large 2.5" dump tube. The wastegate dumps directly into the 2.5" dump tube. No exhausts or turbos run inside your legs. The turbocharger is solidly mounted to the engine and uses silicone rubber isolated couplers to go to the intercooler and from the intercooler to the plenum. Professional quality parts.

We use air filters that will flow enough for the 3" turbocharger entry. The front facing small air filters you see on other turbo kits are a joke. The RB Racing Boost Master wastegate is pneumatically controlled from the handlebars. You can turn up or down the boost while you are riding. We do not use cheap integral wastegates.

500 HP Bullet Intercooler

Twin core charge cooler for Mike Geokan's Bonneville Bullett pictured above with rubber isolation mounts top and bottom. Two 3.5 x 6 x 9 Intercooler cores for 500 hp. You can see from this and other photos that Mike Geokan solidly mounted the turbo to the two thick aluminum plates. On the Bullett, just like on our street kits, the turbo is mounted independently from the exhaust and the exhaust has slip joints to prevent cracking. Hanging 20+ pounds of turbo and exhaust on a shaking engine, supported only by the exhaust tubes themselves is a bad idea.

Intercooler Calculator

To see what happens when you compress air check this out. Of course, if you were holding on to your bicycle pump a long time ago you are well aware of what happens. Turbos are really good at heating things up and intercoolers are really good at getting things back to normal. We only use intercooler cores designed for 360 horsepower.


Not Needed

If you have a late model FL with a Fly By Wire throttle do not use the above device with our turbocharger systems. We suggest you get Steve Cole's TTS MasterTune software described earlier on this page. When purchased with the Turbocharger we offer a $50.00 discount i.e. $375.00 v $425.00 list. TTS MasterTune allows you to adjust your electronic throttle without the expense of the V&H device as well as everything else in the Delphi ECU.


Water Injection Option

Hard anodized water injection reservoirs with our integral 1000 psi water injection pump. Sophisticated two stage RSR Water Injection is standard with our kits. Even with large capacity intercooling you need to reduce inlet temperatures and increase charge density to keep your motor alive and to keep you in front of anything you come up against.

We now are now offering Water Injection for all Turbo Kits and ORCA Turbo motors. We have always run water injection on our Bonneville bikes and since people always want more power, water injection is the only safe method of running more boost. Our new RSR Water Injection Calculator shows you how it works.

We only do it the right way. There is no other way. The way we do it at Bonneville.

Cosworth Pectel EFI and 250 to 360 hp Fuel Peripherals

We don't want you going into your fuel tank and messing with your oem fuel pump and regulator as long as you want to run under 200 hp. No running of boost lines into your fuel tank and drilling holes in your oem fuel regulator.  The oem pump is ok for most of what your will do unless you want to run 250 to 300 hp. Then we have to change things.

For our turbo motors and high output Pro Street Delphi systems details like fuel pumps are a bit of an issue as the stock pumps simply do not have the flow necessary. We have sorted through various suppliers looking for the best pumps for our applications. Some were smaller than others, which was a plus, but the quality varied and formed metal nipples or plastic casings could crack...and some had shitty push-on blade connectors that, while they worked, were questionable. Water proofing these tended to be a hassle if the pump was mounted externally.

Pumps have to be of very high quality and are typically rated for about 3,500 to 5,000 hours life...assuming you don’t try to pump even microscopic grit through them...and if you don’t run them dry. We sorted though many manufacturers and tend to use pumps that have a German accent...pumps which have weather seals on the connectors, screw-on terminals, banjo fittings, and a distinct lack molded plastic parts. We make sure you filter the gas before it gets to these expensive items.

Powder coated mounts for external wounting, rubber isolated and stainless steel hardware. Different pumps for different horsepower ratings. The German pumps we use are static @ 400hp and 550hp....We like to see at least 30% bypass fuel at peak numbers so we use these pumps for applications up to 307.7 hp and 423hp respectively.

For larger applications, like the Bonneville Bullett, we use larger 1000 hp pumps and regulators from SX Performance.

These 1000 horsepower rated units allow the use of 600+ hp capable turbochargers and remove restrictions that would occur in regulators with less bypass area. It all gets expensive. The pumps are $346.95 and the regulators are $149.95. Then you get to go buy some expensive pretty fittings and large hoses to complete the ensemble. We run large AN10 lines on the Bullett.

Big Air...RSR Closed Loop EFI...Non Delphi (Discontinued)

 


Note: Everything is Fly-By-Wire these days so we are discontinuing the above after more than 28 years of maching castings, butterflies and shafts as well other items.

We have a completely integrated inlet system with a 56mm (2 3/16") throttle body with integral stepper motor Idle By-Pass, and ball bearing shaft support with shaft seals. Combine this with a full 1/2" fuel by-pass fuel rail and port injection in either 2 bar or 3 bar systems with up to 6400cc/min delivery capability and you have the ultimate turbo package. Fully engineered and proven.

The throttle body incorporates push pull cables, screw adjustable idle stop, vacuum/boost port, TPS mount, Idle Air Bypass circuit, and a two bolt flange using 7/16" Allen Bolts that hold the fuel rail and throttle body to the inlet manifold. The TPS is bolt-on and forget. There is no need to "set" it. The throttle shaft rides in sealed ball bearings.

 

Here is a system with our RSR EFI set up with two (2) 650cc Bosch EV6 Injectors in a 2 Bar system for an 80" EVO motor programmed for 195hp @15 PSI.


Killer Wire...RSR Closed Loop EFI (Discontinued)

For years we made our Harley Turbo harnesses with fiberglass sheathing for abraision protection.


 Later on we switched to Raychem DR-25 coverings sealed with Raychem SCL and Resintech RT125 Epoxy.

Water-proof, abrasion -proof, Harley-proof wiring. Never a wiring failure since we started doing them in 1989. Automotive grade high temperature wiring with waterproof connectors, gold plated and silicone sealed Deutsch ECU 40 pin connector, Weatherpack silicone sealed sensors, and fused peripherals, all sheathed for abraision. Very professional. There is also a waterproof tuning switch that allows programming with the ignition "off".

One of the last RSR Closed Loop Fuel Injection Harley Turbo Kits being shipped....What you see is 30 years of development. In 1990 there was nothing remotely like it and these systems went on to set Bonneville Land Speed Records and win Drag Racing Championships.

This one is headed for an 80" EVO Dresser...The RSR EFI is pre-programmed for 195HP in a 2 Bar (15 PSI) system. These systems shipped complete with a laptop, software and tuning cable . Time to move on to more sophisticated Cosworth Pectel engine control systems for Scratch Built ORCA EVO Motors that we have been developing for a number of years. Our Twin Cam Delphi systems remain the same in either 2 or 3 Bar configurations.

Optional: Orca Turbo Dash

We got sick and tired of non-zeroing, non-lighted, leaking, liquid-filled boost gages and lighted mechanical gauges that have needles that vibrate off, so we made our own. The result is the Orca Turbo Dash, a sophisticated machined from billet dash that displays 30" Hg to 30 psi (3Bar) as well as dual egt displays (Deg C or F selectable) and RSR Water Injection activation L.E.D.s.

Optional but suggested for all RB racing Turbo Systems it allows you to monitor and record boost and exhaust gas temperatures as well as provide alerts for staged water injection activation. Blue button is high recall for boost and egts. White button is a display dimmer for night operation. Red button is to reset high memory recall.

Mechanical Boost Gauge

 

3 Bar Boost Gauge with Tattle-Tale indicator showing maximum boost actually run. Glycerin filled to resist vibration. Easy to reset, even with gloved hand. Not lighted. If you do not order the ORCA Turbo Dash you must order this part.

Part Number 03-1013 $149.50. Center back mount w/12mm x 1.5 locknut and integral push-on hose nipple. On sequentially injected Harleys we mount this gauge directly off of the back of our RSR Dual Air Fuel Ratio Gauge. Viewing the tach, the air fuel ratio, and the boost all in one location. Only O2 feedback is fast enough for real-time monitoring.

Boost Master Wastegates

We make the best wastegate that can be bought. Boost Master. Investment cast stainless steel valve body and CNC aluminum construction with capacity for 500hp. We do not use cheap integral wategates that are either non-adjustable or require wrenches to do so. We only use rider adjustable, pneumatically controlled, wastegates. You dial the power up or down while you are riding.


Boost Control and Fuel Programming

   

Black Knob controls the boost. Clockwise increases the boost. Turn the boost all the way off (full counter-clockwise) and it's about 6-7 PSI. For very high boost levels like on our Pro Street Kits we require you upgrade your fuel pump and regulator system. Just remember, at 8 psi, you can outrun about anything. When you're cruising at 75 mph and roll the throttle on it will instantly produce boost pressure. Rider adjustable when you are riding. 6-7 PSI to 25 PSI.

Dual RSR Air Fuel Ratio Gauge is to the right. We have no idea how anyone thinks they are going to get their programming right without actually riding and observing the Dual O2 Display. The O2 Display is a mandatory purchase with the kit. For instance, our Turbo with some higher end, higher lift cams, pulls 10" Hg. in a high speed (80 mph) cruise on level ground. Barely nudge the throttle and it goes to 5" Hg and anymore than that and it goes directly into boost. Hit a long steep grade at high speed and the turbo will hold at about 2 psi boost. These figures are way more air and manifold pressure than you are used to programming for and it's not a good idea to beat your bike to death on a dyno, especially with a turbo. Best to ride.


Single or Dual RSR Air Fuel Ratio gauges. Dual if sequential fuel injection.

Programming the Delphi Controller with a SEST or TTS MasterTune you want to run near 14.7:1 at your light cruise settings for maximum economy. We run Race Plugs on the street and they are dead clean with a white porcelain. The "maps" or "VE" tables slope up quickly past 10% throttle unlike stock programming. Using the Dual Air Fuel Ratio Gauge you can quickly get all transitions and F/R fueling correct...In the Real World.

FLT/FLH Rear Wheel Steering

When you go turbo on your pre 2009 Bagger you need to tame the rear flexi-flyer engine transmission swingarm combo. There are several people making stabilizers for the FLT/FLH series. We don't have any opinion on who what when where or how is "better". We bought this one off of E-Bay for $50.00 as opposed to the usual $400.00. It seemed to have decent ground clearance. At 8-12 psi the Road Toad gets really serious and the turns come up very quickly. Stabilizer or no stabilizer don't slam the throttle shut in a high speed sweeper.

V-Rod Turbos...

Note: These are high compression 11.5:1 motors. Compression must be reduced.

Right side view RB Racing V-Rod Turbo. BoostMaster Billet wastegate (rider adjustable). 2 1/2" Chromed exhaust. 360 hp turbocharger.


We sort of left V-Rods alone as we are always busy and new projects take an awful lot of time and resources if you want to do things right. More than a decade after Willie G and Porsche came up with a 60 degree street bike and after the failed water buffalo road race VR1000 we decided to turbo the V-Rods. Time, money, resources. Left side view showing ram air 360 hp intercooler. Horn and clock switch get relocated. No need to cut any coolant lines.

The VR1000 came to the show heavier than the competition and with less power. This is not a formula for success. The V-Rods are sort of the same way. They are high RPM 4 valve engines that are pretty quick but not real fast...and they are a bitch to work on or hop-up... Harley's answer to the metric crowd. There is no end to the hop-up route on the big twins, but nowhere to go on the V-Rods.


Harley's answer to the slow and heavy formula was to crank out a factory drag bike, the V-Rod Destroyer, that had about 165 hp and ran 9 second quarter miles. We'd go to the races working on our friend Carl Pelletier's Top Fuel Harley and gaggles of these would show up..mostly Dealer owned. A few times some V-Rod Turbos by two other manufacturers would show up and run in the 11's. That was pretty embarrassing. There really isn't any point in showing up with a turbo if you can't outrun a normally aspirated V-Rod Destroyer. A 165 hp turbo that only makes boost high in the rpm range with a small turbo has no chance against the Destroyer. Tuck your tail between your legs and go hide.

RB Racing V-Rod Turbo: RB Racing uses 360 hp turbos, not 160 hp turbos. Our turbos move a lot of air at low pressure ratios and are rider adjustable. You want to be able to cruise at high speed, not be under boost, but go into boost instantly when you roll on the throttle. You can adjust the boost from the handlebars while you are driving...5 to 25 psi. No muffler goes inside your legs.

V-Rods are sort of annoying at speed as a fast cruise has the motor spinning along at 5000 rpm like a Japanese sport bike. We recommend regearing the bike with a chain drive and gearing it taller and use the turbo's torque to keep the cruising rpms down and the mileage up.

These are strange bikes. The bike is a narrow V-Twin but the bars and the pegs stick way out in the wind. We put on 360 hp worth of intercooler on the V-Rod but had to use ram air to keep the bike narrow. Dating back to 1985 with our work on BMW K100's we knew the intercooler could not block the radiator. If you do not drop the charge temperatures you simply cannot run higher boost levels.

Fixtures, R&D

After 35 years of turbocharging motorcycles we have come to some conclusions:

1. Unless it is really, really, fast don’t do it.
2. The fuel delivery system has to be engineered in advance.
3. Exhaust manifold design is critical for tuning, performance, and reliability.
4. Inlet manifolding and plenum design is just as critical as #3 above.
5. Large capacity charge cooling is mandatory.
6. Oil feed and scavenge must be planned before fabrication begins.
7. Parts must be so well designed that long term reliability is insured.
8. It takes many years and thousands of hours and endless testing to do 1-7 above.
9. Most people do not appreciate 1-8 above.

Details:

FAST: We only use turbos that flow large CFM at low pressure ratios. Nothing we do has the capacity less than 3x OEM Horsepower. The defunct V-Rod Destroyers made about 165 hp and ran 9 second quarter miles. We give you 300+ horsepower capability...that’s double what a Destroyer had.
Fuel System

FUEL: RB Racing V-Rod Turbo Inlet Sytem;  V-Rods are Fuel limited even with larger Delphi injectors. 85% duty cycles with the OEM  4.81 gram injectors limit the bike to 130 hp. Taking the injectors to full static and limiting the boost you can get to 160 hp with lower B.S.F.Cs. No amount of Screaming Eagle Super Tuner (SEST) or TTS Master Tune software entries can cover the horsepower we generate.


RB Racing supplies Bosch Racing injectors system to cover boost horsepower from 130 to 360 horsepower.  The plenum uses O-Ring seals on each throttle body and the Idle Air Control port is routed to the plenum, not left to the open air. The stock paper gasket was not designed for boost. A Blow off valve incorporated into the plenum prevents compressor surge. Your Delphi system is a 1 Bar system and realistically cannot be programmed for 2 to 3 Bar operation. We supply 2 or 3 Bar MAP sensors and special racing fuel pumps for 360 Hp applications. It is better to keep all the sophistication of the stock ecm and simply adjust the F/R VE tables (TTS MasterTune or SE Race Tuner/SEST) for the increased airflow.




EXHAUST: RB Racing’s V-Rod Turbo exhaust manifold has full 2” ceramic coated primary tubes, with a high velocity merge collector that is a piece of art. We do not do simplistic designs that have no tuning, with primary tubes that literally fire into each other. These are nothing better than “log” manifold. We keep it wrapped in plastic during the installation. It is ceramic coated. Tape on the frame minimizes scratches.

INLET SYSTEM: Inlet volume is defined as the swept volume from the turbo compressor discharge to the engine's inlet valves. RB Racing’s V-Rod inlet system has sufficient volume for the large bore pistons to breathe freely unlike cheap designs that actually “starve” the engine and stall the compressor due to inelasticity of the small plenum volume. RB Racing’s V-Rod inlet volume from the turbo discharge to connector tubing to the intercooler to the inlet plenum to the inlet valves is a multiple of the engine's volume...not one "coke can sized" plenum.


CHARGE COOLING: RB Racing employs a 360 hp rated V-Rod intercooler with ram air cooling, not an useless small intercooler turned sideways to the airstream simply acting as a heat sink, not as an intercooler. The intercooler is tucked in tight so as not to interfere with the rider. We keep it wrapped in plastic during the installation. It is polished and clear ceramic coated. With the cool air entering the plenum from the left side you do not have to cut radiator lines.

OIL SYSTEM: You do not have to alter or modify your engine's dip stick for a turbo drain. No drilling or taping required for feed or drain lines.

RELIABILITY: We routinely spent a year or more in development. Unless it qualifies as a daily driver we don’t do it. Unless you can go on trip with it we don’t do it.

ELECTRONICS: The stock Delphi controller is a very sophisticated engine controller that should be left in place and supplemented by our 2 and 3 Bar Map sensors and Bosch Racing Fuel Injectors for most street and high performance use. The same strategy we use on our big twin Evo and Twin Cam turbos. Stock injectors are horsepower limited. Changing the efi system to another ecu/ecm involves a number of drawbacks, the most important being is that you negate thousands of manhours of Delphi development. We keep it simple.


Getting Really Serious



For pure race use, where sophisticated motorsport electronics are required, we supply  Cosworth SQ6M engine management systems (above) for complete control of all engine functions as well as integrated data logging at up to 2000Hz. Costs are well North of $15,000.00 for the SQ6M in terms of electronics, custom mil-spec wiring, tuning and sensors. Expensive, but cheaper than all the other money you will spend trying to get multiple systems to handle spark, fuel, data acquisition, and other functions like traction and phase-antiphase boost control. The real expenses are not the hardware...it’s everything else that follows. If you have to ask about costs you probably should not be doing it. We use the Cosworth Pectel SQ6M on our Bonneville Bullett race bike and our Road Glide Turbo.

COSTS: V-Rods are quoted on an individual basis due to options, finishes etc. Currently they can only be installed at RB Racing due to variances in individual V-Rods. You must schedule this well in advance. Bikes must be delivered and leave trailered. No ride in and outs. This takes time as our schedule is full.

First Fuel Injected Harleys in the 9's, 8's and 7's..RSR EFI

We've been at this for awhile from our early 80's 150hp Shovelheads up through our new 360 hp Turbo Kits . We put the first fuel injected Harleys into the 9's, 8's and 7's at the drag strip. The only fuel injected intercooled Harleys that hold national drag racing championships and Bonneville records come from one place..RB Racing.

Whereas people love to talk about about turbos and, if they have touched one once in their life they become experts, we have been at this long enough to know what should be done and what the difficulties are. It's always amusing the see the poor engineering that comes and goes in this market. It's not about plumbing and band-aids.

RB Racing Turbos Since 1979

From our first draw thru carbureted Harley designs in 1979 (See photo below) to the first blow thru carburetted designs in 1985 and on to the first fuel injected models in 1989 there has been a constant progression to improve and advance the art. We were pumping out 150 Hp Shovelheads in the first successful "draw-through" carb design in the late 70's and early 80's. See photo below. Some backyard garage types are still trying to market "draw through" carbureted systems but they aren't nearly as sophisticated as what we did over 20 years ago.

Some people claim they have been doing turbos since 1977 and that they were the first to do all sorts of things. We sort of remember them buying parts from American Turbo Pak, spending lots of money with Orient Express and bugging us about how to do remote oil systems. American Turbo Pak went out of business in the 1980's and one of it's founders, Bill Hahn Sr., a real turbo pioneer, passed away in 2009. It sort of makes you wonder why someone would use the initials ATP some 20 years later. Still clinging on coat tails.

1980 RB Racing Turbo Shovelheads.... Click on photos to enlarge

Blow Thru Carb Designs SUCK!

Don't confuse or even try to compare RB Racing Turbos with other "Harley Turbos" such as Aerochargers which are a simple copy of our "blow thru flat slide carb" design of 1985 to 1989 that reached a high point with Joe Walker's famous show-winning "Jap-Zapper" Turbo/Nitrous 1989 Springer Softail that won 1st place at the 50th Sturgis Rally (See Photo below). Blowing through a carb not designed for pressurization is an invitation for disaster due sealing problems, backfires, lack of float capacity and possible overflow problems not to mention no one ever tells you they can't possibly get it "correct" for all the different motors out there. We know, we've done it, we've been there and we dropped the deal after four years of seeing the good and the bad side of blow thru designs.

Joe Walker's famous "Jap Zapper" our last "blow thru" design (1985-1989)

A long long time ago we made blow through carb turbos. We tucked a small IHI turbo between the frame and the engine. Blow through carburetion is a bitch. We had to make all sorts of special parts to make it work. Joe Walker won innumerable "shows" with this bike. Later on we fuel injected the bike and Joe added twin nitrous bottles. We simply do not understand the show mentality.

Aerochargers

Typical E-Mail..."I am a EX-Areocharger turbo freak.  I love turbos.  But after tearing the variable vanes out of 3 Aerochargers, I decided that they are worthless if they can't hold up.  The last one only lasted about 2500 miles.  Too bad someone doesn't make a self lubrication turbo without them variable vanes.  So for the mean time I am going back to natural aspirated.  But I know I am going to hate only having only 90-100 HP and not having my close to 200 ft. lbs of torque.  So I am looking at the conventional turbos. I wish I had found RB Racing first!."

Other Turbo Companies...110 Horsepower...Can You Handle It?

These tubing vendors and pseudo turbo people do not give you any form of sophisticated fuel control, do not offer rider boost control, use an integral cheap stamped steel wastegate, and ask you to drill and tap a regulator in your fuel tank running a 1/8" plastic tube to it. No one tells you 110 horsepower coming from a hair dryer tucked next to your leg makes less power and costs more than your standard big bore hop up. Hell you can drop in a bone stock 124 S&S engine and get 130 horsepower and not have to deal with poor engineering. Get an integrated 110 kit from Harley and 110 hp...it's cheaper....or a new SE 120R engine and get 135 hp.

If you ask other turbo vendors the usual question that prospective buyers ask.."how much horsepower will my motor take", as if it was some sort of guarantee, they usually come up with an arbitrary figure of "maybe 135 horsepower". Well bippy, you can buy a normally aspirated engine that makes that much horsepower without a turbo for less money and skip their poor engineering. We aren't the least bit interested in limits.

Our answer to the usual question about horsepower is " We give you a 360 hp turbo that moves a lot of air at low pressure ratios and you can dial it up to deal with anything you encounter simply by turning up the boost while riding". Larger turbos move far more air at lower pressure ratios. RB Racing does not place limits on what you need horsepower-wise. We have the technology.

SE 120R Engine...135 hp No Turbo

New 120R Engine for Baggers and a new AHDRA racing class...another way to get your money now that V-Rod Destroyers are old news. Think of all the early adopters who went 95/103/110 and now they can go 120". Stimulus money! Of course it's about 100 to 200 hp shy of one of our turbos. Add an intercooled RB Racing Turbo and 200 hp is dead easy.

As all the mythical lemmings head off the cliff we might remind them that a S&S SA B2 126" engine is rated at 154 hp and John O'Keefe at Branch O'Keefe has been working SA B2 heads for big inch Sportsters, S&S 124" motors and getting 166 to 200 hp depending on compression. Bob Bennett has set a bunch of Bonneville records with Branch O'Keefe S&S SA B2 heads modified by John O'Keefe. Of course you could get one of our turbos but the extra 100 to 200 hp might be too much power for you.

Stick on a set of S&S SA B2 heads on the S&S 124 and get 150 horsepower. Put on one of our turbos and get 250 to 360 horsepower...or 200 horsepower with 12 pounds of boost.

Why in the hell would you put on a turbo to get only 110 horsepower? These people will tell you " Extensive engine damage may result" if you go above 8 psi and 110 horsepower. Like we said...no fuel control, no engineering. Hell, we made more than 112 hp just using a standard 96" S&S engine more than 15 years ago with just a LSR 2-1 exhaust and mild engine work.

No Turbo...Think about it

Hers's a perfect Video example of one of our customers with our LSR 2-1 Pro Stock pipe and no turbo. If you think one of the "in your leg turbo" vendors can outrun this bike think again. If you see this bike pull over and park. No turbo and it's FAST.

Bonneville Testing

Here's the 139 Inch Orca Bullett with it's large diameter stainless steel merge collector exhaust system and large air to air intercooler. Pretty much state of the art insofar as pushrod Dinosaurs go. Designed for the long course at Bonneville. 600 HP Turbo. 500 hp @30 psi on this 139" engine. In testing we have run 212 mph @ 4700 rpm with 9 psi of boost. Next step 230 mph plus. It only runs a couple of minutes at a time...not much time to insure it is safe. It has passed all SCTA-BNI and AMA/FIM inspections and Bryan Stock, filling in for Mike Geokan, has got all three licenses 150, 175 and 200 mph and is cleared for long course at Bonneville.

With Brother Speed's Bryan Stock in the seat it currently holds a 200 mph record at Bonneville in "low boost" testing. We held Bryan to 4800 rpm to let him get a 200 mph SCTA-BNI record. It has run 214 mph with just 9 psi of boost. Next up is more advanced electronics and 230-250 mph.

Mike Geokan's RB Racing Turbocharger uses a separate oil system that has a stainless steel oil tank and an electric feed pump that maintains a constant 30 psi to the ball bearing turbocharger. The engine runs 50 weight Brad Penn (ne Kendall) "Green Stuff" oil and the turbo runs Brad Penn 20-50W.

Black Strips Lasting Longer Than 6 Miles

If you experience black strips lasting longer than six miles seek immediate mechanical attention and replace your RB Racing components with stock ones. Continued use can cause loss of licenses, premature tire wear, and infuriate your competition. Bonneville Salt Flats...where we prove our products...and have done so for more than 30 years.

Mike Geokan's Bonneville Harley...30 years of RB Racing Turbos

Can you take your 250 hp Harley race bike and cruise around to thank the people who have helped you set records? It takes a lot of people to build a bike from scratch and to support a race effort.... Painters, welders, fabricators, engine specialists, fellow club members, and even professional dancers like Salina. You never do it alone and if you don't take the time to thank those who helped out it's going to be a cold lonely night with you and your time slip to keep you warm.

Salina moved on long long ago...you can't feature dance forever.

Mike was running 199 mph in Bonneville Slush with 22 lbs of boost and 275 horsepower way back in the 1990's. These days Mike's attention is devoted to his 139" ORCA powered Bullett. His friend of 40 years Bryan Stock has taken over the riding chores. Mike still gets the pretty women...guess it wasn't the bike after all.

In 2017 we bid farewell to the Bullett Project. Mike was finally well enough to open up his ugly take on the world. One's true nature always comes to the front sooner or later. What the hell..It was fun with Bryan and the crew and we got Bryan a 200mph record. Mike can now pout, scowl, and keep getting people to pay for his project while he putters around watching TV, eating out twice a day, and talking about the distant past through rose-colored glasses.

Mike Geokan's world record holding RB Racing Turbocharged Harley Davidson is featured in a new video.

Wastegate: $10,000.00 down and many more dollars to go

Pictured above are some of our investment cast stainless steel Boost Master wastegate bases. The first one costs $10,000.00 but they get cheaper after that. The wax pattern is to the left. We machined a prototype, picture on the right and then went to investment castings. All CNC machined billet parts.

It's a complete system

A complete systems approach is why our RB Racing turbo kits produce so much power at low boost levels and why they work so well in day to day operation while giving excellent fuel mileage and driveability. More often than not people come to us after spending some astronomical sum of money on their engines only to be disappointed in the result. When we tell them they have to start over with different pistons, cams, gaskets etc they reply that their motor will be just fine turbocharged at 10.5:1 compression ratio and 15 pounds of boost. Since everyone is an expert we no longer try to advise them differently if they so object...Everyone has to learn sooner or later. We do recommend 8.5:1 if anyone wants to listen...of course this all depends on cams but that is another story all together.

For those who are in the planning stages we can offer complete 113/126/132/139" Turbo ORCA motors that have all the right stuff in them. When you purchase an RB Racing turbo system we ask what your intended use is and structure our advice based on the latest information we have. Look at the early RB Racing turbos above and the pictures in this section to see how far we have come in nearly 30 years.

Harley Motors and Turbos

Can I put a Blackbird 250hp turbo on my stock 80" or 88" TC88?...hell yes! Will it make 250hp and be reliable?...Not if you run 15-25 psi of boost! What should I do if I leave my motor stock?...Well, if you run around 8-12 psi with our system you will outrun about any big inch mega motor you come up against...for less money.

Keep in mind we use only high output 360 hp turbochargers that move twice as much air at lower pressure ratios that other firms. We do not use small cheap turbos. You need to know how much airflow is required to make your horsepower at a given pressure ratio. Engine displacement figures into this equation. Check out our calculator on this.

1. Cams: Stock Harley motors don't have enough "cam" for turbos as they are basically short duration next to nothing in the overlap or lift department. The stock cams will boost if you look at them but they just don't breathe well enough. Your horsepower and breathing capacity will be restrained. Remember, we are going to run at least twice as much air through your motor even at low boost. Best use some drop-in cam...just don't tell anyone it's for a turbo! 135hp should do the job in most cases. If the need arises up it to 175hp. We use specialized turbo cams in our higher output ORCA motors.

2. Cranks: No one tells you the Twin Cam engines are dumbed down Evos and will twist their pressed together cranks when you abuse them stock. Guess what happens when you turbo them? If you buy Harley's 110 Kit they want you to bore your cases and put in a Timken bearing on the drive side and weld your crankshaft. When the crankshaft twists it takes out your gerotor oil pump and lunches your motor. Twin cam engines need Timken upgrades and welded crankshafts. No one tells you this.

Evos require special setup with additional clearances. For extreme racing we use 1.500" crankpins with press-in and welded components with stronger rods and .927" heavy wall pins. We also weld crank nuts and suggest welded in pinion shafts. Pictured above is a 126" S&S SA B2 engine crankshaft being prepared for the Road Toad.

3. Clutches: Most clutches are marginal after about 115hp. All the Kevlar wazoo plates won't save your ass and in most cases are worse than oem clutch plates. Increased frictional area and pressure are the answer in the form of Screaming Eagle, Rivera Pro Clutches or Bandit clutches. Plate area, spring pressure and coefficient of friction rule the day. All the common wisdom about clutches goes out the window with turbos. Simply stated, you can alter the frictional area with a 9 plate unit, or you can go for wider frictions like a Rivera Pro clutch but, in the end, it will be the pressure acting on these that rules the day.

Pictured above is a Magura hydraulic clutch for certain models of the Big Twins, a drop in replacement for cable activated clutches. It lessens the lever effort by 30-40%. Going hydraulic is about the only way to deal with Bandit or Screaming Eagle Race clutches that have heavy (adjustable) coil spring presures. Later model CVO models come with hydraulic clutches.

Lockup clutches from Bandit, AIM, Rivera and others are suggested for even higher output but they add complexity to the mix and may require modified clutch derby covers to clear the additional height. For you killers out there you will be on your own and have to go directly to hydraulic clutches, sintered iron dry clutches, outboard support bearings and centrifugal lock-ups. That's what we do on the 400+ hp Bonneville Bullett. Pictured above is a Magura hydraulic clutch on our Road Toad. With stronger spring pressures it's the way to go...or get an oem Harley hydraulic clutch.

In the case of the Bonneville Bullett we even went to Barnett billet primary cover that centers the clutch basket on the clutch inspection plate in order to clear the Bandit lock-up mechanism.

4. Rods: OEM connecting rods are ok but not for really high horsepower. If you are a racer you already know this. Go directly to S&S Supreme rods for most applications if you are planning to run high boost. S&S Supreme rods shown below. It's not a bad idea to get rods with larger, thicker, piston pins like .927" and the pistons to match.

Shaker Carrillo 8" Nitro Evo Rods...139" ORCA

On our 139" ORCA Turbo motors we use special Shaker Nitro Carrillo Rods or McClure Nitro rods.. Big strength equals big money. We had these custom made for our engines after it became next to impossible to get the McClure rods we used in earlier engines. 1.5" crankpins and .927 Nitro piston pins.

5. Pistons: OEM cast pistons are weak. No high boost or racing turbo motor should be put together without forged low compression (8.0:1) pistons. You can run the stock pistons but not for extreme output.

OEM pistons run tighter clearances and have excellent rings but being pressure cast they can crack whereas a forged piston will deform. RB Racing carries specialized turbo pistons....the ones pictured above are for our 113" ORCA motors.

The typical path to power is compression, represented by the center piston, which in this case is 10.5:1 static. You reach a limit quickly which, depending on other modifications, leaves you stuck in the 1 hp per cubic inch, 1.125 or, if you really push things, 1.25 horsepower per cubic inch. An 80" engine pushing 100 hp (1.25 hp per c.i.) is really edgy. Switch to an intercooled, RSR Closed Loop Fuel Injected RB Racing Turbo and add water injection and you can go right to 200 hp. The forged low compression turbo pistons replace the high dome, high compression normally aspirated pistons.

If you think you can get 3 hp per c.i. with the center high compression (10.5:1) piston we wish you luck. With a turbo you just run around with a stock or low compression piston, and have an easy-starting engine that gets great fuel economy and you dial up whatever power you need. You have to do it right, however, which is why our kits often involve forged turbo pistons, closed loop RSR Fuel Injection, water injection and are all standard with large intercoolers.

When you get really serious you do like we do and order up $3,000.00 worth of CP pistons made to our specifications then get the domes ceramic barrier coated and the shirts coated with and anti-friction graphite...Then custom machine them for PEEK shirt buttons. Thicker domes, better rings, heavy wall piston pins. Whatever it takes.

Here are a set of turbo pistons we are preparing for a customer with a 95" engine. Since the customer is out of the country we purchased a set of oem cylinders and made up the turbo pistons. Next step is for the cylinders to be bored and honed for the pistons. We will then get the pistons coated on both the skirts and the crowns for the RB Racing Intercooled turbo. Not cheap, but cheaper then sending things back and forth over the Pacific Ocean, or having it done locally on the customers end, where there may or may not be the expertise.


We offer this service for the various 95/103/110/113/120 piston bore and stroke combinations. Forged heavy duty pistons, special turbo rings and heavy wall piston pins, specialized head barrier and friction reducing coatings and proper bore clearances done professionally. Pictured above are 95" Turbo pistons  we prepared for a client. Note the strong piston crown and top ring position.

6. Cylinder Sealing: Another weak point are the cases and cylinder heads. If you push past 200hp the stock cases won't be too happy. Sooner or later something will let go. Better off with S&S, Delkron or other race proven items. Below 200 hp and without banging speed shifts at 7000 rpm the stock cases are reasonably good items. The cylinder heads have excellent valves, guides and seals, but once again get too greedy and sooner or later you will probably find a crack around a spark plug thread. Keep the power reasonable and things will be fine. Use OEM Harley torque specs on your cylinder head "nuts" and check them periodically or you will pop a head gasket.

Cylinder Top End Sealing

Copper head gaskets are a waste of time as they are certain to weep oil, even if a stainless wire is used as an "o-ring". Our ORCA motors use special seal rings and no gaskets, either base or cylinder head. Better heat transfer and no leaks. Use stock gaskets and torque values if you keep the hp down to reasonable levels. Don't boost the engine unless it is at normal operating temperature. We also run Champion Racing Spark plugs.

7. Porting of Cylinder Heads: Heads should be ported by someone who has experience with Turbos as they don't use the same flow ratios between inlet and exhaust. John O'Keefe at Branch O'Keefe does all our turbo porting work. When you get really serious you need to replace softer stainless steel exhaust valves with Inconel or similar extreme temperature rated valves like those made by Ferrea.

John O'Keefe does all our big valve S&S SA B2 cylinder head porting for turbos. If you want your heads ported for Turbocharger applications he is the "go-to" guy. Here is is pointing to the extreme flow number he got with our S&S SA B2 Bonneville Bullett cylinder heads.

Before Branch O'Keefe Turbo Porting

This set of Twin Cam 88 Heads had about 40,000 miles on them. They had excellent sealing on the valve seats but the guides were weeping a bit of oil. John said they were in good shape considering the mileage. The inlet ports had a bit of carbon but were very clean. We'll be showing you John's work to prep these for turbocharger use. He'll drop the cc's in the chambers just a small amount because the bike is getting turbo cams with more duration. John has special guide seals and valves that stand up to turbo pressures and temperatures. He'll open up the ports to let the turbo breathe with the new turbo cams. He's the go-to guy for serious racing like on our S&S SA B2 Bonneville Bullett heads pictured a bit below.

After Branch O'Keefe Turbo Porting

This gives you a pretty good idea why you should spend about $850.00 if you are going to turbocharge your Twin Cam. Just look at the before and after pictures. If your Harley has some miles on it you should get the heads prepared for the turbo...(1) Better and bigger valves; (2) Ported and flowed inlet and exhaust tracts; (3) High lift valve springs for the turbo cams and new Teflon Guide Seals; (4) Multi-angle valve job with turbo profile seats; (5) All carbon deposits, sharp edges and potential cylinder head / gasket deformation issues resolved; (5) Chambers matched and cc'ed to correct volume for the camshafts and pistons (dynamic compression ratio).

Besides, they look great and you know you love your scooter more than anything. Guess who gets the attention and the money. Anyone who says you don't need to port heads on turbos is dead wrong. Airflow, thermal stress, oil control and head sealing are all issues a Branch O'Keefe Turbo Porting job addresses. To paraphrase an old adage..."It's the airflow, stupid!".

Branch Turbo Heads: 10,000 miles later...Inlet Ports Clean

After 10,000 miles of testing on our Twin Cam 88 we removed the engine to put in a 126" ORCA motor. The Branch inlet ports were perfectly clean. No reversion and perfect valve sealing. Definitely the people to do your turbo porting.

Branch O'Keefe S&S SA B2 Head Bonneville Porting

Whenever we do something serious like our 139" Bonneville ORCA motor we defer to the experts, especially when we are dealing with raw, unfinished ports the size of a dime. Branch O'Keefe is simply the best in the business and even Jerry Branch (retired) got involved in the decision making. Take a look at some ports that about 90 years cumulative experience came up with. All John O'Keefe and Jerry Branch asked was what we thought the exhaust ports should be like in terms of flow based on our 30 years of turbocharger experience. We all agreed on a number and this is what the result was. Ports for 400+ horsepower. 2.200" Inlets and 1.800 exhausts with special 2400 degree Ferrea valves. This is not a $850.00 porting job.

8. Fuel Pumps / Regulators and Horsepower: Our Delphi-based Turbo Kits use the OEM in tank fuel pump and regulator assembly and there is no need to go into your gas tank and try to drill and Loctite in some silly boost port into your OEM regulator. If you are starting out with a stock bike and 150 hp will get you down the road with low boost then you will be fine.

For our higher horsepower applications either with our own RSR EFI or for Delphi-based systems we use an externally mounted 600 hp fuel pump, fuel filter and high-bypass billet fuel pressure regulator. For high boost and higher horsepower applications the stock fuel pump and regulator assembly just won't cut it. What is "high boost and high hp"?...Well, when you start heading for 200 to 360 hp it's time to order the Pro Street System.

In the Pro Street systems the stock fuel pump and regulator are removed and the float level mechanism stays in the tank. We provide all the hardware and parts to covert the bike for up 360hp capability.

Branch O'Keefe EVO Turbo Heads: STD, S&S and OEM

John O'Keefe at Branch O'Keefe also does our Evolution Turbo heads, whether starting out with S&S, STD, or OEM castings. STD went out of business but their heads were pretty strong and were set up for dual plugs. We use these STD heads on our 80" FXR Turbo. Stock OEM castings tend to crack at the spark plug hole whereas the S&S and STD are stronger. Dual plugging is a good idea even with the 3.5" bore. John set these up with 99cc chambers for our forged pistons with a 20cc dome to match the Branch chamber.

Exhaust and inlet porting are critical on Turbochargers. If you are going to flow 3X the Stock horsepower you simply have to port your heads. Larger valves and higher flow go with turbocharging.  We've never had an issue with Branch heads. On our Bonneville Bullett we've run 214 mph @ 4800 rpm with 9 psi of boost.  The Bullett is set up fro 535 hp @ 30 psi of boost and geared for 294 mph. Only one outfit knows how to deal with these flow issues. Branch O'Keefe.

The STD four bolt pattern is simply a rectangle with dual OEM two bolt spacing. For our turbo FXR we use four bolt billet STD flanges that we machine up. Billet gaskets and four bolts gives a better seal just like on our S&S SA B2 heads. These days S&S SA B2 heads are available with the OEM two bolt pattern but we prefer the four bolt arrangement for turbos. S&S Supersport Heads are two bolt pattern.

All performance turbos should be running Branch Turbo heads. The programming changes radically between ported and unported heads as the ported heads flow so much more air.

Twin Cam FL Chain Final Drive for High Horsepower

 

We converted the Road Toad to an EK 530ZZZ final drive chain, the same as we use on the Bonneville Bullett. A Baker Drivetrain 24 tooth transmission sprocket with a .200" offset and an anodized 45 tooth rear wheel sprocket lets us run the Road Toad up to a leisurely 180 mph without revving the 126 Orca Turbo motor too high. We geared it a tad taller so we can cruise at 80 mph well under 3000 rpm and get 50 mpg.

Chain / Belt Adjusters

The oem rear axle adjusters with the eccentric belt tensioners only offer a total of 1/2" of adjustment (+/- 1/4")  which means setting chain tension with a sprocket is impossible. One tooth more or less and one link more or less and the chain simply cannot be adjusted. We revamp these so we can choose the gearing we want and be able to set the correct chain tension. The swingarm was designed for a specific belt and pulley combination, not for a chain drive.

A swingarm modification service is available allowing 2" of adjustment instead of 1/2".

Three customer arms. Two for turbos and one for a Twin Cam S&S 124" with SA B2 heads that makes 150 hp. Go big or go home as they say.


The 2009 and later swingarms are completely different. We have fixtures and offer a service to convert these to chain drive. Aftermarket wheels can be used with direct sprockets or the cush drive mechanism can be machined to accept a sprocket. Chromed adjusters below.


The swingarms are finished in gloss black powdercoat after all the surfaces have been smoothed. Much hand preparation gives a perfect finish.

7 Second Old Pro Gas Design...Way More than Two Decades Ago

This Pro Gas 500+Hp system is custom built for race application and involves fabrication for intercooler mounts etc. at the builder / fabricator level. The Pro Gas system pictured below was built for National Modified Champion Wayne Pollack of Fuquay Varina, North Carolina. Wayne flew out to see us and agreed to build a bike around the system we would design instead of vice-versa. Wayne wanted to build a sophisticated Turbo bike but he made the serious mistake of ordering some cylinder heads from Nigel Patrick who did zero, zip, for a year after he took Wayne's money. The year delay caused Wayne to miss a complete season and his sponsors cut the purse strings and his "crew" dispersed to other projects. Wayne sold the parts to Ken Browne, who continued with the project, but cut up the parts and left off the 500hp intercooler. There went 1% in hp for every 11 degrees F the charge cooling would have provided. Those of you unfamiliar with how much air heats when you compress it...at 22 psi the discharge temperature can be 265 degrees F. You can't find any turbocharged race vehicle without a large charge cooler.

Ken still managed to run 7.55 @ 173mph (176mph best mph) in the quarter mile and 4.80 @ 147mph in the eighth mile, and built a new bike with a bigger tire!

Ken's new bike is (2002-2004-2005 etc.) was further away from "what should be" and didn't work well. More weight, poor turbo location etc. Ken is a nice guy, but bad ideas, no matter how nicely executed, simply won't work. We talked to Ken, hoping he would just execute our original design, but everyone wants to do "his own thing". There is always a price for this. Hey! It's not death..It's a hobby!. Hey, he's even building a third one. Ken had to quit riding after a not too successful neck operation.

Wayne Pollack went on to wrench and ride the beautiful Majestic Turbo bike, initially with twin turbos (didn't work well) and later on with one very large turbo similar to the one pictured. We sent Wayne the turbo specs and drawings for a new design so he could shit-can the two turbo deal that Kevin Draper and Don Vesco cooked up. Wayne got to deal with methanol and Hilborn injectors with nitrous added to the mix. Boom! Blow up an Overkill Engine.

Wayne was always straight with us, he's a hard-core racer and like Wayne, we think there's nothing much better than kicking ass and trying to be the best at what you do...Wayne went off to ride Ray Price's Top Fuel Harley and to stay in shape just ran a 242.587 mph World Record ( Sept 2003) on Rich Yancy's turbo Hayabusa at Maxton. In 2005 Wayne upped the Maxton record to 258mph on Rick Yancy's Hayabusa.

Here's Wayne on Ray Price's Top Fuel Harley (Oct 03). Ray got a bit banged up and Wayne was tapped for the ride. In August 2004 Wayne retired with back problems...no more spine crushing acceleration. Wayne went on to set a speed record of 258mph on a Hayabusa at Maxton in 2005.

We get a few calls each year about Pro Gas systems. We suggest you call us before you start building. Everyone wants to do their own thing but decisions can haunt you and they get expensive. If you're already far along we'll sell you some parts and keep our mouth shut in the advice department because it will already be too late.

Click on the below pictures for more details on these parts and people.

Ken Browne's original record setting 120 cubic inch 4 cam Pro Gas bike. RB Racing Pro Gas Turbo / RSR 400i Fuel Injection System. Best 1/4 mile E.T. 7.55; best mph 176. This gives you and idea of how much power is hiding in our street Blackbird and Pro Street systems.

Lindsay Ford

 

 


 

Derringer Motor. RSR Fuel Injection. Fabrication by Lindsay Ford. There projects take all your money, all your time, and years of work. Finally you get to ride.



Designed For All Big Twins....

This is a Confederate with a 120 Cubic Inch Merch with one of our Pro Street Turbos bolted in place. We didn't run the bike, we just checked the components to see if they would fit. We were asked by Confederate to do so a long long time ago but they never ordered anything. This particular engine wasn't set up for turbocharging so we would have had to put in some premium forged 8.0:1 pistons, a turbo camshaft, special gaskets and all the stuff we usually do to our 113" ORCA Motors.

You might ask how much horsepower this 120 Inch motor might put out...Well, Ken Browne also has a 120 Inch V-Twin with one of our Pro Gas Turbos ( a bit larger turbo) and runs the 1/4 mile in 7.5 seconds @ 176mph! On a 66 Cubic Inch ZX-11 motor the same turbo as we have on the Confederate pumps out 280hp @ 12 pounds of boost at 9000 RPM. The RB Racing Pro Street turbo will put out over 30 PSI!

We were asked if we could do this for Confederate at the time so we mocked it up...When asked for funding that was the end of it.

Turbocharger Calculators

What the hell is all of this technical crap without a little mathematics...throw in a few fractional exponents to complicate matters and slice and dice a few rough approximations...Voila! exquisite turbo planning. Turbo and Supercharger maps are available for the technically inclined.

Boost Compression Ratio Calculator

Click on the title above to go to our RSR Boost Compression Ratio Calculator. This allows you to run scenarios of how boost affects your effective compression ratio as modified by altitude considerations. It will give you a good idea as to why turbos go so fast and also how to plan your motor for your particular circumstances. Knowledge is power.

Advanced Dynamic Compression Ratio Calculator

When you are planning an engine you need to understand the relationships that exist between cam timing, static compression, rod length, bore, stroke, altitude and in the case of RB Racing Turbos, boost pressure. We have created a calculator that lets you play around with design parameters and have a good idea of how the engine combination will work out for your intended usage. By focusing on the dynamics we avoid the trap of looking at fixed or static values which can often be misleading. Plug and play before you buy and try!

Boost and Airflow Calculator

Factoring engine displacement, inlet temperature, engine volumetric efficiency, and you can arrive at hp and airflow for a particular engine. Think about it...8 pounds of boost on a 60 cubic inch engine and a 120 inch engine does not equate to the same hp or airflow. People always talk "boost"...It's more complicated than that. Maybe you can figure out why we use large turbos that move a lot of air at low pressure ratios.


Final Point

People who don't do this for a living have all sorts of advice. They specialize in being "persons of authority" even though they have not done the work. They give advice about cams, turbo design etc. and they can't walk the walk. There is more bad, incorrect, crap floating about turbocharging around than there are turbos running. We've been at it for over 30 years and, since we actually make the stuff, we know even how little we know...which is a lot more than those who don't do the work. We aren't here to correct misconceptions, only to support the art.

Bonneville Test Bed... Bullett

Make no mistake about it, when you deal with the big twins you are dealing as much with art as with science. Everything is hanging out in the open for everyone to look at and it is extremely difficult to blend function with aesthetics, especially in this era when every other bike is a "show bike" with every piece of billet trickery and chromed what nots glued or bolted to every exterior surface. We think our new turbos will meet the most demanding needs of any big twin whether it is trailer bound for the next show or caked in wet salt on its final record pass at Bonneville.

We will not compromise functionality however...so don't ask.