Chevy pistons in VN1600?

[andyvh1959]

I noticed some Chevy pistons in the Wiseco piston catalog are for the same bore size in the VN1600. Has anyone used a Chevy small block forged piston in the 1600 to get a bit more compression? More power? Would the Chevy pistons be lighter than the Kawwy OEM pistons?

[Zarticus]

Originally Posted by andyvh1959

I noticed some Chevy pistons in the Wiseco piston catalog are for the same bore size in the VN1600. Has anyone used a Chevy small block forged piston in the 1600 to get a bit more compression? More power? Would the Chevy pistons be lighter than the Kawwy OEM pistons?

I doubt they would work with the Vaquero Rod's.

[redjay]

I think there are lots more things to consider besides the bore size. The length of the skirt and the height above the wrist pin and the wrist pin dimensions are ones I can think of.

[The Black Knight]

Originally Posted by redjay

I think there are lots more things to consider besides the bore size. The length of the skirt and the height above the wrist pin and the wrist pin dimensions are ones I can think of.

[andyvh1959]

I fully know that the bore is only one part of the match, other factors are:
1. Pin to crown height and crown shape
2. Pin diameter
3. Con-rod clearance in the piston journal
4. Rings; as in two rings, three rings, rings style
5. Piston skirt length
6. Crank journal clearance
7. Clearance notches for the four valves

I just recall someone mentioning Chevy or Ford small block pistons may work in the 1600 engine (my post above never said for the 1700 engine). Just asking if anyone had details on the application or any direct knowledge if it works. The stock compression ratio on the 1600 engine for the Classic/Nomad/Mean Streak is the same at 9:1. Many other big v-twins are now 9.5:1 all the way to 11:1 (Indian 118 engine). There is a LOT more that goes into making a high compression engine a reliable daily ride, so I'm not expecting to get anything close to or over 10:1 for the 1600. Just wondering if the Chevy or Ford pistons on the VN1600 con-rods could be a fairly easy mod to bump the compression ratio up to 9.5:1 or a bit higher.

[redjay]

Send a PM to Racnray, Mas Tequila or Dragonlady. I think they have the most knowledge of modifications to the Kawi engines.

[andyvh1959]

Yup, PM sent to MAS, just have not heard anything back yet so I posted it here to see if anyone else knows about it.

[RACNRAY]

Forget about car pistons as most car engines are 2 or in case some r 3 valve.Ur barking up the wrong tree. I had big bore piston kits made for the 1700, that was ALOT of werk on my part.

[MAS Tequila]

I sent you a PM about this.

A former circle track racer put together a handful of kits to use Ford circle track pistons.

In my PM I mentioned that you will spend at least $4500-5500 to try to duplicate Speed's 105hp result.

You WILL NOT be able to 'surprise' newer bigger bikes with an obsolete engine build any more than a 289 will surprise an LS or Coyote equipped vehicle, like you mentioned in your PM to me.

Your 14 years out of production engine has zero support in the hop up market.

Using the MS heads, cams, and gears with some headwork will wake up your 1600 but it WILL NOT turn it into a fire breathing giant slayer.

My 103 Twin Cam stopped production in 2016 but has an ungodly amount of hop up support.

A simple cam change put me just below 100hp and 110 ft lbs of torque, a bit of headwork broke the 100hp bar.

Good luck with your pipe dream.

[andyvh1959]

Thanks MAS. Sorry I didn't see your PM to me, no notice in my messages. Not seeking a fire breathing dragon, just a bit more stout. Anyhow, thanks for the clarity. That's what I needed to hear. There is something to be said for the Harley products because of the extensive aftermarket.

[blowndodge]

Originally Posted by andyvh1959

Thanks MAS. Sorry I didn't see your PM to me, no notice in my messages. Not seeking a fire breathing dragon, just a bit more stout. Anyhow, thanks for the clarity. That's what I needed to hear. There is something to be said for the Harley products because of the extensive aftermarket.

You should probably get one.

[redjay]

Million Dollar Bogan on YouTube recently uploaded a video of him having his Harley Road Glide upgraded to 153 hp

[andyvh1959]

Bike is cool, don't care for the high handlebar setup. But the rest, wow.

[MAS Tequila]

Originally Posted by andyvh1959

Thanks MAS. Sorry I didn't see your PM to me, no notice in my messages. Not seeking a fire breathing dragon, just a bit more stout. Anyhow, thanks for the clarity. That's what I needed to hear. There is something to be said for the Harley products because of the extensive aftermarket.

I absolutely love the 1500/1600 platform.

I spent way too much money and time chasing an uncatchable rabbit, er Vulcan.

Put it together and enjoy the hell out of it.

I guess my point is that it's a great bike, just recognize the limitations.

[andyvh1959]

I agree. For what I have in this bike and what I have planned for it, it'll make a great bike for what it is. When done it'll be a reasonable comparative bike to the Harleys like the 88, 96 and 103 stock engines. When compared against the 107 and larger engines the nod goes to Harley and Indian.

Given what Harley and Indian have achieved power and rideability wise with large V-twins making huge levels of torque and decent handling its surprising Kawasaki, like Yamaha, hasn't stepped up to make the 1600 or 1700 a good bit more competitive. Kawwy knows how to do ir. But, Harley and Indian have so much of that market its not viable for Kawwy to do much more that the 1700 and let the aftermarket take it fro there.