ABM S&S Rebuilt Engine Makes Massive Pwr!

Hard 'n' Fast, First 20 Miles?

ABM "gets" why the master builders always celebrate the build's completion with a round of brewskies and a hearty burnout!

The Theory:

An engine, especially a V-twin's power output is only as good as the ability of the rings to set a tight seal against the cylinder wall. Pouring on the coal during the first 20-50 mi of a new engine's operation seats the rings tightly, preventing oil blow-by, thereby producing torque and hp gains over a leisurely break in. No synthetic, straight 20w-50 oil. We used drag specialties, but it could have been HD dino juice, or any other stout non synthetic. The plan is to switch to 50weight syn after a thou to 1500 miles.

Initial Miles:

With about 39 mi on the clock, I pulled her back into my garage for a quick filter and juice change. The oil was loaded with aluminum particles. Beginning Monday, each morning, the old girl got to go for a ride along the beach and back, about 70 miles per day, so she has around 400 miles on the new engine. After the initial blast-around, it's okay to simply cruise the country, or in my case, the beach at 40-50-60 miles an hour for the remainder of another 300 miles. I'll change the oil one more time before we split for Sturgis.

Amazing Performance!


A lot likely had to do with my wrench. ABM keeps a spare S&S 111 so we don't have down time during rebuilds, (and it makes a nice coffee table). An ill-fated trip to a brain-dead Daytona shop left the carb intakes so bent out of shape, it's a wonder she ran at all. This engine, with just 400 mi, even though the timing is a bit too far advanced, and we need to replace the newer style roller rockers with the old pre year 2000 style, is likely the hottest 111 we've ever run. I don't give that new Metzler 240 a snowball's chance in hell of surviving this summer's ride.

They say to baby a new engine, run synthetic, and don't do this or that for the first 500 miles. This is my 9th try at breaking in new v-twins. If the "same old, same old" worked, we'd still be doing it... enuf said.

Sturgis Tip #5: Choose your campground carefully!

What sort of biker are you?

1-The Quiet Type?

Want nothing more than a good night's rest? Pick a spot which values peace and quiet. One we've spent time at is the "Sturgis View". Atop that big old hill on the south and north side of town. Overlooks the I-90, the west end of town, and several other campgrounds at the bottom of the hill. You can sit in a lawn chair after 10pm and watch from 2 mi away as the cops do their thing. We paid $325 for a ten day pass for two. Recently, the town has erected a garbage dump on an adjoining hill, which we could see, but not smell, but that was 3 years ago. Nice people from Mn run the joint, eh? An alternate try might be up around Hill City, and the National Parks area. We hear there are places where you pay up, and park right off the highway. Parks might qualify as cheap, for those who do not wish to be part of the all week mayhem that is Sturgis proper.

2-The Cheap Type?

First place that comes to mind is "Hog Heaven", highly recommended by my bros. It's situated on the big side hill which overlooks the southern portion of Sturgis. If you've ever tried to get on the interstate, and dead ended, you've seen this place. The one big drawback to HH? It's on the side of a damm hill! The bros say there are a half dozen good flat places to camp, but they're all taken well in advance. This leaves you with the option of spending all night sliding down, down, down, into your sleeping bag, or possibly ripping out your tent pegs, and taking a roll down the slope, -or- if you're smart, work out a way to level your site. There's a hardware store near the western most Sturgis I-90 ramp. Pick up a couple 2x4's, sheet of plywood, and build ya a nice level place to catch them Z's.. The good part? A full week's worth of camping, showers, bath, small store, bar, etc for..are you listening..? $100.00, per person as of 2 years ago. Prices may have gone up since then..

3-Party Animal?

After several years of camping around, ABM has decided Sturgis is as much about the big party as it is about riding your buns off, so, we like to stay at the Buffalo Chip. There are others..The "County Line", "Glencoe" (Rock 'n' rev), and the "Full Throttle", etc. We always have preferred the chip. They give us access to you, the radio listening public. Most of the others didn't even bother to get back to us. The Chip ain't cheap, but is reasonable, so long as you buy your passes ONE YEAR in advance. We got our 10 day passes, $200 each, back in October. If you don't bring an rv, opting instead to tent, that's all it'll cost ya, an' there's so much room, if you can't find a spot to call your own, you wouldn't be satisfied with Yellowstone. Need electricity, running water at the site? Another 300 or so. This joint is freakin' huge, and you can find anything from fast food, to giant chops, 18 hours a day. Also a nice little store with food, beer, ice. Then there's the bands.. Ozzie, Kid Rock, ZZ Top, Motley Crue, etc, etc, etc..When the bands quit, usually after midnight, the all night party begins. You wouldn't believe the stuff that was goin' on last year.. every night, all the way until the sun broke at 5am. INSANE. We like it, so that's where we stay. They have a nice little daily happy hour from 9-5 with dollar beers, (bring your cup from last year), an' dollar hot dogs. Vitamin "B", and Vitamin "D", really all a biker needs beside gas an' a girl.

Sturgis Tip #4: Get A Badlands/Black Hills Map!

Six days to go..six days to..six days.. six...

Each year around the end of July, we begin to salivate, and kinda act funny.. It's like the old town we live in just ain't big enough to hold us anymore. We're lookin' for thrills in the hills, the Black Hills of South Dakota!

If you've been here before, you may have picked up a "Black Hills & Badlands" map, a printed two sided sheet, about 12" by 20" reads up an' down, and shows in great detail how to plan out, and get around your incredible Sturgis experience. Pick one of these up at the Sturgis welcome center. We've also seen them at campgrounds, vendors, mc dealers, etc. Ask around. You'll find one. Worth your while.

Most of the cool riding, with the exception of Devil's Tower, and the Badlands is located inside a north to south "box" just west of Rapid City, and south of Sturgis. Devil's Tower is in Wyoming, and you'll find the Badlands to the southwest of Rapid, directly on the south side of I-90. Riding thru the Badlands, try to imagine how generous our government was when they "gave" this land to the natives..you couldn't grow crabgrass here. Some of it looks like the moon. Great riding! Do the entire loop. We like to take Rt 44 out of Rapid, the route less traveled. Gas up before you get there, 'cause ain't much in the way of gas, crackers, and donuts. There is a cool bar with buffalo burgers and Bud at the far southern end of the park, and there is a late opening gas station with 86 octane, at 93 octane prices across the street.

This free map we refer to has been around longer than ABM, and that's a long time! Find a couple of copies, keep one for a souvenir, fold the other and stash it in your bag. It's a great tool for finding your way around the far southwestern corner of South Dakota, one of the world's coolest biker hang outs!


Parts, ya need parts?

Good luck, Chuck! We attempted to order a 200 rear Metzler donut for the better half's 06 soft tail standard.. out of stock! Custom Chrome dropped their shorts to the tune of about 80 bucks for a Metzler 210. Looking for a 200 but can't find one? Our standard HD factory rim will take the jap size 210 with no problemo.. and it is incredibly FAT in comparison to the 200, leaving just enough room for the belt to clear..she's on her second in 2 years. We're happy they were out of 200's!

(What's this say for the Sturgis Run? Tires ain't the only stuff they're sold out of.. for the first time in 2 years.. are the biker skies clearing, and will the 70th Sturgis hear the thunder of an extra hundred thousand last minute bikers? Come on, get offa the couch, an' do something cool this August!

Worth It?

ABM's Rebuilt S&S 111:

The Shakedown Cruise..

10-to-1 forged pistons. Massive 640 lift S&S cam. Tolerances and clearances taken to a level just this side of blueprint territory.. We hit the open road in 80 degree temps at dawn yesterday for the first run, keeping the engine under constant load. 2nd, 3rd, 4th, then 3rd, 2nd, and 3rd, 4th, for the first 20 miles, employing the same technique during the second twenty in the higher gears, 3rd thru 6th. Dino juice, drag specialties 20-w50. No synthetic for at least 1,000 mi, maybe more. It's not the way hd does it, but this ain't an hd, and ABM likes to be different.

Even on Sunday morning, 8 lane traffic builds quickly in a city of 1.5 million. We brought her back to my garage, put her up on the lift, waited ten minutes, and drained the aluminum bit choked oil, and replaced the filter. Everything looked great. We'll try to roll up 200 miles this morning before it gets too hot for a new engine. This summer, that will be about ten am.

Worth it?

Quit askin' an' I'll tell ya.. The short answer is "hell yeah". Through waiting 3 months for the heads, and having to use language to get them that my mama would slap me down for, finally threatening to call the sheriff's office, and getting them back 14 days shy of this year's Sturgis run, through finally getting the cylinders, even though they weren't my original ones, and don't quite match the heads, it's been hell. (We figure the dude farmed mine out and someone screwed them up.) Through 3 days of finishing off the honing process, pounding the bottom end into shape with clearances that would send some wrenches into a coma, cross hatching the cylinders in 97 degree air, pulling out the old engine, replacing it with "the beef", then adding three fresh sets of brake pads, steel braided all black clutch, throttle, and brake lines, and new rubber, we're good to go. "What's in my wallet..?" Not much. Good thing we like to cook our own meals.

Even though we haven't spanked the little pup yet, she shows every sign of being the smoothest, most powerful engine we've ever run, including an S&S 124 we ran for a year. ABM's thanks to Scary Larry, and his trusty side kick Butch, for without them, we'd be screwed.

Let's ride!

Sturgis Tip #3: "Learners"

Every biker was once a beginner..Motorcycling needs newbies, too.

Every run has it's share of beginners, learners, newbies, whatever tag you give to those who either haven't mastered the "art" of two wheeled transportation, or are in the process of becoming familiar with a brand new bike. Why should this be of concern to you, the experienced biker? You won't ask that question after one of them almost tips a 'wing over at the next stop light, in the lane next to you.. trust me, it happens.


New riders, who've already bought that new machine, or you just got your mc endorsement, take some time to rack up those "get to know you" miles, and please consider coming to downtown Sturgis during early in the day hours when the bike traffic is not so heavy. We pushed a lady's touring Kawi into a parking lot because her wrist had given out from having to hold in the clutch for so long during bike to bike gridlock. At peak, it may take longer than a half hour to get through ten blocks of Sturgis traffic.

Don't Bother The Buffalo! (or you'll be sorry)..

Headed for Sturgis this August? Don't bother the buffalo! One vacationing family in Yellowstone decided to have some "fun" with the big "stupid" animals..chasing the beast around a parking lot, eventually throwing at, and hitting the bison with s stick! Of course, the animal charged, and put Mrs. housewife on her ample butt. You can see it all. She never turned off the camera. What an idiot.

It's a crime to harass wildlife. How would you like it if some buffalo showed up while you were having lunch, and chased your family around, throwing stuff at them? You get the idea. Look at this pic. Is this dude too close? Is he preparing to throw something into the herd?

Man, people can be so stupid. Don't be one of them. Respect the wildlife, and you in turn, will be
respected. (most of the time)

Sturgis Tip #1: Got a tool box? Use it!

At the campground in South Dakota..

One of the largest in Sturgis, we spend the first few days of each August bouncing around on the bikes, while trying to avoid mc parts which have dropped to the ground, having "parted" ways with the bike they were previously attached to.

You name it, we've seen it all, foot pegs, foot boards, hard bags, bolts, nuts, washers, spokes, even a license plate or two, and a clutch lever! Last year I told the "half", if given time, we might-could find enough dropped parts to put together a rolling chassis!

Do something simple, but very effective. Get out your sae or metric socket set, and go over all the nuts and bolts you can find on your ride. Don't over tighten. A torque wrench may be necessary for some of the more sensitive fasteners. Look at your service manual. If you don't want to be hassled, take it to the dealer, have your oil/primary/transmission fluids changed, and ask them to go over the entire bike one time. It's not exactly cheap, but it is good mishap insurance, if done by the right individual.

Check back for ABM Sturgis Tip #2 and watch for our daily Sturgis Blog, live and direct from the August hot action spot of the entire universe of motorcycles, drop dead beautiful girls, and beer as cold as you can make it when the temp's 107.

ABM Advice: Be Careful With Whom You Do Business..

Please refer to today's (07-20-10) show for info:

A Three Month Wait for Heads and Cylinders?

My wrench swore the guy was good, fast. You'd believe it too. He's the lead engine dude for the largest mc place in town. Three months ago, he took my old heads and cylinders, plus an ABM check for $610.00, with a promise to rebuild asap. We shot some vids in my garage with Scary and Slash, as they took apart my spare engine (see previous abm blogs). Yeah, that was t-h-r-e-e months ago, during happier times.

Return phone calls? Hell, that's for suckers..

I have personally called the dude's cell phone, and left civil messages over a dozen times during the past 6 weeks, once even stooping to beg him, in the name of human kindness to call back and let us know where the finished parts are. Scary has likely called him 50 times, no joke, and the dude, never, not even once returned a call to either of us.

He ran out of the dealership!

After waiting for nearly 2 months, my wrench went to his place of work, and asked to speak with him. The dude RAN OUT THE BACK DOOR! At this point, we knew there was going to be trouble..

Weird stories, believe 'em or don't:

Like that the "ex" came by and shot up the house.. that one was all over town. Then, that his current girl friend had a heart attack, which he stands by, but all of his neighbors say it's a load of crap.. you be the judge.

Second work visit:

We got the heads, with a promise that the cylinders would be finished in a day. That was the Fourth of July. Three weeks later, no pistons, no cylinders, Sturgis is 2 weeks away.

The Wrath of Scary Larry:

Three months with not a single returned phone call. Larry had enough. He parked in the dude's driveway, and pounded on the door for three hours. Yes, they were home. How someone could hunker down in the house while listening to door pounding for three hours is beyond comprehension. Larry left for a sandwich, & came back and pounded for another hour. Still nothing.

The Wrath of Ryan:

Feeling bad for Larry, (he has better things to do with his work day than try to get some douche to answer his door), I rode the chopper over to see what in the hell was up with my parts. Knock, knock, knock..Bang Bang Bang, for about 25 minutes. I yelled, nothing. Figuring there was little to lose, took my sparkling personality across the street, and began asking questions, got answers, which I cannot pass on. Suffice to say I began to understand why they don't answer phone calls, or the door. Larry, he blew a fuse and went back over. I'm not quite sure what happened, but it must have been BIG. I got a call from Mr. Communication, informing me that the cylinders were in the shop & I could drop by and pick them up in the morning. Even that was a freakin' lie, because the shop doesn't let him bring his outside stuff to work. He could have simply given us the damm cylinders that day..see where I'm commin' from?

Ryan visits the workplace:

This morning I finally got the cylinders back, no pistons. It's costing me $318 plus $45 to have them overnighted so we can begin rebuilding that S/S 111 cu in mill soon as the FedEx truck arrives. I got 200 bucks from the dude, so I'm out $150 + the cost to finish honing the unfinished cylinders, which can be lived with, what the hell, it's only money. Beyond belief? That someone could screw over a brother like this and not care until threatened by a call to the Sheriff's theft division.

In retrospect:

ABM runs with what some would describe as a rough crowd. Over beers, it's easy to get excited about breaking a couple of index fingers, but we all know that's just not right. Who would want to lose their right to participate in the American dream of having give up days off for Jury Duty?

It ain't over just yet:

Now comes the real fun. Slapping the S/S 111 back together and piling on some break in miles before Sturgis. We got 12 days. Check back. I'll let you know how it's goin'. We got rid of the dead weight. We're freakin' movin' now!

You'll Have To Wailt 'Til Sturgis...

Hoka Hey: Check's in the mail?

KTUU, Anchorage television, reveals organizers of the now famous Hoka-Hey MC challenge, say the $500,000 of prize money will be awarded to a confirmed winner during the Sturgis run, this August, that controversy is what makes an event famous, and conceed this one certainly has a lot of that.

What drug test?

According to KTUU, some bikers say that not only was there no drug test, but when they rolled into town, no one was around to check them in! It's been over a week since the first two riders to arrive, simultaneously, crossed the Homer, Alaska finish line, for a total of 190 hours of saddle time.

Mishaps:

One biker went down in Wyoming, another, a Florida native, crashed in Alaska. Injuries were reported by others along the route. As much as it hurts to lose those we love, riding is about fun, adventure, and occasionally taking chances.

One of ABM's affiliates, (and likely more), know of bikers who participated in this 7,000-something mile run. Two of the bros returned to Ohio, and were treated to a giant party yesterday evening. Props to these two dudes, and all who had the necessary stones to get off the couch and accomplish something they'll remember for the rest of their lives.

Come Sturgis, in August, will we finally get to know who can legally lay claim to $500,000?

That's a little over $71.00 per mile. Hefty gas allowance!

The Real Deal, Or Milkin' The Cow?

They're Baaaaack...

The two Pauls, that is. Paul senior, and Paulie, or Paul Jr. Why? For money of course! Set your hard drive to cable's TLC channel, each Thursday at 9pm, beginning August 12, right in the middle of Sturgis. That's at least 400,000 viewers down the drain on opening night.

Separate Lives:

Paulie stormed out of the shop, vowing he would destroy his dad, financially, that is, by building better bikes at his new place, just down the road from dear old dad. Lawsuits cost money. Lawyers don't work for peanuts. Even so, ABM wonders if this family feud isn't an elaborate hoax to boost ratings for the new show. Are we cynical, or what??