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Fair cost of a used engine

  • rock38
    rock38
    7 months
    Gday lads n ladies
    What in your opinion is a fair price for a tc 103 engine with 120000 k.s on it ?
    I’m looking for a 103 engine to do a build…what is an average price I’m going to b looking at to purchase one?
    Only started looking , even some ideas on places to look for one wld b helpful.
    Anyway Cheers
    Hope yas r havn a good Easter break.
    Rock.
  • speedzter
    speedzter
    7 months
    To buy/sell an engine with 120k km , you are really only buying a carcass.
    I'd say under $1000

  • Lushy
    Lushy
    7 months
    There's a guy on Facebook marketplace called Luke Musolino. Good dude to deal with, he has a few engines. Good prices.
  • rock38
    rock38
    7 months
    Quoting speedzter on 30 Mar 2024 07:55 AM

    To buy/sell an engine with 120k km , you are really only buying a carcass.
    I'd say under $1000

    Good chance rods wld b shagged then … So wld really only b cases and crank mainly?
  • Hilly
    Hilly
    7 months
    To be safe take the price as being just for the cases, factor in a crank, darkhorse, S&S, something along those lines, you can get cranks rebuilt in Oz, not sure who does it, Lushy or Hoody might know, stock twin cam cranks can shift, even more likely if you bomb the engine.
  • Retroman
    Retroman
    7 months
    Just a few years back, maybe 10 years, Perth was flush with "new bike take off" motors when the 120R craze was at it's peak.
    Frasers storage area in Perth you were tripping over the fuckers where the new bike buyer was slow to pick them up.
    They were in the box/crates the 120R had come in.
    Mostly Dyna/Touring donks , but occasional Softies.

    Then 2 years ago I go looking for one for a good mate whose 110 CVO shit a lifter and he rode home maybe 75 K's that REALLY fucked up the motor. Uneconomic repair the diagnosis.

    I was after a Softail 103 say 2013 to 2017 and none to be found. I did find Dyna/Touring donks , no good to him.

    After a few weeks I found a 300 K's "brand new" 96 cube out of a 2009 Rocker C. Had been in the 120R motor crate all those years.

    Asking price was $3,500. So his 2008 110" became a 96'er. Best way out for him at the time.

    With all the CVO air intake and his BUB "Jug Hugger" exhaust it looks and sounds the same !

    Just well down on grunt but he's 68 FFsake haha...I did Supertuner pro tune it right away and it goes OK.

    Just doesn't have that 110" 255 cam "spank" from 20 to 120 that he was used to.

    We were "gunna' put a 110" kit in it, found well priced Keith Black 110 pistons and a good used CVO 255 cam, but never followed thru". I even had new bike take off 103 heads with ACR's from a 2012 Tourer, still got them in the shed.

    Never say never tho' !
    Softail Rocker C 2010 engine_1.jpg
  • obisteve
    obisteve
    7 months
    Not taking the piss with this question, just don't have  much experience with post Evo motors. Well, a couple of mates bought early twin cams, one had premature cam chain tensioner excess wear and fitted an S&S gear drive conversion, the other bloke made a pre-emptive strike and bought the gear drive, but found his motor had too much pinion shaft run-out to fit it, and went back to a bored and stroked Evo shortly after.
    Do you blokes seriously expect a twin cam or M8 motor to be to have completely shagged internals at 120,000 kms?
    I still have the box of stuffed parts from my Sportsters rebuild at 220,000, done by a shop I told to fix whatever was needed and give me a bill. They bored 10 thou over, new main bearings, new crankpin and oversize rollers, must have lapped the rods, new valves, cams bushes and bearings, lifters, adjustable pushrods, not much else. Normal wear and tear items on a motor that had been flogged, dirt dragged, done about 20% oh its mileage on dirt roads.
    So do I downgrade my expectations of motor life expectancy if I buy a second hand M8 Slim?
  • Stuart
    Stuart
    7 months
    "Do you blokes seriously expect a twin cam or M8 motor to be to have completely shagged internals at 120,000 kms?"

    Heading off topic, but I wondered the same - I've got 120,000 on an 88CI twin cam. I've replaced the cam chain tensioner shoes twice, and did the valve guides at about 95,000. Cylinder hone and new rings at the same time. Still feels like she's got a bit of life in her yet.
  • paulybronco
    paulybronco
    7 months
    Quoting obisteve on 31 Mar 2024 11:17 AM

    Not taking the piss with this question, just don't have  much experience with post Evo motors. Well, a couple of mates bought early twin cams, one had premature cam chain tensioner excess wear and fitted an S&S gear drive conversion, the other bloke made a pre-emptive strike and bought the gear drive, but found his motor had too much pinion shaft run-out to fit it, and went back to a bored and stroked Evo shortly after.

    Do you blokes seriously expect a twin cam or M8 motor to be to have completely shagged internals at 120,000 kms?
    I still have the box of stuffed parts from my Sportsters rebuild at 220,000, done by a shop I told to fix whatever was needed and give me a bill. They bored 10 thou over, new main bearings, new crankpin and oversize rollers, must have lapped the rods, new valves, cams bushes and bearings, lifters, adjustable pushrods, not much else. Normal wear and tear items on a motor that had been flogged, dirt dragged, done about 20% oh its mileage on dirt roads.
    So do I downgrade my expectations of motor life expectancy if I buy a second hand M8 Slim?

    My brand new in 2012, Twin cam 103 Street Glide has now got 77k on the motor. Its been thru two compensators and showing classic signs of third coming up, changed chain adjusters every time as a precaution but all showed wear. The std lifters were changed out when the first cam swap happened and they looked ok, and the gearbox broke a internal spring. It used oil from day one. Like your mate i was unable to fit Gear drive for the same reasons. Seems like the quality control for twinkies was all over the show with some motors being pretty good with tolerances and other built on someone's last day at the factory. Give me my old Evo motor anyday. 
  • speedzter
    speedzter
    7 months
    "Do you blokes seriously expect a twin cam or M8 motor to be to have completely shagged internals at 120,000 kms?"

    The question was really about the value of a used high mileage motor to "build" .
    As to being "shagged" it's more a question of who is going to build up a used motor and not do all the work needed to bring it back to as new condition ?
    You would be crazy to re-use the crank/heads/oil pump etc' at that mileage without some work.
    I'm sure a lot of us have bought a "good used - whatever it may be -" to find it totally stuffed.

    It's a different story if it's your own vehicle that you have maintained properly .
    I'm sure there would be a few Twin Cams around with more than 120k km's that are still running strong .
  • Hilly
    Hilly
    7 months
    Speedzter pretty much covered it Steve, a looked after twin cam can go as long as any engine, all the usual variables apply, I would buy and run a second hand engine without a qualm but to build a high output engine spending lots of dollars you start at the bottom end, I'm not saying every used engine is only worth the cost of the cases I'm saying you need to be prepared dollar wise for that scenario as you might not get a good one.
  • Hilly
    Hilly
    7 months
    And you can't true the crank with a hammer either lol
  • paulybronco
    paulybronco
    7 months
    Quoting Hilly on 01 Apr 2024 07:23 AM

    And you can't true the crank with a hammer either lol

    Now you tell me!....lol
  • obisteve
    obisteve
    7 months
    OK, looks like I misinterpreted rock38's original post, I took buying an an engine for a build to mean he was putting a bike together, not necessarily hot rodding the motor. Thought that first crept in with Hilly's comment about cranks more likely twisting if you bombed the donk, but what really spun me was the suggestion that the rods would be stuffed at that mileage. To me, rods are something to check if they're true, get crack tested if they're alloy, maybe get them shot peened, not a routine replacement part. (Think I've still got the Norton rod that came out through the cases, will have to look in the shed).
    So thanks for the responses. 
    I asked because I still love the 40's styling of Slims and Cross Bones and been keeping my eyes on their prices, thinking I might have time left for another bike. I tend to buy stuff and keep it, run it hard and maintain it, seen some M8 Slims fall under 20 grand and I don't regard their mileages as excessive. Will avoid TCs though.

  • speedzter
    speedzter
    7 months
    It's generally the crank pin that starts to fail, and the big end will go out in sympathy.
    The twin cams don't have an outer big end race, but use the rod surface that has been hardened. ( hence the "blue" colour from the induction hardening process that some mistake for overheating) .
    A good video if you have a few minutes spare : (Hillly - note the use of a hammer :-) 


  • rock38
    rock38
    7 months
    Looks easy watchn that vid…when ya hav the rite tools it is tho huh !
    Cheers speedzter good watchn.
  • Hilly
    Hilly
    7 months
    New bearings and hammer's!
  • Stuart
    Stuart
    7 months
    "I'm sure a lot of us have bought a "good used - whatever it may be -" to find it totally stuffed." - guilty as charged.

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