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Now that my Web site's pretty much finished, some of my friends (who
started out as customers) are writing in with pictures and testimonials.
If you're a customer of mine and would like your machine featured
here, give me a call @ 805-481-6300 and
send a pic in JPEG or GIF format. Or if it's easier, just mail
me a photo and a note at the address at the bottom of this page.. |
From Dennis Morelli:
In December 2007 I brought my bike all the way down to the FLO Headworks facility in Oceano CA to get their "Trick Stuff" done to my 2005 Twin Cam FLTRI. Their team took just a few days to accomplish the mission.
Heads CNC with Tooled Finish Intake Ports and Dual Plugs
95" Bore Kit with JE Pistons 9.5 compression
FLOMASTER Cam Kit #525
Cycle Shack True Dual Exhaust System
Power Commander Tuning Module
FLO Dyno Tuned Mapped
After 5,000 miles it still runs STRONG. Now in December 2010 after 3 years I just wanted to say how pleased I am with the work you did on my '05 Road Glide a couple years ago now. If you remember, I took the bike without having the second coil installed because you could not get the wiring info in the time that I was at your facility, so you sent it to me later. Well, the time passed and I got on to other things and didn't get around to installing the second coil until this last summer as I was going to Sturgis and wanted it in there for the trip.
On previous trips I had checked my mileage as I usually do just for the hell of it and generally got about 47 mpg (Imperial). On my first day heading to Sturgis with pretty much all mountain riding, when I filled up at the end of the day, 53mpg. I couldn't believe it. So, of course, on the rest of the trip I had to check it to see if it just a fluke. The worst mileage I got to and from Sturgis traveling an average of 65-75 mph, was 52 mpg. Not bad I must say. And did I mention, the bike runs great and has great power. Hills are no longer an issue and it's fun to ride. Thanks Perry, if I'm in your area I'll be sure to stop in and say HI.
Regards,
Dennis Morelli
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From Jim Scott:
Holy Shit! That pretty much sums it up. When I made the choice to let
Perry work his magic on my heads, and use his cam. I had done a lot of
research as to what to do. I talked to many and got so mixed up on what
to do. Then I ran across Perry's site, so I called. He was not too busy
to answer a lot of questions. Then I listened and liked what I heard.
I have a 2001 fuel injected Road King with a Power Commander that John
"The Dyno Guy" mapped. It has a little over 12,000 miles now," HARD
MILES!" I'm on my third rear tire. Its fun hitting 2nd when turning and
then 3rd leaves a nice “S”, almost like a dirt bike in the sand. .my
motto is "ride it like you stole it." And let me tell you,I thought the
wheelie at 70 mph was b/s! But there no bull shit here! Just bad-ass
torque all under 6,000 rpms. My heavy Road King will pull the wheel 2"
off the ground in third.
In Sturgis on the way back from Devils Tower we had to refuel. The only
gas was 10% ethanol. Not one ping in 100 degree heat. Now the Road King
with another kit overheated and has on other occasions too. Never have I
heard a ping.
All I can say is buy the kit. Your bike will last. Perry's customer
service after the sale is great and that is VERY important.
Sincerely,
Jim "Scotty Rocket" Scott
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From Dan Marotta:
Perry was friendly, knowledgeable, helpful, and easy to reach whenever I called with a question. I found the machine work to be excellent and the installation and breakin instructions to be easier to follow than the service manual.
The only hitch was with the extra spacer provided with the cam set. When I installed it I found the cam gears were significantly out of alignment so I left the spacer out and the gears lined up perfectly. The next time I called Perry to report that the bike was up and running well, he mentioned that some users did not need the spacer. That should be mentioned in the instruction sheets.
The kit I bought was complete down to a tube of anti-sieze thread lubricant. All gaskets and o-rings were provided as was a set of Jim’s cam change tools which where loaned to me with a deposit which was refunded.
I opted for the dual plugged heads and wire harness and the tooled finish on the intake ports. The clearances on all parts were great and I did not need to make any adjustments, i.e., piston ring gap setting.
Having just completed my 1,000 mile break-in, I opened the throttle for the first time. The results were startling! This ain’t your Daddy’s Harley! It’ll be another 1,000 miles before I see a dyno tuner for final tweaking and that’ll probably happen in the next month or so.
I can’t give any horsepower or torque numbers since I haven’t been to the dyno shop, but I can say that I’m very satisfied with the results.
Dan
November 9, 2018 UPDATE from Dan Marotta:
Hi Perry, I was just reviewing your site, saw my picture and comments from 2004 or 2005, and decided to tell you a bit more about my bike and experience. My 2004 Wide Glide now has about 135,000 miles on the clock and has not been opened up in the past 110,000 miles since building with your heads and cams other than to replace the cam bearings and cam chain tensioners. After installing your heads, pistons, and 525 cams and tuning my EFI bike, I noted a very good improvement in drivability and mileage. At 75 mph on the Interstate, I routinely see mileage in the upper 40s to about 50 mph. Riding the back roads at 55-65 mph, I see mileage in the mid-50s and once, riding through Yellowstone National Park, where the traffic is heavy and the speed limit is 45 mph, I was surprised to see that my mileage for that leg of the trip was 62 miles per gallon!
Best,
Dan
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From Craig Spalding, Chandler, AZ:
27-Dec-2004
In the fall of 2002 I had the opportunity purchase a motorcycle that had a lot of meaning to me. This bike is a 1949 Harley-Davidson FL (Panhead) that had been chopped and customized by a friend of mine in 1971-72. In 1977 I was 15 years old working for my friend. He would ride this chopper to work and it was my first exposure to street motorcycles. The style of this bike forever influenced my view of motorcycles. When I had the opportunity to purchase this bike I couldn’t pass it up. The bike had not been started or ridden since 1983. It had been stored in a dry storage room off my friend’s garage for 20 years. I knew the bike would require a complete rebuild to bring it up to riding standards.
After getting the bike home I began the time consuming process disassembling the entire bike. Each piece was removed, cleaned, and it’s condition was evaluated. I knew that this motor had never been run on unleaded gas and would need an unleaded conversion. Using the internet, I did a lot of research. I found the FLO Headworks web site and was impressed with the amount of technical data available. I requested more information and received a catalog with a complete price list of the services offered by FLO. Additionally there were numerous technical articles that were very informative. This convinced me to give Perry Kime, owner of FLO, a call to discuss my needs. During this first phone call I became sure that Perry was the right person to trust with the conversion of my heads for use with unleaded gas. I boxed up the heads and shipped them to Perry within the week. As I got farther into the bottom end of the motor I realized that I did not have the special knowledge needed to build this motor properly. Again I talked to Perry. We discussed the my expectations for performance and reliability. After some thought, I crated up the remainder of the motor and shipped it to FLO. Throughout the entire rebuild process Perry and I talked regularly via phone and email. Perry did a great job of keeping me informed. FLO performed the following services during the motor rebuild:
1949
Panhead
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Engine
by Perry Kime FLO Headworks
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Top
Oiler System by FLO Headworks
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Headwork & Dual
Plugging by FLO Headworks
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Keihin
Carburetor Blueprinting by FLO Headworks
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Hydraulic
Lifter Kit by FLO Headworks
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Displacement
74 CI.
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Spin
Balance by Hein Werner
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Pistons
by Wiseco
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Cam
Design by Harvey Crane
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Ignition
System by Power Arc
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Oil
Pump by S&S
When I first received the motor back from Perry I couldn’t have been happier. It hadn’t looked this good since it first rolled off the Harley-Davidson assembly line in 1949. Perry had used top quality parts and fasteners everywhere and it showed. I got the motor back in December 2003. It took me until May 2004 to complete the assembly of the bike. After adjusting the saturation pin placement on the electronic ignition the motor started on the second or third kick! When Perry and I first talked about my expectations, I stressed reliability and easy starting. Perry and FLO Headworks hit the mark. Since completing the bike I have ridden it about 4000 miles in temperatures ranging from 27F to 115F. This is my everyday rider now (I haven’t owned a car in years). No matter what this bike starts easy (rarely requires more then one or two kicks). The bike has only left me on the side of the road once and that was due to a broken clutch cable. The motor has been very reliable. I couldn’t be happier with my choice to have FLO Headworks and Perry handle this crucial piece of my chopper rebuild.
Thanks Perry, for all your hard work and for delivering a motor that met/exceeded all my expectations.
Craig Spalding
Chandler, Arizona


Oiler Kit Install,
S&S Panhead

P/A Ignition
Install Panhead


- Craig Spalding,
Chandler Arizona
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From Joey Jackson, Buell Cyclone owner:
I purchased
my Buell Cyclone new in 2000 and never intended for it to remain
stock. As a long time hot-rodder and former performance specialty
shop owner, nothing stays as delivered from the factory.
Although I have many years of head porting and flow bench experience,
I'd never touched an XL engine, much less, a Buell Thunderstorm cylinder
head. I knew to get the most out of my bike the combination had
to be right so I needed an expert's help.
After calling all over the country and speaking to many "experts" in
the field of V-Twin performance, I was still not satisfied with what
I was hearing. I felt like a lot of smoke was blown up my ass along
the way.
When I came across the "FLO
Headworks" website I decided to call. After my initial discussion with
Perry, I had a better idea of what it take to get the performance I
wanted, 100+ RWHP. I felt like Perry was well versed and truly an
expert in the field of V-Twin performance. We talked many more time
before I was ready to send my parts to him. We discussed head porting,
valve size, "tooled" finish, valve springs, dual plugs, cam specs,
blueprinting the factory carb, ignition systems and more. A big plus
for me was the numbers. Performance is a game of numbers and for any
combination to work well, the numbers have to match and Perry definitely
has that figured out.
I finally sent my heads and carburetor out
for the work. The Flo Headworks mods included larger valves, fully
ported heads with tooled finish, dual plug conversion, installation
of FLO's spring and retainer kit at final assembly and blueprinting the
factory carb. Also, at Perry's recommendation, I selected a cam set and
purchased a "PowerArc" ignition system to light it off.
My first ride after putting the Buell back
together was surprising. It was more than I expected. With a little
bit of "tweaking" the performance became smooth from idle to wide open
throttle. The fact that the rear tire, then nearly new, was turned to
powder in less than a thousand miles speaks for itself.
Finally, the Dyno, the test to see if the
goal is achieved. First, let me say "Thanks Perry", your advice was
right on. The session proved that you don't need high compression, mega
carb and super long cams to make plenty of power.

The dyno session was performed at a local
HD dealer and the operator told me "straight-up" you'll never see 100 HP
because your motor is too close to stock. I said "we'll see, the numbers
work." The third pull, when everything was warm, yielded just over 101 RWHP
at 6200 RPM -- the factory-recommended redline. On the street this engine
pulls strong up to 7800 RPM and I can only imagine what the HP numbers are
up there!
-
Joey Jackson, Orlando, Florida
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From Jeff
VanHall, XLH
Sportster owner:
I
would like to thank Perry Kime for the outstanding job he has done
on
rebuilding my 84 XLH Sportster.
I
began the process in the fall of 2002 when I shipped him the heads
and cylinders. Horsepower was at the top of my list of expectations
which Perry accomplished by porting the heads, adding dual plugs
and coils, a power arc ignition, and Wiseco pistons with machined
domes. After receiving the parts back, I was so impressed with
the workmanship I shipped the engine block for overhaul.
Even
though the lower end was a running basket case, Perry replaced
the transmission, added Andrews cams with Jims tappets and transformed
my tired 48,000 mile motor into a better than new iron head. All
my horsepower expectations were realized while contained in a smooth
running package.
All
through the process Perry was accessible by phone and email. Even
after the motor was complete, he was available during the tuning
process.
It
is now a year later and with 3000 miles on the rebuild, I am very
happy with the performance Perry has added to my bike and recommend
him highly for any rebuild or performance enhancing applications.
-
Jeff VanHall, West Melbourne, Florida
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From Jeff
Koopman, Knucklehead owner:
1947 Knucklehead
-
Engine by Perry
Kime FLO Headworks
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Super Port
Flow Dual Plugged Heads by FLO Headworks
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Displacement 80
CI.
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Spin Balance by
Hein Werner
-
Stroker Kit & Oil
Pump by S&S
-
Cam by John Andrews
-
Ignition System
by Power Arc
-
Carburetor by
SU
-
Chopper Guys Frame

- Jeff Koopman,
Philadelphia, PA
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From Kevin Harding, owner, '57 Panhead Chopper:

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From Rowdy Berry, Washington:
I had my Harley's
heads built by Perry Kime of FLO Headworks in California.
Perry is an excellent machinist who was trained by none other
than Harvey Crane of Crane Cams. At one point Perry was responsible
for building all of the heads in the racing circuit that
Crane Cams sponsored. Perry went on to specialize on his
own building of performance Harley heads, and went on to
build the heads for the World Landspeed Record Panhead Harley.
Perry makes
his own valves, ports, polishes, and is one of the best if
not THE best in the business for H-D performance headwork.
Below are before-and-after
photos of the heads Perry rebuilt for me. They have been
dual plugged, reseated for today's unleaded gas, larger exhaust
valves, high-lift springs for the high lift cams I'll use,
and Flow-Benched for maximum fuel and air flow/efficiency.
Perry has done everything that
is being done to the top dragbikes out there. Should be good
enough for the street too, huh? Ha! Ha!
- Rowdy
Berry, Washington
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From Kevin Harding, owner, '49 Panhead:
After
talking with Perry on the phone, I decided to go without
his advice of No Lead Conversion, Super Port Flow, Dual Plugs,
3 Bolt Flanges, and Top End Oiler Kit. I did retain my magneto
against his advice, it may not run as well as electronic
ignition but it sure looks cool and keeps the bike clean.
I also shipped him the cam cover to repair some cracks around
the screw holes I discovered when pulling the camshaft to
determine if it needed to be changed.
After
I found the S&S 88" stroker kit only gave "fair" engine life, Perry
decked the pistons to decrease compression slightly and make
starting easier and improve performance with the existing
cam. Perry also discovered cracks in both heads and that
the intake flange on the front '48 head was only epoxied
in place.
I
received the parts back a few weeks later and was very impressed
with the quality of work and quick turnaround. Everything
bolted up without issue and there was an immediate change
in the nature of the bike. It's easy to start, has tons of
power, and never seems to foul plugs or flood when starting — a
major issue on a kickstart sled. My "project" bike is still
painted with rattle-cans, as I hate to take it apart for
final paint when it's running so well. I've recommended a
number of friends give him a call, and will be shipping the
heads for my wife's '83 Ironhead project out west soon.
Kevin
Harding , Plantation,
FL
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Kevin
with Peter Fonda |
Panhead
after FLO headworking |
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Panhead
during restoration |
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From Kevin Alsop, custom builder:
I first heard about Perry in May
of '98 from a local doctor named Dennis
Carden. Dr. Carden was a customer of mine in Big Bear City.
We sent his
Evolution heads to FLO Headworks for the Super Port Flow. Two
weeks later,
they came back lookin' good so I called to get more info. Perry
tells me
about all the dyno testing and exactly what the most compatible
combination
of pistons, cams, intake, exhaust and ignition systems were.
I ran this
infomation by a few of the most notable engine builders around
the country
and found out that Perry is right on the money.
Since that time, I have send many sets of Harley heads to to
FLO for a wide
range of repairs and always received the quickest and most
professional
quality workmanship.
In the winter of 1999/2000 a customer came in with a new Twin
Cam 88. Bob Rowe
turned out to be the owner of a big R&D project that I worked
on with Perry
closely for over six months. The installation of FLO Headworks'
High
Performance Kit made such an incredible increase in horsepower
and torque
that Easyriders Magazine has written a Tech Tip on this modification
for
the world to read.
I am proud to be involved with Perry on this project and feel
confident
that many happy Harley riders will be done up right at my shop.
Kevin Alsop, Owner
Big Bear American Made
101 East Big Bear Boulevard
Big Bear City, CA 92314
(909) 585-7379 |
From
Phil Ross, Owner, SuperMax Products:
Dear Perry:
I wish
to thank you for the very professional work you have performed
on my personal motorcycle, "Mighty Hog".
This was
a throw-together motorcycle that was crafted to test our
final belt drives prior to showing the units to Harley-Davidson.
The old bike is a 94'er that will wow you. The beautiful
head work that you did makes it a real responsive ride.
Thanks
for your excellence.
Super Phil
and Vyvyan |
From
Larry Easley, World Land Speed Record Holder—
In my 40 years of drag racing and land speed record attempts which
include
NHRA records, several track records, and current Southern California
Timing
Asociation/BNI world land speed record holder, we have never
been so
impressed with the quality and power of motors as those from
FLO Headworks.
The Easley/Suit Racing Team has nothing but praise for Perry.

Click the pic for details. |
From Chris Rosenbusch, rider:
I selected FLO Headworks to build my engine after calling shops
all over
California. On the phone Perry Kime was helpful and sounded
interested in
helping me build a hot Sportster. When I brought my motor in
I saw an
organized, professional shop that gave me confidence that my
bike was in
good hands.
FLO’s work lived up to my expectations. They were thorough and
built a
beautiful, clean motor. After reinstalling it and setting the
timing, we
made a minor jet change and the bike ran like a bat out of hell! I’ve
put
over 5,000 trouble free miles on it so far and look forward to
many more.

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From Doug Enos, builder of the famous "Long Hog":

Doug Enos' "Long Hog" was featured
in Hot Bike magazine in 1993. Modifications include Super
Port Flow (porting and polishing the cylinder heads), Dual
Plugging, Three-bolt Exhaust Flange kit, Top End Oiler kit,
High Performance Hydraulic Lifter kit, cam design by Crane,
and much more!
Engine detail, Long Hog.
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From Angelo Piazza, Louisiana:

The heads on my '58 Pan are still
getting the job done for almost 10 years now. Your talent
has added a new dimension to the performance and durability
of my Harley. Keep up the good work!
- Angelo Piazza, president, Louisiana
Motorcycle Rights Association
P.S. — Check out my Web site's
photo gallery for pics of my Pan: www.lmra.net |
From John
Dare, Shovelhead Owner:

Thanks to www.FLOHeadworks.com I finally realized why my heads don't
last long after a normal rebuild. Perry was right on the
money about his No Lead Conversion, Super Port Flow, Dual
Plugs, 3 Bolt Flanges, Top End Oiler Kit, Hydraulic Lifter
Kit and the Power Arc Ignition System.
When I got my Heads and Cylinders back I was very impressed with the
quality of workmanship. The best job I have ever received!
And this is the 3rd time I have had these Heads done.
The first time I went through the gears I couldn't believe how
strong this motor runs. The difference is like night and
day. Perry is very easy to reach on the phone and will
gladly answer all your questions. I had one problem that
Perry fixed the day the parts arrived and he sent them
back out that same day. Quick service and very easy to
deal with.
Sincerely,
John Dare , Selkirk
NY |
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