RB Racing Turbos...Big Twins:
Shovels to M8's (Click on Image or Text Below)
M8 Turbos
Twin Cam
Turbos
Evolution Turbos
Shovelhead
Turbos
Milwaukee 8 Touring and Softail
Turbo Kits Done Right
...up to 3 x Your Displacement in
HP* (150 CID = 450HP*)
*With Fuel Pump Mods
Merge Turbo Collector...The Right
Way
If you've done this
hundreds of times it's a road well traveled. If you haven't,
then it's a lot of expensive parts in the trash. Sliding bandsaw
fixtures, high speed sanders and surfacers and a couple of
deburring and checking operations later and you're ready to tig
weld the high velocity merge collector. Each of the tuned
primary tubes enter the slip portions and merge into what will
become a 2" exit.
The exhaust pulses are
individual events and the 2-1 merge provides the strongest
signal to the turbine plus aides in cylinder scavenging to
mitigate egr reversion. Straight out of World Rally Technology
and what we have done on all Harley Turbos since 1980 beginning
with Shovelheads.
Here the merge collector
capped and purged with Argon. No weld burn through on the
inside, just the mitered knife edges. No one ever looks inside,
but we do. Exhaust tuning is terribly important with high output
turbos. These aren't low speed diesel engines. Each pulse is an
independent event but the high velocity merge sends strong
signals back to the exhaust ports and the header length has
enough elasticity (volume) to prevent shocking the turbine wheel
with a coffee can sized sledgehammer pulses from the big bore
cylinders.
Part Number 03-1013: 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. 1" or 1
1/4" bar mounts.
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.
Manual Boost Control (Optional)
Optional Black Knob:
Rider 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 beyond 15 PSI 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.
15 PSI is way, way past 200 HP.
Dual
RSR Air Fuel Ratio Gauge . 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.
Single or Dual RSR Air
Fuel Ratio gauges. Dual if sequential fuel
injection.
Programming the Delphi Controller with 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. Using the Dual Air Fuel Ratio Gauge you can quickly get all transitions and F/R fueling correct...In the Real World.
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. At the Salt
we did one brief test at 19 psi and 350HP (2.5 x CID).
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 held 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 step up was installing more
advanced electronics with FBW and Traction Control and
230-250 mph. We briefly ran the bike up to 345 hp but course
conditions were terrible. The salt is gone.
We left the project,
removing our Pectel Cosworth SQ6M electronics in 2017. No
one wanted to test...just attend.
Mike Geokan's RB Racing Turbocharger used a separate oil system we engineered that has a stainless steel oil tank and an electric feed pump that maintains a constant 25 psi to the Garrett GT35RS ball bearing turbocharger. The engine ran 50 weight PennGrade1 (ne Kendall) "Green Stuff" oil and the turbo runs PennGrade1 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 Turbo. Continued use can cause loss of licenses, premature tire wear, and infuriate your competition. Bonneville Salt Flats...where we prove our products...and have nearly 40 years.
Mike Geokan's Bonneville #226 Harley...Since 1991 RB Racing Turbos
Back around 1985 we met Carl
Pelletier, Mike Geokan, and Bryan Stock at Bonneville and was
asked to Turbo a Harley for them. We blew them off. Around
1991 we agreed to turbo Mike's 104", Carl Pelletier built
motor...if they brought it down to California. They did. We
did.
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.
Bullett
Test Vehicle: Chronolgy
Mike was running 199 mph in
Bonneville Slush with 22 lbs of boost and 275 horsepower way
back in the early 1990's. These days Mike's attention is
devoted to his 139" RB Racing ORCA powered Bullett. He
can't ride it due to health issues. His friend of 50
years Bryan Stock has taken over the riding chores after we
rode it 4 times, two illegal and two down the short course
to the 3 mile marker.
In 2017 we bid farewell to the
Bullett Project. Mike was finally well enough to go to
the Salt and opened 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 and the Bullett 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...saying
he does not want to learn anything new post Panhead
technology.
Mike Geokan's world record
holding RB Racing Turbocharged Harley Davidson is
featured in an old video.
It still runs with our 4 injector
RSR EFI 32 years later...and Mike has no idea what the
programming is.
Turbos are 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
drivability. 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.
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 in the links at the top of the page to see how far we have come in 44+ years.
7 Second Old Pro Gas Design...Way More than Two Decades Ago
This Pro
Gas 500+Hp system was custom built for a Pro Gas race
application and involved 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 donated 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 won the Pro Gas Championship.
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 - and later) 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 built 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. Click on the below
pictures for more details on these parts and people.
We've been at this for awhile from our early 80's 150hp Shovelheads up through our 360 hp TC and EVO 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 to hold a national drag racing championship 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.
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 systems. Pro Gas Champion.
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 40
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.
Take a
203 mph pass on the Bullett.
Bonneville
200 MPH Record Pass
... 139" 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 M8 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.