The Ultimate Upgrade: Turbocharge Your Harley-Davidson
- Motorcycle Gear Reviews
- Apr 9, 2024
- 3 min read
We all want the most performance from our Harley-Davidson Motorcycles. Harley-Davidson breaks performance upgrades down into stages. The degree of upgrades varies from just increasing airflow to increasing displacement and fuel delivery. But, what if that's just not enough for you? If you want the baddest ride out there and want to make sure you leave everyone behind, turbo is the way to go. It is a radical concept and not something you see often, but you can turbo charge your Harley-Davidson.
The Trask Tornado Turbo Performance Kit is a revolutionary upgrade designed to give your Milwaukee 8 as much power as possible. Specifically engineered for Harley Softail and Touring models from 2017 to 2024, this kit promises to transform your ride into a high-performance machine. This kit is not compatible with any twin cooled (water cooled) M8. That means, not Tri Glides, Ultra Limited's, Road Glide Ultras or 24 Street Glide or Road Glide. This setup works with all oil cooled M8 models.
Trask has been building performance parts for Harley-Davidson and Indian motorcycles for about 20 years now. They are known for top quality and race inspired design. They offer everything from air intakes and exhaust to the Turbo Kit we are going to explore in this article.
Turbocharged Powerhouse
The Trask Tornado Turbo Performance Kit is a turbocharger system that is designed for Harley-Davidson motorcycles with a M8 engine. A turbo charger is a forced induction system. It uses the exhaust gasses to spin a turbine and force compressed air back to the intake. This system significantly increases airflow and compression, resulting in a substantial boost in horsepower and torque. The transformation is nothing short of remarkable, and turns your bike into a monster. You can expect a 40% -50% increase in horsepower. If you want to make big horsepower there is no single upgrade you can do that will make as much impact as adding a Turbo.
Custom-Tuned Precision
One of the standout features of the Trask Tornado Turbo Performance Kit is its custom-tuned design. Each kit is meticulously calibrated to suit the specific requirements of Harley Softail and Touring models, ensuring optimal performance. It does require a ThunderMax Tuner, which is the most versatile tuner on the market. The ThunderMax actually replaces the ECM to allow limitless tuning. Trask provides you with the suggested program to run with the tuner when running their Turbo. It makes dialing the bike in a breeze.
Straightforward Installation
Trak has done a great job of providing installation instructions and the necessary components. Make no mistake, this is not a simple job. If you have experience and/or mechanical knowledge, it can be a do it yourself job. If not, seek the help of a professional. For a trained technician, this is estimated to be an 8 to 10 hour job. For an experienced do it yourselfer, it will take a little longer.
Dyno-Tested Performance
Trask leaves nothing to chance when it comes to performance validation. Each Tornado Turbo Performance Kit undergoes rigorous testing on the dyno to ensure that it meets the brand's stringent standards for power, torque, and reliability. The dyno-tested results speak for themselves – riders can expect a noticeable improvement in acceleration, top-end speed, and overall performance.
Trade Offs of Turbocharged Harley-Davidson
As you build a bike, there are always trade offs you have to consider. To build massive power, you need big displacement and to move as much fuel and air through the engine as possible. The more you build your engine, the less reliable it will become. You will have to contend with issues of heat and excessive wear on critical components. A high performance bike with a built engine with a turbo sounds great on face value, but there can be some drawbacks. This probably isn't a bike that you would want to take on a cross country trip and rack up big miles. That's why most people that build high performance Harley-Davidson with a Turbo usually have a second or third bike. If you carry a passenger, they probably won't want to ride very far. The exhaust dumps near the passenger peg. As you can imagine, that is a lot of heat, which will not be very comfortable for a passenger.
If you want to rip around town or the track and be the center of attention, a turbo, will ensure everyone comes up to ask a question. If you have that friend that brags about how fast his old twin cam is with a stage one kit and you want to seriously embarrass him, the Trask Turbo Performance Kit will get the job done. It should also be noted that Trask advises that their kit is for off road use only.
In summary, if you want the best of the best and the biggest beast you can build, Trask Tornado Turbo Performance Kit is the way to go.
