Fullauto Technologies heads

Mark said:

I read the thread, but thanks for your post swoosh, it was very informative. :roll:

I was interested in which (or what combination) was the determining factor in the pricing.

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Actually, the determining factor in the pricing is what it cost Ken to design and produce them. He for sure isn't getting rich selling them. Last I heard he still hadn't amortized his design costs. It's pretty clearly another labor of love exercise. If I needed another race head (which I don't) and could afford it (which I probably could, eventually), I'd buy one in a flash and send it to Jim Comstock for the radical racer treatment. It's without a doubt the best Commando head you can currently buy. For a street bike, I'd probably hunt up a decent 750 head and convert it to 850 pattern, clean up the ports, do a nice valve job, and call it a day. Like we (old farts) used to say, different strokes for different folks.

Ken

Hi Guys,
Thought I'd put my .02c worth in. When I began this little enterprise about four years ago I thought I'd take about three years to get my money back. Dream on. I'm about to have my fourth batch made, The first batch was 50. The second 25 and the third 25. I have about 8 750 heads left and the next batch will be thirty 850 heads. I hope to see them in late April. I have orders for three already. I should have enough money to begin the design and manufacture of my tooling for the aluminium barrels by mid year. I don't make a living from the heads as I have a real job selling guns. I manage a small gun shop here in Perth.

The barrels will be really something. I hope to be able to offer a long lasting piston/ring combination with much tighter tolerances than we now run. If Harley can do it, so can we. Don't hold your breath though. As money becomes available it will go into the project. 850s at first then 750s later.

As Matt said, I've locked in the price for the moment but I'll quote you something from Harrops (the manufacturers)

"We regret due to the complexity of the casting we our forced to pass on the price increase above due to cost validation established through previous production runs. This increase has only been partially offset by process efficiency gains."

I think the difficulty is in the CNC machining process as it takes a lot of time to machine the heads. So, the price will be the same for this batch but all bets are off in the future.

Oh, by the way Ken, given a bit of notice we can supply 750 heads with 850 bolt patterns as we have a bit of leeway in the process and I also have access to a fully machined head with ultra small ports for the adventurous among you to do with as you will. Jim already has one to play with but I don't think he has much time to play at the moment.

Glad I've lived long enough to these new age parts being created and sold. Has a 4 valve design disturbed your rest yet? Would it even be worth while? Interesting to know there's is still a private gun market in Australia to keep you afloat.

I still am gonna get one. I just gotta do it before the cost of one matches the cost of a rolling Commando on eBay.

I mean't no disrespect to Fullauto and totally get the cost of producing one of these absolutely beautiful heads.
I swear, when I do finally get one I will probably have it sitting on my desk on it's own pedestal so I can stare and fondle it.
I guess it's time to put in my order.

Guido said:

I swear, when I do finally get one I will probably have it sitting on my desk on it's own pedestal so I can stare and fondle it.

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When mine arrived i sat it up on a cloth on the work bench and a mate and i sat and had a beer admiring it.

How much are they? Just curious. Thanks.

I got one from the last run. It was a six month wait but i am glad i waited, they are a thing of beauty. Thanks Ken and Matt.

DogT said:

I'm just glad that these guys are making these heads.. No bike can compare to the 15 to 70 mph torque that comes from a Norton. At least from what I've experienced. I'm not talking about the ring dingers.

Thanks guys.

Dave
69S

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try an XR 750, just say'in..no disrespect.

I think the Fullauto head and the TT gearboxes both give the same impression at first thought.

But then you look at the product, imagine the work involved, the size of the market, work through the cash flow and you begin to wonder how they can be made for that price.

I dont think either of these guys will retire as millionaires as a result of their work and I thank them both very much for their efforts.

I own a TT box, I dont own a Full Auto head yet. But I will.

John

Reading thru this thread, someone asked what that cost of a new Vincent head is by way of comparison. They are just under $2,000 ea, but of course you need two, so 4 grand per motor. To better compare to the Fullauto head, look at high performance Vincent heads and big bore setups by Terry Prince, who was until recently, the only source for those. He no longer makes them, so the stock heads are all that is available. His last batch of top end kits cost $8,000 for a pair, pistons and barrels included. Most of the cost is in the heads. Terry never got rich off them, but made enough to keep his experimental race bike going and make the annual trip to Bonneville.
And all of that Bonneville info went straight into the design of the next batch of top ends.

Glen

Just an update. The new batch of heads will be shipping to me in the next couple of weeks. Jim and Matt have suggested a minor improvement which has been incorporated in the design. The valve guide ID will be .002" smaller. This means that it will clean up better.

Hobot, I guess that the demand for four valve heads will be about the same as in the 70's. None.