# Steel Horses/Jeff Williams - people aren't getting what they've paid for



## JPs300 (Mar 23, 2011)

I'm sure some of ya'll have seen my thread on HL. Been a couple weeks now and the only responses I've gotten have been Jeff's friends trying to bash me, and pm's from several others who have had the same kind of issues as I have. - I have yet hear any logical explanation or reason to believe that Ryan is the one lying to me about this. I'm sure AC had reasoning to pulling their dealership from SH as well. 

I will note up front that Jeff no longer works there and has not in several months. He posted in response to my thread on HL, but has yet to explain any of this in the open on there or via PM or calling me(I sent him my #). 



The story - 

My bike was supposed to have been a fresh build from Steel Horses. Ryan dealt with Jeff on the build and has receipts to show what work he paid to have done. It was supposed to have been a SpeedWerx 1040 top end, their stage 3 heads & their cams. This motor has less than 10 hrs on it since coming back from SH. 

I was having some issues w/ the bike, so I started the usually tests. Rear cylinder had 150psi, making around 130 on the first hit, then building to 150 in 3-4 revolutions; the front cylinder only had 35psi of compression and that was after 6-8 revs to build up that much. I pulled the motor down expecting a broken ring or possibly a hurt piston, but instead found several issues; namely most all the parts were far from what they were supposed to be. 

The heads were very mildly ported & were completely worn out. The valves were stock size and had "hour glassed" at the seats(concaved backwards). The seats were just a flat single angle. The front cylinder's intake valves only had two small roughly 1/2" sections on each valve that were actually sealing up to the seats, the rest showed carbon trails where the combustion was blowing past the valves back into the intake. The rear head had the same issues but was not nearly as bad, thus was still sealing up well enough to function, though far from being right. - The port work was at best a "stage 1". The bowls had been ground to smooth the transition to the seats, but the ports themselves had simply been radiused out to the intake/exhaust size and then smoothed w/ a paper roll. 

The front cam has a web grind number of 984, but has a hurt intake lobe. The lobe measures .0250 smaller than the exhaust(considerably more than any normal split, especially when added with the ratio of the rocker arms), and is notable taller on one side than across the rest of the lobe, as well as being severely nicked on the edge following the tall spot. The corresponding rocker arm pad is polished clean, as where the other three still show most of their blackish coating. - The rear cam is a stock cam. No aftermarket grind numbers, and the lobes measure out exactly to OE specs. 


- Instead of posting up the various pics of all this mess, I will simply post the link to the sub-album I made for all this junk. 
http://s455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/JPShawgo/t-cat/issues/ - the tire pics are for the warranty claim on them leaking through the sidewalls. 



Let this be a warning to those thinking of doing business w/ Steel Horses or Jeff Williams. 

- Jp


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## JPs300 (Mar 23, 2011)

It would seem as though Adam Harvey is right about the WCD; makes a night & day difference in the bike. Everyone involved w/ this bike since the build(including papa slap & dstelly) really thought it was making good power, it even managed to pull a tire on my buddy's '10 XMR in the couple sandy trail pulls we did, and obviously it was fairly severely hurt when doing so. Yet, the only real world gains would have been the WCD & no limiters via the race pod & ecu. The 1040 kit obviously would have made some difference, but with much of it bleeding past the heads that was kind of a wash.


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## Polaris425 (Dec 16, 2004)

wow that sucks. So are you trying to get them to make it right? Sorry I dont read on HL obviously...


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## JPs300 (Mar 23, 2011)

I called Speedwerx who said, "any claims would have to come from the builder, but we don't warranty aftermarket performance parts", and then went on to say "good luck, we've heard this story before about Steel Horses". - I then called Ryan to have him call SH, as he was the original customer/buyer. They basically told him, "sorry about your luck". 

Crappy situation to say the least, but the cost of fighting them to make it right is more than it's worth. I ported the heads myself, got new valves/seals & took everything to the machine shop to be properly freshened(valve grind job). - To make a ride this past weekend I polished the cam lobe smooth w/ a flapper wheel on the die-grinder, but will be pulling the front cover back off once I get a stock front cam in hand to make it right. 

It now idles decent w/ both cylinders thumping & I had to throw a bunch more fuel @ it, so I know it's breathing better.


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## Polaris425 (Dec 16, 2004)

Ah. That sucks. So he was screwing people building motors, he's fired, and now there's nothing the company will do about it. I hate hearing stories like this, it seems to be more and more common these days. So many thieves out there. Taking money and not providing the quality product or service that they claim to.


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## JPs300 (Mar 23, 2011)

It doesn't seem like Jeff was doing this w/o the companies' knowledge....how would the mechanic charge the customer for the parts w/o the company knowing; parts that they hadn't ordered in? - It seems to stem from their in-ability to tune the SW cams. Like they started not putting the cams in when they said they were, then maybe decided to find out what else they could get away with? 

IDK the whole story on that or anyone elses' dealings, just know that this motor is far from being what Ryan paid for or even being right for that matter. Several others have reported not getting what they paid for as well, including a guy who didn't even get the BBK he was charged for nor did they split/flush the motor either time they were supposed to.


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## speedman (Nov 3, 2010)

i wanted to do some work to the brute like gear reduction and maybe something to the motor like a little bigger to an 800 or something. but i dont trust to many shops at all. last shop to charge me 800 for new valves and everything never put anything new in it and basically told me too bad cant help you.


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## sloboy (Oct 11, 2010)

been following your thread and I feel your pain cuz. I got a builder that hooked me for 1800 bucks for tranny work on a raptor!! Neva again!! I just do it myself. but in your case you.


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