Well folks here we are. I have a stock 99 Wide Glide that currently has 33,480 miles. I have been reading up on the twin cam chain tensioner issues so I decided to check mine out today. As you can see from the picture there is some wear going on but not as bad as I had expected. I think it will last for the rest of this riding season.


My question is which way should I go? Should I go with the factory hydraulic set up or should I go with gear drive system. My idea is to keep the 88 stock as my normal riding style is 70 MPH tops. We mostly just cruise and enjoy the scenery.


I want to have the best system for longevity. I would like to not worry about this again until we get to 100K miles. I do not want to have to tear into the engine every 5K miles to check things out.


Thanks in advance for all your input.

 

You need to take a look at the rear tensioner also, that wears a lot more than the front one. It's hard to see, you will need a small dentist type mirror.

If you want longevity, I would go with the gear drive type.

 

The standard non hydraulic lasted 15 years. 12 hundred bucks (assuming you don't do it yourself) every 15 years? Why upgrade at all?

 

Good point maybe I'll just change the tensioners and check it again in 15K.

 

Replace them with these:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...oRQmXI-cgoM5fw
And replace the inner cam bearings as well and you'll be good to go another 50,000 miles at least.

 

I replaced my tensioners at 38,000 kilometers and did not replace the inner cam bearings, well at 60,000 kilometers the inner cam bearings blew and took out the rest of the motor, thought it was the tensioners again and it may have been as the tensioners i replaced at 38k were half worn, so i replced it all with the new hyd upgrade kit that includes the billet cam plate and SE oil pump and better inner cam bearings

 

How many miles have they been in your bike?

 

I was going to have my dealer do the Screaming Eagle Cam Tensioner upgrade this winter. I developed a base gasket leak about a month ago, so that made it easier. The base gasket repair is cheaper, and I can use solid pushrods, by having both done at the same time.
I have 30k on my 2003 FLHTCUI.

 

I have nothing to contribute other than your Wide Glide is awesome! I have a 2002 that just turned 20k so I'll be paying attention here. Good to see another guy with one of these older bikes planning for the long haul. I agree with leaving the 88 alone, they move the glide around just fine as they are. Good luck

 

I went with the hydraulic upgrade considering my intended purposes. I suggested those for your intended purposes as I considered them myself and after investigation, found them to be a better product than the HD replacements, but went in a different direction.