I did a search, but can't seem to find exactly what I'm looking for. I am starting the planning stages and saving for a winter time cam mod to my 13 SB with the 103. When i first started this process i had absolutely no plans for changing cams or anything...strictly stage 1 and tuner. well go figure, the more i hang around here, the more **** i want to do to my ride! lol. anyway, i watched some you tube videos of a cam change, and not only does it look straightforward and pretty easy, it looks like it would be a really fun project. hell, lets be honest...i would LOVE the extra torque down low too! so i have read a bit and i'm liking the sound of the woods tw-222, which i'm guessing is a straight bolt in cam with the only other thing being replaced would be the bearings. the tw-555 could be an option as well, but i'm thinking because i have an extremely light bike to begin with that the 222 would be a great choice. anyway, the more i read, i start hearing about some kits that replace the chains with a gear drive system, and many say it's better than the chain drive. ok, so that peaks my interest too because i'm the type that if i can change something with the best the first time, then i will spend a few extra dollars(within reason). the one thing i keep reading about the gear drive is having to weld the drive shaft or something in order to use them. this is where my knowledge and skill set ends, and like i said i really want to do this project myself if anything for the understanding of what's inside my bike and how it works. so at the end of the day, my question is would the tw-222 be the best option here, or is switching to gear drives an easier project than i'm making it out to be? as far as riding style, i'm usually in the 2-4000 range cruising around, but like most i love ripping the throttle every once in a while to get the adrenaline going.

thanks for replies in advance!

 

With gear driven cams the run out has to be tight or you can get some unwanted noise.
The new type of can tensioners you may not get the extra safety you are thinking you might get with the gear cams.
The new style does not wear out as fast and is much more reliable.

 

Gear drive every time, some will gibber on about crank runout making the job impossible without having the crank rebuilt but all you do is check the gear lash carefully and make sure the tight spot isn't too tight. You may get a bit extra noise in the valve train but its just reminding you that you don't need to worry about the tensioner pads....ever!

 

Honestly the new tensioner pads are not much of a worry. I choose to update my old style tensioners when on my build. But with a low milage 2013 its not worth the extra $400 plus for the kit. Spend that 400 on other stuff like a good pipe or air cleaner Andrea a tune. The consensus from my research was unless you are going to balance, true, and weld your crank dont go gears. But like spanners said you'll hear either way from many different people.

 

I'd say go with the 555 over 222, the 222 is better suited for heavier touring bikes that need that low end tourqe. Street bobs are light enough to get away with a cam that moves the power to the right a bit to get the best of both worlds. As far as gear drive I'd save the money and put it towards head work instead, that'll really wake the bike up.

 

ok, so i'm pretty mechanical as far as tearing something apart to see how it works, then getting it all back together, or seeing something done and being able to do it myself....but unfortunately i don't have all the terminology figured out. when you refer to crank runout what exactly is it referring to? also, when you refer to checking the gear lash making sure the tight spot isn't too tight...is that just meaning check the tension of the gears where they mesh together making sure that it isn't too tight a fit resulting in drag or friction?

pardon my ignorance...just trying to learn a little something here.

also, all the above being said, would i notice a huge difference in performance by going with a particular s&s gear drive kit vs just bolting in some TW222's?

 

ok, thanks for that advice. i was thinking that the 555 would be a lower torque cam than the 222...which would be more for the baggers. i'm glad you mentioned that. and saving money for the heads doesn't sound like a bad idea either. is that a pretty straighforward install like cams, or is it more involved requiring specialty equipment?

 

Heads are pretty straight forward to take off and put back on, biggest pain for me is getting the throttle body off/on and that's not all that hard just bad angles and confined space for tools. If you are doing a cam swap at the same time it really doesn't take much extra time. Since you are already looking at the woods cams go ahead and call Fuelmoto they will really take the time to go over everything like riding style, cam grinds, expectations and anything else you can think of. I just did this whole process including a 107 top end and it is also pretty self explanatory.

 

yeah, the main reason i was looking at the woods cams is because i figured to buy it from FM. i got my micro tuner from them, and at the time when they asked if i planned to do some cams or other upgrades, i said no...so they recommended the micro which i have been extremely happy with. the idea of being able to pick the staff's brain or call for help with anything is a very big plus when it comes to deciding where to purchase. man, something tells me that this winter i am going to be spending a LOT of money! haha. i hate this "hobby", but love the hell out of it.

 

Crank runout is how much the end of the crankshaft wobbles in the place where the cam gear is.

Lash is how many thou the gear on the cam can rock back and forth when meshed, S&S specifiy between 0.50 thou and 3 thou.

Because some cranks can have 3thou or more in runout there are peope who say you have to re-true the crank to less than 3 thou to make it safe to use but it honestly is a bit simpler than that.

Also, I wouldn't go welding an H-D crank up, its overkill by a huge margin and you may have to take it apart again one day....we used to weld up Kawasaki Z1000 cranks when fitting a turbo so that's a clue to the overkill.

Excess runout, if the tight point of the lash is within tolerance isn't that big a deal, you may get some cam gear noise and it may be a mission to get the correct sized gearwheel but I have fitted them to bikes and they are still running just fine.

The USA is obsessed with data, which is all very well but sometimes, what looks unworkable in theory is actually just fine in real life....which is why you take your bike to a mechanic and not an engineer....true, an engineer will do an epic job but it will cost you your life savings and it may be a long while before you get your motor back