01 FXDX, stock 88" with Bassani short upswept RR 2-1, and air cleaner.

Trying to make some power with a budget, don't need anything crazy. Would like power all around but lower RPMs are more important to me (tq over hp)
I think around 2,500rpm-5,500rpm is my sweet spot.

Question is stick with 88" or go 95"?….97"?

Was told to stay 88" and do SE 510g or Andrews 37g, stage 2 headwork, adj pushrods and twin tec ignition. Take the $400 saved on big bore and buy a mikuni carb.

OR 95" with the same cams, head work, push rods, etc, but use the $400 for big bore and use stock carb.

Opinions? Other suggestions?

 

i go the 95 route

 

I am no expert here, but I have an 88 with SE 203 cams and SE pipes and S&S air cleaner, and a mikuni HSR42 and a dynatek ignition, it's not a torque monster , but pulls me and my wife up the hills nicely and the carb is very responsive, no problems staying with the 96 stock, I don't have the cash for the 95 and headwork , but pretty satisfied with what I have now.

 

Smart man. You have the right pipe. The right cam that can really breath through the head is key. You will like the Mikuni too for its snappy throttle response. Displacement only adds to it.

 

The stock carb will support more HP than the average 95" will put out. The cams you mentioned both need way more compression than the stock 88" delivers, unless you want a dog below 3K rpm. No need for adjustable pushrods unless you mill the crap outta the heads or the cams' base circle is different than stock. Even then, you can get non-adjustables in the proper length. Less crap to deal with/go wrong & if the heads are already off, the adjustables' primary advantage is moot.

As an example, I've seen killer numbers in a 98" package, mild heads & Andrews 26 cam. Even seen a 95" with Andrews 21 & worked heads hit just shy of 100/100.

I'd vote to keep the stock carb, bore to 95/97/98, mild headwork & a mild cam.

 

thanks for the info so far everyone, keep it coming - Im listening!

I don't know enough to feel comfortable piecing it together so I have to go off information others tell me, and theres a lot of different opinions!

I think I am leaning towards big bore and stock carb, because it would be easier and quicker down the road if I need a little more power to add a better carb, than to add a big bore.

 

Talk to Scott at Hillside Performance. He did a 98" Big bore kit for me for just under $650.
Stay away from the Andrews 37s unless you're going with a big bore and a bump in compression. I ran them in my stock 88" and liked them, but they were soft on the low end. The 98" made them come alive down at 2000 rpm.

 

Definitely big bore, no question. Plenty of good bolt in cams that won't require adjustable pushrods, can save some money, work and possible failure there. Stay away from gear drives. More hassle than it's worth and you haven't confirmed the crank runout. Even if it is good enough to run gear drives there's no saying it will stay that way. There's just no need for it and I'd never consider it unless the cranks been done. The se hydraulic kit with high volume pump is an awesome kit and value.

 

I don't really know anything about the adjustable pushrods, just what my guy recommended…not worth it? what are the problems?

I would definitely have my crank runout checked, but I've been told from almost everyone gear driven is the way to go. I think I understand what you're saying though, without doing any work there's no way to guarantee it will still be in spec down the line with those cams in…hm…something to think about there.

 

Adjustable pushrods are used when you're drastically changing the required pushrod length by running big cams with a much different base circle, sinking valves in the heads and decking a lot off the heads. For a mild setup with bolt in cams they're just not needed. There's not always problems, just the possibility. It can be a pain adjusting them, they can come loose, they're heavy, they flex. Adj pushrods are the only thing that's left me stranded on my bike. One of the nuts broke and the pushrod loosened up. Later on I figured out the pushrod bent after loosening up. Haven't had a problem since replacing all the nuts with stronger ones, but I wouldn't run them if I didn't have to.

Gear drive may have been the way to go almost 10 years ago when there was no other long term fix to the tensioners. Now the se kit is the way to go imo. It's a great value, easy to work on, bolt together, no set up, no noise, no worry about the crank and the tensioners last a very long time. You just can't beat it on anything other than an all out race bike. I'm using .660" lift cams, making 140hp and turning it 6900rpm on a regular basis with the se chain drive setup, daily ridden. Crank runout can change over time regardless of what's done to the motor or how it's ridden. The gears can break teeth off and you'll have a catastrophic failure. Just like the pushrods, it's not a guarantee this will happen, plenty of people don't have a problem, but plenty of people have.