Ok, it's winter up in Northern Alberta and I'm gonna tear down my stock 88" 02 carbed dyna lowrider to do the cam chain tensioners. I'm going the screaming eagle hydraulic setup for that.
Obviously I'm throwing in new cams and thinking about doing a bolt in cam with a 95" bore and some higher compression pistons. I have maybe 2k canadian I can spend on this upgrade so I have to pick wisely my upgrades.

I was thinking of leaving the heads stock because getting work done to them will add another 500$ easy to my cost. Pistons are 500$, the bore job will be 500 to 95", cams another $500, then something like 700 for the hydraulic cam tensioner setup.

I was thinking bumping the compression to 9.5 or 10 to 1 via pistons without head work, leaving the heads totally stock, running 95". And using something like an Andrews 26 cam that would still give me good performance if I decide to do head work next winter.

How does this sound?

 

Prices look a bit high to me; maybe Canadian $$? A bore/hone job in the lower 48 will run about $120-$150 depending on the shop. The SE hydraulic tensioner setup is about $450 from an online discount dealer. A set of roller chain cams runs about $250. I know HD discount dealers won't sell/ship internationally but maybe you have a buddy that can buy down here and ship up to you?? I did the same for a guy up your way several years back.

You can save some $$ by passing on the SE hydraulic setup and replacing the tensioners with a set of CYCO shoes, replacing the inner and outer cam bearings and installing the Baisley pressure relief spring. The early OEM cam plate is actually a good piece of hardware and more than adequate for a 95"/98" build. Better places to spend the money

The '02 heads will accommodate cam lift of .525" lift. The Andrews 26 is a good cam but might want to look at the S&S 509 as well.

Your heads should be at least disassembled, chamber volume measured for future reference, good multi angle valve job and new guide seals.

 

prices look VERY high

 

the prices up here are very high. Plus the canadian dollar is worth like .75 US.. If I was to ship out work to the US after exchange and shipping it would cost the same. I want to do this right and only one time as far as the cam chain tensioners that's why I was thinking of going to the upgraded se setup.

 

I was suggesting the CYCO tensioner shoe replacement and retaining the OEM cam plate to save money. It will work just fine with your plan and save you some $$. Not sure I agree that shipping a set of cylinders to the lower 48, letting that shop do the machine work, but the pistons and cams and ship back to you would cost the same as doing all the work and buying all the parts in Canada. There is a builder in the Seattle area that would do the work, buy the parts and the shipping cost from the northwest just can't be that much. Kirby was right; the prices are very high; I just didn't want to make you feel to bad........... I think you should take a harder look at another way to "skin the cat"......

 

Thanks for the concern! If I went to the cyco tensioners I'd still have to swap the tensioners out after a couple of years wouldn't I? That's why I was planning on going gear drive first but saw the cost on that and settled on the SE hydraulic setup because I'd read people get 50000 km + with that setup. Plus if I was doing the cams I'd want to change the cam bearings out at the same time, I'm pretty sure the SE cam plate comes with bearings?

I plan on doing all the mechanical work the only thing I can't do is bore and hone my own jugs/do the head work. I was more concerned about bumping up the compression to 9.5 or 10:1 and my cam choice, if that would run well with a stock carb and heads. I have a bassani road rage 2:1 and a K&N filter inside the stock football air box that I've cut out the backplate so it flows well.

 

The CYCO shoes have been around for several years now and no reports of early failure. Any tensioner shoe is a wear item and therefore subject to checking from time to time. IMHO, you won't have to check the CYCO shoes any more often than you would the SE hydro shoes. The SE billet plate for the hybrid kit which is the one I assume you are considering does have bearings but remember that while the inner shoe is hydraulic, the OEM link chain must still be run on the inner sprockets to run OEM cams. The only way to have a roller chain inside and out is to do the complete upgrade to the '07 up cam plate, OEM or SE billet with all the ancillary parts, i.e., chains, tensioners, spacers, etc. The later OEM cam plate does not have bearings or bushings; the cams run in the parent material of the cam plate. The SE billet plate (requires) conversion cams) does not have bearings either but the cams run in bronze bushings.

You would be fine with the CYCY setup and save some $$ better spent on something else, like head work. JMHO......

 

if I was to go the cyco shoes route and use my stock cam plate, I'd just need to order cam bearings separately then? Then I'm guessing the baisley pressure relief spring is just a stronger spring that allows for higher oil pressure. This sounds quite a bit cheaper. How many years of riding would a guy get before having to do the tensioners again, how many miles or KM on average to people get with the cyco shoes do you know? Thanks for all the fast info!!

Then if I got the valve springs done I could obviously go for a higher lift cam etc. I've heard overcamming is worse than undercamming though. I'm trying to make a reliable build that doesn't cost a ton that I can run my stock carb with so I should probably stay mild on the cams anyway I'm thinking...higher lift/duration would mean I'd have to flow more and go to a mikuni or something..

I might get the heads done if I can save $ on the tensioners/cams, I just really want to get it right the first time

 

I would guess that checking tensioners first at 10K after the build and based on how they look, maybe every 25K thereafter. The TC88 heads are a bottleneck and if you can work a "street" port into the budget the benefit would be measurable. I don't know anyone that has had to replace them. There are porters in the lower 48 that offer street port or Stage I porting for about $500. If you cannot work porting into the budget, changing springs for a higher lift cam doesn't make much sense as the heads don't flow well enough to take full advantage of the higher lift. So, if sticking with cams in the .500"-.525" lift, cams like the S&S 509 or Red Shift (Zippers) 524 are the best bet; early intake close for more corrected compression.

Your CV carb is more than adequate for this build plan, no need for a Mikuni; just rejet the CV and it will support the build. The Baisley spring, the LMR-002 is a stronger spring and will boost low rpm oil pressure; has no effect on oil pressure at cruise but a cheap ($12) and good addition to the OEM cam plate.

 

So I'll look into getting the jugs bored out, street port on the heads, jet the carb, 10:1 compression and a cam that isn't too nuts in there along with the oil pump spring and the cyco tensioners. How much lift can the stock pushrods handle DJL? If I can save 200$ on adjustable push rods I will.