I am new to the engine modification scene and have a couple of questions. I have a 2006 Electraglide Classic, still an 88 c.i. I had some S&S .509 gear drive cams put in and it runs much better, definitely stronger. I am putting together a 2000 Softail to take the E.G.'s place and I plan to sell the E.G. when the Softail is ready to get on the road. Because of the money I spent on the bike, I am limited in funds this year.

I would like to go with a gear drive cam set up in the Softail because frankly the cam tensioner issue scares the crap out of me. The motor only has 13k miles on it, but you can't be too careful. Over the next winter I plan on going up to at least a 96 c.i. kit, but for this year I will be stuck at 88. If the engine is still an 88 this year would it make sense to get ported heads and if it does, what size cam can I go to with ported heads to get decent country road riding in. Is there any benefit at all in porting the heads if it stays an 88 this year?

The set up I can afford this year including what is on there already is V&H Longshots, Screaming Eagle Intake with K&N filter, cams, an S&S Super E. carb and ported heads. My main concern is not having to do the cams again when I upgrade the displacement to a 96 or 103 next year. I know the cams help a lot from my experience with the Electraglide, but I don't want to install cams two years in a row.

Thanks in advance.

I am decent with a wrench, but the engineering behind it confuses me a little.

 

Just a couple of suggestions for your consideration.

1. If you haven't bought the S&S carb, save the money and modify the CV which is a great carb, easy to tune and you will see marginal increase in performance, if any at all, from the S&S carb on tha 88" motor.
2. Agree completely on chain tensioner upgrade whether gear drive or upgrade to one of the SE billet cam plate/hyd tensiner/ roller chain kits; may save you $100+ over gears; your call. Your crank runout should be less than .003" in order to run gear drives and, being an early model that shouldn't be an issue but best to check.
3. Early heads/valve springs limit maximum lift to .510" so you are limited to cams that do not exceed that lift unless you have headwork done and springs replaced. IMHO, that would be the only way you could run the same cam set in both 88" and 96" configurations and cam selection will be critical. However, JMHO, you should plan on different cam sets for each configuration. Since funds are limited, I would suggest cleaning up the heads, have a good SERDI multi angle valve job done, guide seals replaced and run the 509s just as you did in the '06 FLHT. Just plan on full porting, more compression and bigger cams when you increse displacement to 96".
4. You can go to 96" from 88" but unless you plan on pulling the lower unit and case boring for larger cylinders and/or a stroker crank, you cannot go from 88" to 103".

 

Thank you, the advice is very helpful. Hopefully once the gear drive is established it will be less money to swap them out down the road, or else I might go with the '07 upgrade.

 

Not trying to steer you away from gear drive cams; they are the final solution to chain tensioner issues; albeit a bit more costly and labor intensive. I run gears on one bike and the SE billet plate upgrade to the '07 setup in another; happy with both.

 

I would think about a 98" kit,mild headwork set @# 10.0-1 with 1.900/1.615 valves & .570 S&S cams (I personally would go with the gear drive over the hyd. up grade)this will yield 100+/110+ easy,if your looking for a bit more, 10.5-1 & 585 cams,110/115

 

Thanks all for your advice. I think for now, I will settle for some gear drive .509 cams, a Dynatek ignition module, and a modification on my CV carb. That should get me through to next year.

 

Many options when your ready to pull the trigger.
Scott

 

Not to beat a dead horse here, but what is a good size cam if I stick with the 88 c.i. set up and try to get the most out of some quick back roads four lane highway action, and still be able to keep those cams when I upgrade up to 96 c.i.? I know it's hard to get the best of both worlds with compromise but will anything work?

 

Look into the andrews 26 gear drive the 26 offers some great Street low end grunt... And 95 inch kits are cheap on eBay

 

I like Kirby's package; 98" etc. However, if you are looking for a bolt in cam that would work in an 88" and 96" configuration; the 48 comes closer than to that fit than the 26. JMHO.