New to harley..returning rider. Scott and djl was wondering why you all discuss twin cam and not earlier evo engine mods? Parts not available? Inferior design? Asking cause I am shopping for a used Harley and looking for guidance. As for twin cam have seen comments recommending 2002 and comments recommending 2007 or later due to cam tensioner upgrade. Don't know which way to go. Twin cam or evo and availability of parts?

 

In Houston TX by the way.

 

Actually, do 2009 or up. Best frame, best EFI. for a FLH, touring bike. Softies and Dynas are the same in this regards, except for the frames. Softails have basic same frame from EVO days.

You do NOT want an EVO EFI bike, nor do you want a pre 2002 EFI on the TCs. MUST buy a carb bike in those years as the EFI is now so out of date, carb conversions are the only thing left to do if the EFI takes a ****. Buy the carb up front and forget about it.

SOme folks, especially here on HDF, mis think the cranks on TCs. 02 back? HOT cast with a timken left bearing. 03-08 COLD cast with crap INA bearing. Both are forged. The difference is beating the hammers into hot or cold metal. Hot cast was 20th century think. Just like today we use cracked rods in cars, to keep the metalurgy intact -vs- different rod ends (big end) from olden days where the car world had caps from different metals.

I am all over most newer tech.

2009 up comes with superior nitrided INA bearing and left bearing failures are rare. 07 up cranks move a little more than do the older 88" engines, I think this is more to do with the longer arms than to do with anything else. Folks that are true believers in timkens are the same folks that dream of the days for non sealed bearings on their cars. 06 and back (touring) had spring tensioners. 07 still had cable throttles. carp *** stock exhausts. 08 had DBW, but still the wobble frame and **** exhausts. 09s is where Harley finally got things together. For simply the best tunable bikes EFI... that would be 2010 and up. Yes, buy anything 07 up, no carbs left, ALL EFI, so get used to the ideas of these things need tuned. WAY different than 'tuning' an old CV carb.

09 up is the best of the touring bikes. Come either, stock, as 96s or 103s.

How many knucks do we discuss? Evos are simply old bikes and dealers will no longer fix, nor work on them. How can you get service while on the road? It is non existent. Evos, also simply can't keep up with the power that can be made by TCs. WIth a simple cam change and a tune, well over 100/100 sometimes can be had. To gain that much power out of an EVO took a LOT more work and money. Twin cams are superior in most ways, from oil pumps to head designs. Hell... takes way more money with an 88" TC!

Parts are basically an aftermarket deal with EVOs, too. Harely, itself, makes very few parts anymore, if any. IIRC, all EVO stuff is aftermarket these days. Like Shovels and Pans, etc.

EVOs DID sound better, more Harley like. TCs simply no longer have that true Harley sound, but there are millions of aftermarket parts, last longer, make more power stock, let alone modded, even lightly. Can go to any dealer for out of town service, etc....

 

Thank you for the info.

 

Things to think about when making a decent size investment in what should be pure enjoyment.

 

I do talk Evo lingo in the Evo section, and answer Evo-related question here also.
Good rugged engine that certainly has stood the test of time.
A T/C with just a little cam upgrade can really have more snap, than the 80"er.
Scott

 

Thanks to all who replied. I appreciate it.

 

Thank you!

 

you want evo input, and lots of it, go over to the evo forums and ask. those guys love to tell us twinkie riders that they are superior. filter through all the bull$#it and you'll actually get some usable info out of it. yes, i ride a twin cam, and yes, my next bike will be an evo or even a shovelhead. nothing against the bike i have, i'm not unhappy one bit with my purchase, but nothing sounds, smells or runs quite like an old shovel. evo was the next step up from there. easy to work on, cheaper to fix, etc.

to each their own. it's like car guys, some swear by efi, other guys (like myself) pull that computer and fuel injection out and slap a carb on my projects.

 

The only reason TCs are pumping out so much more horsepower is because of cubes. 96"-110" are obviously going to put out more horsepower than 80". However, EVOs of the same size pump out the same torque and horsepower. There is a reason choppers and customs are built off of the EVO design. Granted, companies like S&S have modified the TCs enough to make them reliable with bigger cubes (and harley followed suit), but big cube EVO's continue to be cheaper. If you're putting 6000-10000 in a bike and another 3500-7200 (for a brand new motor), you're still coming out cheaper than a stock, new TC that you have to put a few grand into to get the same power.