Today I went to street tune my stock 96" with my thunderheader. I put it back on a day ago, and it was 73* today so I went to my safe area, and started recording.
Everything went fine, and the bike has smoothed out considerably with 4 data runs.

Now to the practical part.
I did a few WOT runs in 4th gear. The data shows that I was running 95 mph in 4th gear @ 4890 RPM. My red line is set to 6200 RPMs. I have recently purchased a set of SE 255 cams from a forum member, and I am thinking of putting them into my Dyna.

People say that they stop pulling around 4500 RPM. Well @ 4500 RPM I am close to 100 mph in 4th gear stock. I actually do not think I could utilize a cam that pulls to 6000 RPM. I would be too chicken chet.

I think the numbers look really cool on paper, but by my logs for the way I ride the SE 255 might just be the ticket. I am just trying to get some others info to go along with my data to be certain that the SE 255 would benefit me, or if I am just looking at this all wrong?

 

They may work well for you. They pull hard from the bottom and if you are not one to rev it then you will be fine. The motor will rev past to 6000 rpm but wil not pull real hard

 

Thanks, B&C.

I am not one to race. I like to ride hard of course. I like to get out in front of the cages. I like to drop a gear, and go. I don't like the tall 1st gear. I appreciate the reply. I am beating this into the ground, but I just want to cover all angles, and try to install what will be the best for me.
My wants tell me that the SE204 or TW-555 would be a good choice. The TW-555 looks good, and seems to have the same curve as the SE255, but with a little better numbers. The SE204 is what I am really wanting, but it comes on later than the SE255, and I paid a third of what the SE255 costs new, and to go with TW-555, it will cost me around $400.00.
I don't think I can justify the cost, and if I am reading my logs correctly then as you said the SE255 might be a good all but small boost for the way I ride. Seriously. 100 MPH @ 5000 RPM in 4th gear. That is about my limits. I still had 5th and 6th gear if the road was long enough. But let me say. Even with the stock cams the bike got to 95 mph pretty quick. I started @ 40 mph in 4th gear, and just rolled on slowly, and before I knew it I was past 90 mph.
Like I was saying earlier. I love the look of the bigger numbers of Dyno charts that pull out to the red line, but I just don't know if I would ever hit those engine speeds. I have hit the red line twice, and that was in 2nd gear being a dumb A$$. I have hit 120 mph on my Dyna in 5th gear, and the log showed I was no where near the red line.
So will the bigger cams that are further to the right be a waste of money for me?

 

The Wood 555, set at 10.4-5, will WAX the 255 from bottom, to top.
Scott

 

Since you also mentioned the Woods 555 maybe you're open to cams other than SE ? One to consider for your style might be the Andrews 48H. The intake opens at 29* vs the 255's 25* and the power does carry out a bit further than the 255. This can be bought new on ebay for about $250. This just might be the ideal cam for you?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ANDRE...item20b7867dee

Check out page 3 where GMR compares the 48H vs 255
http://harleytechtalk.org/htt/index....,21771.50.html

 

I can tell by the way you analyze things that you probably won't be satisfied until you try the 204's. That said, I think if you ran both, you'd be just as satisfied with the 255's because of what your data logs show. When people say the 255's stop pulling, they are saying it perspectively. They seem to stop pulling because in the upper rpm band they aren't pulling as hard as they were in the lower rpm band but they are still pulling. You just aren't picking up speed as quickly. A skilled rider knows all he needs to do is grab the next gear to get the motor back into the rpm band that the cams pull harder in. See what I'm saying? The 555's have nice curves on the dyne sheets I've seen but 95% of the ones I have looked at are also running higher compression. I've ridden a couple of bikes with 204's and for me, they just aren't the cams I need. If I rode out on the super slabs like I-40 more they probably would but on the two lane twisties I like to ride, the low end grunt to accelerate out of the corners is where it's at for me. We've got a guy that rides with us some that has a big rumpity rump cam and doest have the compression to really give the cam what it wants and when we ride the twisties in wester Arkansas, you can hear him just giving it hell just to try to keep up because it doesn't start pulling until he's at around 4000 rpms. He sounds like a douche trying to keep up with guys who aren't even trying to ride real hard.

 

Don't make a decision based on behavior at one certain gear.
It'll fall off early in the other gears too. The 255 seems better suited for a heavier bike to help you get up the hills. (in my opinion)

 

Just noticed you have a Street Bob which is considerably lighter than a bagger. A 204 just might be a good bolt in cam for you and their are plenty of happy 96"/204 users on the board. A 48H would still probably be a good cam for your style. Fuel Moto has some charts of the 555 at their website. A cam close in spec to the 555 at quite a bit less cost is the Andrews 54H. Like posted earlier, these two seem to like a little more compression to be at their best and that makes them a quite a bit more work than a simple bolt in. Can make your head spin huh !!

 

Definitely confusing. More like a damn scratched record in my head.

I got the SE 255 sitting here, and paid a good price. I know they are considered bagger cams, but wouldn't they do just as well in a Dyna?

I am not wanting to go gear drive. I might be speaking out of my expertise, but wouldn't crank run out play a part when going with gear drive?
Damn those SE204s keep coming up in my dreams, but I just do not see me ever racing my motorcycle. I do see myself riding in the Ozarks, Smokey Mnts, and in the Everglades down in FL. Maybe a trip out west one day, but probably when the kids are older, and I will have a touring bike.

Maybe I should state my goal. I would like a little more pull for around town. I would like to have a stronger pull when running through the gears. When cruising on the super slab I would like to have a little more pull when in OD (6th gear). I am not looking to build a 1/4 mile racing bike. I do not wish to make a build so high in compression that regular gas will ping in 95* weather.
I find myself riding to work in rush hour traffic, staying in 4th gear most of the time, rarely ever hitting 6th gear when driving around the loop, staying in 5th most of the time.
When I go out of town it is generally to visit other riders, and we cruise downtown or to midtown to our favorite bars of old. We then run the interstate home. We do not play speedster, or jump up in front of the other. We ride safe, and keep in formation. When others come up and start that crap. We just let them go on by.
The stock cams work fine for the way I ride. I am just looking to get some more pull because of the tall gearing. I like the gearing, but feel the the motor needs a little more umph to utilize it. I was once interested in putting on a 30t pulley, but I do not want to mess with my speedometer being off. I have checked mine with a GPS, and it is spot on. I guess I got lucky.
I found a deal on the SE255 because I figured the 1800 - 4500 RPM addition would benefit, but then you see the 98HP/106TQ numbers from the SE204, and you wonder. But I see that the power doesn't come on until 2500+ for those cams, and I would like to have more take off power. I liev in a fairly hilly area. I get caught on hills all the time in traffic, and it is a bitch sometimes to get the bike to take off on the hill. Would the SE255s help me with this problem?

 

Aww hell, put them in. They will certainly improve upon what you have and you already own them. It's not like they hit a brick wall at 4500rpm and quit running. I bet you'll be happy