As I read thru some of the comments on this site, I notice there seems to be a lot of dislike of the twin cam engine, when compared to older Harley engines like the Evo, or the Shovel head. I've never owned a Shovel head, but I did own an fxr with an evo engine. I now own a 2010 Fatboy with a 96cu twin cam, with Bassani slip on's. and K&N air filter. In my opinion My twin cam sounds just as good, and runs much stronger than either one of those older engines! I'm not bashing those engines, they were and are great power plants, but the twinkies are 100% Harley Davidson thru and thru, so when I twist that thottle, thats what I feel. Anyone who thinks twinkies are any less Harley than Evo's or Shovel's are just haters IMHO!!!!!

 

Ummm, I currently own 4 and have had as many as 5 twinkies. got 99,000 on my 02 Heritage. I've had knucks, pans, shovels and a couple of evo's (FXR's) and don't have any complaints on any of them. My only short coming w/the twinkie is that I'm just impatient to learn how all the new chit works (i'm an old fart). And I'm not too fond of the FI. (same reason)

 

It's the bashing from the first-second generation of problems like cam key twisting, tensioners wearing out, worn can plates and pinion bushings, compensator failures etc... Once the factory's issues are fixed there isn't any problems.

Newer motors with the hydraulic tensioner and higher volume oil pumps don't have the issues the old ones did. Lots of minor things could be re engineered and improved to make the Harley indestructible..

 

you can absolutely hear the difference between the new twin cams and the old shovelhead engines. maybe it's because all of the ones i've heard were cammed bad *** engines. regardless, they are all just haters. i made the mistake of asking why people liked evo engines over in the evo section.. good grief that was an assault

 

Two things come to mind with twin cammers.

The first being is the idle is about twice as high as my carbureted evo. Sorry, it just doesn't sound right, like the choke is stuck.

Second thing has to do with owners. Many twin cam riders think of their bikes as disposable and trade it in for the next new model every couple of years compared to many evo riders will keep their bike as long as possible.

I am sure they are fine engines. especially second generation onwards, but those are two points that stick with me. I have never ridden a twin cam. I've ridden a quad cam lol (sportster)

As I always say, ride what you want and who cares what anybody else thinks. (incidentally my evo draws crowds at twin cam dominated events, not because it is flashy, but because it is simple, basic, nostalgic, and sounds incredible with its slow lumpy idle)

 

First off a twin cam idles just fine. But mine has a carb so...

I don't like this Twinkie name. I prefer to call mine a fat head

 

One reason is the classic potato-potato exhaust pulse is difficult to achieve with the TC. The high idle with EFI is one cause of this. My 98" with Andrews 37 cams and Big Shots Long is pretty close. That can be adjusted down slightly, but the high volume oil pump is a pretty good idea to maintain pressure at the lower speed. New stuff always draws skeptics and haters.

 

How many Evo owners bitch about the heat roasting their ***? The true sound of a Harley will always be the lumpy idle....

 

I experienced this today. I rode in a procession for my friend's Dad who died in a Search and Rescue operation 2 weeks ago. There were two other Evo's in the group of 50 bikes, but they were baggers and seemed to blend in with the surroundings. Several people stopped to talk and ask questions about mine, I think because it has sort of a bobber look to it now. I was one of maybe 3 bikes without a windshield or fairing, and the only one with apes.

I don't have an issue with the new twinkies, I wouldn't want to chance one of the early years but that's just me, I just don't see a need or reason to dump my Evo that's been good to me. If I add a Road King for keeping as a dedicated 2up bike so I can go full solo bobber mode on my Dyna, it will probably be a fairly new twinkie that the MoCo has fixed the early issues on.

 

I grew up with Twinkies. I loved them and even though they were 10¢ then and a lot more now, I'm glad to see them back on the store shelves.