I tried the gear drive, then swapped gears etc, I but have too much crank TIR & just can't stand the noise. Now I have parts on order forconversion to the '07 roller chain/hyd tensioner set-up. Has anyone else here done this conversion?

VicW.

No - but I hear you on the noise - 05 Elec classic - And 37 gear drive - almost as loud as stereo or Thunderheader - NFG
I put a chain drive And 37 chain drive on my 06 St. Bob because of this...

Hindsight's 20/20. If I'd known then what I know now Iwouldn't have had the gear drive installed. Hmmm, sorta surprised that the conversion hasn't caught on around here yet.

VicW.

Sleeps in Trees,
Are there enough high milers out there to determine if the roller chain is the answer? I keep thinking that there has to be something to the theory that the roughness of the silent chains determines how long the tensioner shoes will last. I keep thinking that if we can smooth and polish the back side of the silent chain that the premature wear problems with the tensioners will go away. Back to the roller chains and the hydraulic tensioned shoes, I don't know if this is the answer or not. The first roller chains came out on the 2006 dyna. I haven't read or heard of how they are doing in regards to the tensioner shoe failure problem. I plan to stay with the silent chains until I know for sure that there is something better out there that is reasonably priced. There is a cogged belt system on the market that I think will solve our problems, but if I remember right its in the $1500.00 range too rich for me.
Good Luck!
Bruggy

Put gear drive cams in my '03 RKC, great cams, ton of racket from the setup.

Just installed highlift (.650 lift) cams in my '07 Ultra, stayed with the chain.

The gear drive setup is technically superior to the chain, less lost HP, more accurate cam timingbut trade off is the noise, and it does travel up the pushrod tubes, to the rocker boxes.

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07 120" Hotrod Bagger
HeadQuarters Top End, Darkhorse, Primo Pro Clutch,D&D Boarzilla
TP Rocker Boxes, DTT TCFI II, SE 50mm TB, 4.89 gm/sec inj.
Built by owner
Renegade Wheels, Paint by Attitude Custom Painting

I hear ya bruggy,but it certainly has to be an upgrade from theolder set-up, so is aviable option for those that can't/shouldn't run gears.Reminds me a lot of the primary chain/shoe material that'sproven itself over the years. Improved shoe material notwithstanding, 15 psi on a roller chain vs 35 psi ona morse chain has got to mean way less shoe wear. The new oil pump scavenges way (20%)better & the new camplate increases oil pressure & has no outer roller bearing to grenade in your engine. Certainly there are many '06 Dynas out there w/lots of miles on em, & ya just don't hear of any problems w/thedesign. I'm sold & I believe we'll see more & more of these conversions as the newset-up proves itself.

VicW.

My gear drive actually quieted down after about 1000 miles, not annoying at all now.

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Horsepower addict.....
150+ H.P
147 Torque

For an 06 Fatboy is gear drive the way to go, or stay with the chain? Not doing alot of 2-up riding or cross country tours.

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http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j3...w/P1010055.jpg
2006 Fatboy (custom)
V&H Big Radius
Stage 1

I have all the parts and tools to do the roller chain conversion except the secondary chain, which is backordered. I got the Andrews 21N cams. I'll probably do the work in a few weeks. These roller chains are completely different from the "silent" chains'; they're more open with less surface area touching the tensioners. The hydraulic tensioners are also a different design and because they're controlled by the oil pump, they will vary tension as needed. I'm also impressed by the higher capacity oil pump. Also, no bearings to fiddle with on the cam support plate, so a cam swap will be a breeze with this new system. Andrews told me that this system is very quiet and they've run a test bike for a year now with no problems. Only time will tell, but I'd rather go with this system than install gears in a case that wasn't designed for them.

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Ride On,

RB
2005 Lava Red Sunglo Road King Classic

I'm waiting on parts too RB. BTW, I askedthe guy at Andrews about parasitic HP loss w/the conversion & he said not too much difference between the conversion &gear drive; less than with the older set-up either way.

VicW.