Gotta say I love this forum almost as much as I've enjoyed my Dyna.
Oh, I can see what you have "invested" in your bike, and I won't count the dollars, brother, 'cause that bike of yours is built of dreams.

I'm pretty confident in my mechanical skills - time and workspace are bigger issues - but appreciate the pointers on your experiences, F86. Plus, when you do your own work, you know that it was done right (or sometimes what you had to fix when you did it wrong!)

That is an extremely generous offer! And one that would certainly take the sting out of any of the cam and bearing install options!

I just hate getting much more money in the bike than it's worth. I bought it almost on a whim after buying two other bikes last year: Triumph Daytona 955i (February 2018) and a BMW R850R (June? 2018). Both bikes had their charms, but they weren't what I was looking for and I got all my money out of each of them. This Dyna has really surprised me how much I like it. Maybe I'd been away from Harleys too long (and this is my first big twin). So why if I like it so much am I working so hard to change it?

I'm honestly thinking maybe I should sell this Dyna for $5K AND sell my Busa (another $5K) and then buy something really new (like that 2018 Road Glide). I must be getting old. LOL!

(damn, I blinked and now I'm turning 60 next month!!! Maybe that Road Glide would make the perfect birthday present for an old man!)

 

Cam swap and re-dyno runs ( if you already have tuning software) around $1500 + tax, depending on parts chosen. Depending on condition bike a good tech can have it done by lunch time and waiting on dyno tune. If you have the parts, tools and decent mechanical ability I would say try it yourself.

 

Since you already have the idea of another bike, or trading that one in... that thought won't go away. You may wish to only upgrade your cam tensioners, and then sell it. Or don't upgrade the cam tensioners and trade it.

When I bought mine, I decided then and there the bike would never leave me so investing in upgrades and this&that over time, is basically not a concern for me.

I do all my own work, except for the machining - and I would do that too if I had room and money for a mill/lathe

 

What you want to do will work. However,
It truely serves little purpose. A TC unlike the EVO has no outboard bearings to support gear drive. On a EVO, even worn, the backlash may have been more then necessary but the save 360 around.

A TC is designed for a chain drive systems. Even if you check run out when turning it by hand, that really does not show what it is doing when that end shaft if spinning with no bearing on the end. If you are concerned about $$, replace the tensioner shoes. Depending on year, if it has a roller chain on cams, you are good for 100k. My 04 TC with 50k still has original tensioners and it has link chain.

If you want gears just to say you have gears, go for it. It will work. Other then parts, conversion should not cost more then shoes since you need to replace cam bearings.

 

Take the budget route- new shoes, bearings, bolt in cam- then ride the wheels off of it. Do it yourself, build that new relationship with your bike. No one will be more invested in getting it right than you.

If you have the itch for the bagger, go for it, but don't trade the Dyna. You'll miss it. The little buggers get in your blood.

 

I think your thinking is flawed and here is why. You say you want to go gear drive but you have forgotten the most crucial 1st step. The flywheel run-out. Without knowing this, everything else is moot. You cannot just throw in a gear drive set without first knowing if you can. Run-out is critical. Ask anyone who has done this without first checking....if your concerned with money which it sounds like you are (and who isn't) then your 1st step before you decide anything is knowing this figure. If you want to grenade your motor in a few months then go for it...

Once you know the numbers then you can decide which way you want to go, personally I would just update the tensioners to hydraulics and ride the bike knowing that is one area of less concern.

Trading the bike won't make you happy, in fact based on the number of bikes you have or have gone though I doubt there is a bike out there thats stock that fits all things you require...just my opinion

 

Y'all make some really good points, and I appreciate your feedback.

I'm not totally sold on the gear drive cams, but it would be my preferred route. Plan would be to open her up, mic the crank, and see if the runout is low enough to support the gear drive setup.

There are a couple newer Dynas for sale locally that would have the newer twin cam hydraulic setup, several years newer, 1/3 the miles, and really would be about the same price if I sold mine for less than I have in it plus the cost of upgrading the cams and pipes. One benefit is that the HD bags and MS batwing fairing I bought would fit without much modification. I can afford to buy now, then sell my 2003 in the spring for better money or just swallow the loss now.

And there's a killer deal on an '18 Street Glide that I'd really have to talk myself into, but I want to.

And, of course, maybe I'm really making more out of these cam chain tensioners than I should, but won't know unless I open her up, and I'm only doing that if I'm deciding to keep her. Really pretty bike, Just hate putting so much coin into a bike I bought because it was a "bargain." LOL!

Thanks again for listening. I really appreciate your thoughts.

 

 

Chances are that your 03 will have too much runout for gear drive cams. You might get lucky but likely not.
The choice between the Roadglide and Dyna boils down to you. How do you ride.
The new road glides are awesome bikes. Both the engines and suspension are way better than what was available in 03 or there about.
I opted to upgrade the suspension, engines, clutch and drivetrain in my '99,'00, & '03

 

Hate to spoil your fantasy about not doing gear drive cams...I have them in my 2006 95 cu in Street Bob and love the way it runs. I found a guy that moved to my area from Vista Ca. He did a great job on the gear drive and I also had him install S & S 585 cams. The cams come on later in the rpm range but from 3500 to 6200 rpm happens like now. I was really paranoid about the cam chain tensioner shoes.
If you don't decide to do the gear drive cams, them put in a set of Pingel oil pump screens. That way if the shoes come apart, it won't take out the oil pump and your whole engine. Good Luck.

http://www.pingelonline.com/harley-d...mp-screens.asp

BTW I'm pretty sure the the TC 88 engine was built to closer tolerances that the 96-103-107-114 that came after it. All you need to find out is a dial gauge and a way to mount it to the crank cases. You never know what you'll find till you try it yourself.