Ok everybody, I know this has been covered, but I can't decide on what cam.

I know the typical questions. "what kind of riding do you do?" "where in the rpm range do you want your power?" I always see either "I rarely go over 4,500 rpm or I ride wide open?"

What I haven't seen is what I am looking for. I have an 02 deuce that I will not be doing any other engine work to other than cam, maybe 0.030 head gasket and primary gear change to probably 3.37. I want more low end torque. I feel like it lacks a lot down there even with my 2-1 exhaust. I ride solo most of the time but every once in a while my wife rides with me which makes the bottom end even worse even though she is small. I do ride interstate up to 80+ mph occasionally as well. I do like to open it up and hit redline when i am in the mood. So unfortunately I am trying to have my cake and eat it too. power to redline with great low end torque.

So I need opinions. 204 with 3.37 gears? tw21 with 3.15 gears? 26 with either gearing? I do have a PC5 and plan on getting it dyno tuned. opinions? experience? I have read so much about these cams but still can't decide. some people say the 204 needs more comp. some say it doesn't some say the 21 falls on its face after 5000 rpm. some say it pulls all the way to redline. so which is it? too many conflicting opinions.

 

I installed 21's, a 2n1, and dobeck dfo in my 88" and noticed a very nice bump in performance. You also need a heavy breather, larger air filter.

If gearing lower, go 26's.

imo - if you are spending $400+ for a dyno, i'd spend another $300-400 and get your jugs bored and install flat top pistons. It sounds like you are going through the top end and will be buying most the gaskets anyway.

I did mine on the cheap buying parts over time and the bike already had a heavy breather and pipes. Otherwise I would have done that what I suggested.

 

26 is my "go to" in a stage 1 88. Between 21 and 204. Without compression and headwork ya can't have it all.

 

Search for my user name and it'll take you to a handful of threads I commented in on this very subject. Long story short...bought my 204's yesterday.

 

Appreciate the comments. Kumaride I'm on a budget and to be honest didn't plan on moving up to a 95". At least not anytime soon. I kind of want to just see what kind of performance I can get out of the 88". At the same time I will be doing the work myself. I am comfortable with a cam change but I think installing pistons might be out of my scope of abilities.

 

I already have a good AC and exhaust!

 

OK let's unpack your post; remembering that you can't have your cake and eat it too.

1. 2002 heads are limited to the "mouse" cams you have listed; cams with lifts at about .500".

2. For the cost of converting to 3.37 gearing, you could have your heads worked and springs replaced with some beehive springs that would allow lifts up to .600", or more, and many more cam choices become available and compression can be set for whatever cam you choose.

3. 3.37 gearing will increase cruise rpms about 220 over 3.15 gearing and on a softail, that rpm range will put in the "buzz" range of the softail hard mounted motor. Can be a bit un pleasant on along ride but an individual choice.

4. Once you have the heads off, pulling the cylinders and having them bored to 95" and fitted with a set of OEM SE flat top pistons would cost about another $300; probably the most cost effective performance upgrade you can do on a HP/$$ basis.

JMHO but I would consider passing on the 3.37 gearing, have the heads worked, increase displacement to 95"/98" and pick a cam with more lift, like S&S 570, TMan 555Torkster, Andrews 48, etc. It will cost a bit more but the return on investment much greater and much closer to having your cake and eating it too.

 

Those are some valid points. However I have no desire to move up to 95". I want to keep it an 88". I have no problem with a "mouse cam" as you call it. I don't feel the need for a super high lift cam and I don't feel that the smaller cams are not worth it. Years ago my father and I built a mustang with a "mouse cam" and had fantastic results.

That may be contradictory to what i am looking for but if that's the case maybe I should rephrase myself. Yes I said I want my cake and to eat it too. I should say I want more low end grunt with the ability to hit the rev limiter every once in a while without the cam greatly running out of steam. I am ok with the "buzz" of my softail on the interstate. I don't find it to be too bad on mine. I have done a couple 3-400 mile one way trips with my father and we run about 75-80mph sometimes faster and never got uncomfortable with it. I know it isn't smooth at higher speeds like the rubber mount motors.

So...bolt in cam with possibly a cometic 0.030 gasket and 3.37 gearing. Would I be happy with the 204's?

 

What might make you happy and what would make me happy could be two very different levels of performance, so a direct answer is not possible. "Mouse" cam is just a term for cams with lifts of .500" or less; nothing derogatory about that group of cams but those cams are short duration, low lift cams and all will keel over about 4500 rpms. You can hit the rev limiter anytime you want but the motor isn't really making much power with stock heads and a mouse cam above 4500. To continue making power past 4500rpms, head work and more compression are required accompanied by cams with more lift; it's physics.

I would tell you that the smart move would be too convert to 3.37 gearing first; could be you decide that you are "happy" with the extra grunt and decide to forego cams.

I can tell you that without the 3.37 gearing, you might be happy with the 204s and .030" head gasket when riding solo but I doubt it. It will be an improvement but without the necessary compression you won't all the 204s can deliver, even with a .030" head gasket. Furthermore, I can tell you that without 3.37 gearing, I doubt you will be happy riding two up with any of those cams.

As for the softail buzz, 200+ rpms doesn't sound like much but it will make a difference; perhaps you can tolerate it, you will have to decide.

Having built a few of these motors, I rarely find many that try to build up an 88" motor end up going to 95"/98"; just don't get enough of a boost with the 88" motor. As I said in my previous the increase in displacement offers more bang for the buck than any other upgrade to an 88" motor. However, if you were to spend some $$ on headwork so that you could run higher lift cams, you could squeeze more out those 88" with a much wider selection of cams; the early heads are a real power bottleneck. Or you could look around for set of '06 or later take off heads; deck them a bit with the .030" head gasket, forego porting and take advantage of the better flowing heads that would allow running higher lift cams. If you look around you can probably find a set of those heads for $200-$250.

Another cam you might consider, is the S&S 509; great low end but also fades about 4500rpms like the others. As for the Andrews 21/26, the 21 with stock gearing and the 26 with 3.37 gearing would be my pick but that's JMHO and you know what the say about opinions.

 

ha I do know what they say about opinions. I didn't even think about looking for 06 and later heads. That actually is a great idea. How much would you deck the heads without any issues with clearance? Im guessing compression in the 9.5:1 ballpark would be good?