So I've been trying to figure out which cam I am wanting to drop in my bike. Not going to be doing any kind of head work or anything. At least for now. Just wanting a drop in cam that will give me good mid range power but still run out a bit too. Also want to be able to hear that it has a performance cam in it, and not a stock cam. If that makes sense. Prob do the .030 head gasket as I'm replacing the rocker boxes to gloss black so it won't take much more to replace. I tossed around a few different cams. Made a decision on the se204. Read where you can put the .030 head gasket as well as adding the 1.725 ratio rockers to get more lift out of the cam. Which I liked. Then I heard a little bit about the tman 555 torqster cams. But don't have much info on them. Besides people saying they are good bolt in cams. But not much other details. I'm looking for some first hand experience from anybody that has ran either one or both.

Bike is 2016 softail breakout. Mods are listed in my sig. Just a basic stage 1. Ride solo about 95% of the time. Any input or advice would be great.

 

The problem with the Breakout is that big *** back tire and the gearing; it takes a lot to get all the moving. If you are limiting yourself to those two cams, the TMan 555 would be my choice with the .030" head gasket. The SE204 has 8* of advance ground into the profile and at 10.2 compression is likely to be a ping monster and present tuning challenges. I have run the SE204 in a couple of motors, one of my own, and 9.8 static is as high as I would go with that cam. Retain the OEM head gasket and you might have a chance with the 204.

If you want some zip, look into going dropping a tooth or two on the tranny pulley. That might require a belt change but I believe there is a combination of tranny and wheel pulleys that will allow the use of the stock belt. I have not kept up with the later model pulley sizes so I could be mistaken about that.

 

My 555 TQ makes good power from 2500 to about 5000 rpm. That is right were I want my my power band to be.

 

Definitely the 555 over the 204 at that comp.....

 

I was under the impression that my 103 compression from the factory is at 9.6:1. So adding the thinner head gasket should still keep me under 10:1 compression. This is all new to me so just want to get all the info I can to make a good decision.

 

9.6 is what the spec says but when you enter the data into a compression calculator with a stock head gasket, the resulting static CR is right at 9.8 and CCP right at 195psi. I would not run the SE204 at the calculated compression. Having said that and this goes to your comment that you "want to get all the info......................", run a compression test and check CCP which will give you a better idea of true static CR before making a decision. We don't know what the deck height but if deck height is in the .005"-.007" range, CCP could show 195psi or less. If that turns out to be the case, I think you could run the SE204s with the .030" head gasket without the issues referenced in previous posts and you would get good results but not as much low end torque as you would get with TMans Torkster 555 cams.

 

Terry's description on his website of the 555 cam is that it is the same grind as his 625 with reduced lift to make it a bolt-in cam. I can attest that the 625 in my Stage IV 103 ci engine was a fantastic cam with a very broad torque curve. I had four different cams in my 103 trying to find the cam I liked the best. I'm glad the 625 was the last one tested. Looking at the 555's grind, I think I found the cam for my new bike...2014 HO 103 Limited.

Jim

 

Let us know how That works out for you.

 

Yes I misinformed you.....

Actually if your only doing the head gasket to improve on comp the 204 will not be an issue. Static would be 9.8 , dynamic 9.2 comp with roughly 191 ccp. doing the 1.725 rockers will decrease that a little more. Not an issue and by what I hear doing the rockers is a nice improvement on the cam. I also have heard that its hard to beat the Andrews 48 cam... which would put you at 195 ccp and 9.4 dynamic.... with a very long torque curve....

 

That's the numbers I've been seeing on a few posts before. Andrews cams are pretty impressive for a stock engine as well. Affordable cams at that. Plenty of good choices out there for cams but I was just hoping that somebody would stumble on this thread that has a softail or dyna that has or had ran the tman torqsters so I could compare to the tried and true se 204.