The Andrews 37 will be "soft" on the low end in an otherwise stock 88". Will it be an improvement over stock? Yes, but not til you get close to 3000 RPM will it come alive. I ran them in my 88" for a year til I went to a 98" big bore and liked them, but they are much better now. Depending on your riding style, the Andrews 26 may be a better option. I have heard in here of good things about the Cyclerama 575, but I know no details.
Hope this helps.

 

Well, I don't have all those years of experience in an engineering machine shop; merely a shade tree hack that has been hacking away on these vtwins for a few years. Not in the Scott/Kirby league as I don't do it for a living but just apply logic and practical thinking since we are dealing with a tractor motor that is still the basic mechanical design as it has been for 75 years and knowing that most of these motors rarely see 5000rpms.

JMHO but I think the early OEM cam plate, aside from the fact that it is not as stiff as a billet plate, is a more robust piece of hardware having a rear roller bearing (since 2000) and a front ball bearing. Again JMHO but I also think the both the early OEM plate and both billet "upgrade" cam plates have more than adequate outboard support for the cams, chain or gear driven also knowing that the chain drive system puts heavier loads on the outer rear cam bearing than gears. And, yes, I totally agree that gear drive cams work on TC motors and forever eliminate any tensioner concerns.

No "my" shoe. Photo was sent to me by a tech friend and the purpose of the photo was to show the irony old vs new tensioner wear. Everyone is focused on replacing the old with the new and here is a photo of the new worn to the bone and old with lots of life remaining and both with about the same mileage. The worn new tensioner could be one running on a link chain or a hydro chain; that information was not included not did I inquire. I run gears in early cam plates in both my bikes; I don't need no stinking tensioners.....

Polishing the early chain on the outside worked on early tensioners that were replaced by new; no reason to polish the back side. Anyone that polished a chain and did not know any better than to remove the grit just didn't know what to do.

The points I was tryin to make in my previous post was that there is no issue with outboard support for gear drive cams in the early OEM cam plates; certainly better support than provided by the later OEM cam plates but, of course, JMHO. Chain drive cams put more load on the rear outboard support than gear drive cams do. Not sure how that relates to your "more efficiency as far as drive load" comment but I interpreted it as a comparison between applied load on rear outboard bearing between gear and chain drive systems.

Not sure what you mean by "true CYCO data". Scott has installed many CYCO tensioners and I don't believe he has any "do overs" yet; might check with him. Certainly, the CYCO approach with the early cam plate and an pump upgrade to a Daytona pump or even a Zippers shim or Baisley spring is an upgrade and will last a long time but does require a periodic check. The way most of us ride and as I previously stated, that upgrade will last way longer than most will own the motorcycle.

 

The '99 bikes had ball bearings front and rear but, after some problems with the rear ball bearing, the MoCo changed the rear ball to a roller; you will need the roller in the rear and there are no issues with cams.

I agree with QC on the 37, too soft on the bottom for an 88". Better choice is S&S 509 or the Andrews 26; JMHO, but the 509 is a better cam choice for a cam only upgrade in a TC88......

 

Thanks for the replies so is it just as easy as changing the rear bearing out to a roller bearing? The outside dimensions of the ball bearing and roller bearing are the same?

Do the same sprockets work? Or will I need new sprockets also heard something about a weak bolt or something I think the one that holds the gear on but I'm not sure.

 

Your only possible sprocket change to a roller chain is the sprocket on the front. The sprocket on the inner is part of the OEM cams. Does your 99 have the wire coming out of the bottom of the cam cover for the ECM to check cam position and the crankshaft position. If so, you have a special condition for replace parts... Keep in mind, a lot of stuff has been said. But in a nut shell....Depending on the year.. You have needle bearings on the end of the cam shaft that go into the crankcase wall next to the crank . Then you have ball bearings on both cams that is in the cam plate. Newer versions have a ball bearing and the higher loaded roller bearing in the cam plate. Then they went to a sleeve bearing with retainers to position cams in the cam plate.
What I referring to as out board support in my original post was the end of both cams use to have bearings journals on the end that was supported by the cam cover. That was what was eliminated when they went to the TC chain drive.

 

I understand that I'm just wondering about the bearings on the cam plate the bearings on my cam plate are both round but after 2000 or 2001 the rear bearing on cam plate changes to a diff kind of bearing that has slots in it and then new cams are slotted to slide in the bearing. My questions are can I switch out to the slotted style bearing to go with after market cams and if I do do I need a different sprocket to fit on the outside of the slotted style cam or will my old gear work?

And yes my year has cam position sensor I might be wrong about the years bearings changes on cam plate I'm not sure on that. I'm not trying to go roller chain I'm just not sure they make cams that are both smooth to fit the round style bearing I will call Andrews again on Monday and see what they say I guess.

 

The "slotted" bearing you keep referring to is the roller bearing that has been referenced by me and ripsaw in previous posts. Not sure what you mean by new cams being "slotted" the are not and will fit either the roller or the ball bearing.Standard cams don't care what bearing you use; they will fit both.

I believe what you are referring to may be the difference between the keyed sprocket on the '99 models and the splined sprocket in the later models; not sure what year keyed change to splines but it could have been 2000 which was the same year the rear outer bearing was changed from ball to roller.

So, if you have cams that are have a keyway in the nose, you will need a keyed rear pulley and if you have cams with a splined nose, you will need a splined sprocket; either will work, splines are better. I have attached a link to the Andrews instructions for this install; should help clarify the install for you.........

http://www.andrewsproducts.com/files...-1999-2006.pdf

If I understand correctly, you are just changing cams and upgrading the inner and outer cam bearings. If that is the case, all you need do is follow the instructions, refer to your service manual and make sure that the rear cam sprocket is aligned with the crank/pinion sprocket. It may line up with the OEM spacer but might not with new cams.

 

Both ends of the TC cams are supported; inner bearings in the motor case and outer bearings in the cam plate. Maybe I am misunderstanding but it seems that you want to say that the TC cams have no outboard support which just isn't so. Not being argumentative, just don't understand.

 

Thanks for the info I guess I would have the keyed sprocket on mine if order new cams from Andrews will they fit the keyed sprocket or do i have to buy the slotted sprocket? Thanks for the reply on the bearings that made it easier to understand

 

My though was the EVO big twin and Sporty had a bearing on the gear side for the cam driven by the crankshaft and it was supported in the cover. That is what I mean my outboard side bearing. You are correct that the cams are supported both ends. It's when you go gear drive that the gear on the cam driven by the crank does not have an outboard bearing but depends on the inboard bearing.

Not exactly sure what tcarson is going to do but if he goes gear, think the outer must remain chain with the cam sensor. In my opinion, his tensioners at 17 years need to be changed regardless of mile do to heat making delrin hard.