I have a 2003 FXDX with 25k miles I picked up this last November. It’s a bit of a mystery bike.







It came to me with rotten/cracked tires and old gas in the carb and tank. The older gent I bought it from said it “sat for a few years.” It looks like the few years is probably closer to a decade. It’s had three owners before me with the last one owning it since 2007. As weird as it sounds, he wasn’t much of a bike guy and didn’t know if anything had been done to the engine or what modifications may have been made before he owned it. I’ve tried tracking down the original owner, but can’t find him and the dealer where it was originally sold nor HD could tell me much about the bike other than it was sold 9/3/02.



Looking at the bike without pulling the engine apart it has an SE Air Cleaner and SE Slip-Ons (and an SE fork brace). I lifted up the push-rod tubes to take a peek and can see what look like SE adjustable pushrods. It has the stock ignition module. Based on the adjustable pushrods, I’m guessing it has a SE cam in it, but I won’t know until I open it up and look. I suppose there is no way to know if it has a 95” kit or not without pulling the heads off, which I would rather not do right now, but based on all the SE stuff I’m assuming the original owner probably had it kitted out right after he bought it and it hasn’t been updated since.



So not knowing whether the bike has a 95 kit or not and assuming it still has spring cam tensioners in it, my plans are this:



- Pull the rocker box covers off and clean and update the rocker breathers and add Rocker Lockers to the rocker support plate

- Update the cam chest to a 2007 (bronze bushing) hydraulic tensioner factory cam plate with a Baisley plunger and spring, new roller chains front and rear, and the newer style oil pump

- Replace rocker box, camchest and pushrod tube gaskets with HD factory

- Change the inner cam bearings

- Run “conversion” cams

- Install a new Thunderheader (I already have one)

- Install a Dynatek TC88 ignition module



I talked to Bob Wood a few weeks back and based on that conversation I was thinking:



- Wood TW-6-6R Conversion Cam

- Wood Alpha Lifters

- Dynatek set to 32A ignition curve

- My spare CV40 jetted to 190 main and 48 pilot



I think I'd like to clean up the carb the bike came with and send it to Bob Wood to do his magic to it while he's still working on them.



Does this plan make sense?



Am I missing anything?

 

All sounds ok except for the Thunderheader. I’ve never been a fan of the torque curve of that pipe but that’s just me. Those older SE slipons perform pretty well. But exhaust is always a personal preference kind of thing with most owners. Let us know the outcome.

 

i have stock cams w/adjustable p rods
ive checked the spring tensioners couple times
it got them first time for that reason
bolt cuttered the oe rods
'02 tc 88

 

A solid plan IMO

 

Change the fluid, clean the carb, new tires and ride it all summer.

Over winter you can see what was done. Might have went gear drive.

Ride it, you ,may be very happy with it as is.

There is no way to guess what grind or brand cam is in there based on pushrods used. Being that he didn't swap out ignition could mean it is stock. But then why bother with adjustbale pushrods? Maybe to go gears.

Ride it all summer, than over winter see what is in cam chest.

 

Gear drive doesn`t "require" A.P.R.`s
Lot`s of maybes as to why , see post # 3

 

JMHO but I am thinking a good chance the bike was kitted out with the SE BB kit; 95" with SE 203 cams. A compression test will give a clue as to 95" or still 88"; migh change cam selection. Daytona Twin Tec (DTT TC88) is a better choice for ignition IMHO.

 

How could a compression test tell you the size? An aftermarket cam can change the compression reading can't it?

 

If you want to install gear drives but not remove top end, you could cut rods. Are these these the type you can cut your rods out and install? Or are they simply for taking up lash? I have never used them.

Either way it appears someone has been in atleast the cam chest. They may have done 95" and went with the adjustable rods, I did not. Or they they may have cut their rods to avoid opening the top end.

I would just ride the bike for the summer and see how it does.

 

CCP in a stock TC88 will hit about 158psi but upgraded to 95" and CCP will increase to about 171psi. In my experience, that is enough of a difference to jump to the conclusion that the hihger CCP indicates a larger bore.

Of course and aftermarket cam with an earlier intake close will increase CCP but within the context of this thread, it appears that the your bike may have been kitted out by a dealer with SE parts which indicates that the upgrade might have been the SE BB 95" which included the SE203 cams. You also have to remember that in 2003; the SE BB 95" kit was pretty common as 95" at that time was as big as one could go without splitting the cases; there was on 98"/100" option and cam selection was much more limited that it is today. IIRC, the SE203 cams did have an earlier intake close that the OEM cam for carbed bikes but it was only 2* earliler than the stock cam intake close. The 2* earlier intake close would bump stock CCP by, maybe, 2psi.

All I am saying is that if a proper compression test shows CCP above 160it is very likely the motor has been upgraded to 95". Remember a proper comprssion test requires a full charged battery, an know to be accurate guage and with the CV carb, the slide has to be held open. When running compression tests on CV carbed bikes, I just pul the carb out of the rubber boot to clear the airway into the intake.