I went down to the Motorcycle Museum today looking for some parade flags for the tour pack. Didn't find any. Nevertheless, I talked to the guy that owns the place and told him about my new to me 1988 FLHTC. I told him that it had been refurbished at the MoCo a few years ago. He said I still had two issues to look out for.

He said that I would be changing out the cam bearing some day and that the clutch basket bolts were potentially weak on that year model. I have heard about the early EVO cam bearings but, I don't know anything about it. This is the first time I have ever heard about the four aluminum bolts on the clutch basket.

Can any of you folks enlighten me about these things? How do you know if a cam bearing is going bad?

He also said that the easiest way to get more power was with an S&S Super E. He said that since I already have aftermarket mufflers I could just bolt the Super E right on. He didn't recommend a cam upgrade unless I was desperate for power, which I'm not. He says that cams on the older EVOs cause premature wear on the roller tappets.

Any thoughts?

 

First how many miles on your motor?
If you have less than about 40k miles I wouldn't worry about it right now.

Bolt on S&S Super E is not anywhere as good as a cam change. I'm not talking about a radical cam but one to give you just a little more power where you want it.

With that bagger EV 13 would be a good cam choice. EV 27 is a very popular cam and it is great if that is all you are going to do to your engine.

I put my S&S on after I did the cam change but I didn't notice any extra power from the carb change.

 

Your bike had the "good" Torrington cam bearing when it was built. When the MoCo rebuilt it, they undoubtedly used the "upgraded" INA cam bearing they started using in '92. This bearing has only half the rollers of the Torrington, and has been known to fail in service. Problem with a cam or lifter bearing failure is that by the time you can hear it, the damage is already done, so it's prevention you want.

If you're going to be doing a cam soon, I'd change it while I had the gearcase open for the cam swap. If you're not doing the cam, it's probably safe to run it for a while. If the bike were mine, I'd be looking to change the lifters at 40,000 miles or so (I had one fail on me at 46,000), and I'd change the cam bearing at the same time, just to be safe.

I have no first hand experience with the clutch for the 1988.

 

My mileage on the engine is 26,000 since it was refurbished at the MoCo. That was circa 2004/05. They told me, when I bought it, that the early EVOs had some soft metal issues and that all of that had been replaced. It really seems to run good with no weird sounds or anything to lead me to believe there is a problem.

My plan for now is just to ride it. Over the last week I changed out all of the fluids except the fork oil and will get to that before the Myrtle Beach rally. I also replace the spark plugs, which probably didn't need to be done. The old one's were perfect and the gap was still good.

I'll never be drag racing this thing or, smokin up the burn out pit. So, I'm not that worried about the aluminum bolts in the clutch. He seemed to think I'd never have a problem as long as I was just riding like the old fart I'm becoming. The first time I have a repair that requires some significant down time I'll look at those cams. Probably go ahead and get some EV13s while I'm in there.

I like it they way it is pretty good. Once we have a two up day in the mountains I'll have a better idea of what my power situation is. The old keihen carb actually does OK. It does cough a little but, not often and not bad. Not like the S&S Super E I had on the Heritage.

BTW, I find that people either speak highly of the Keihen or they hate it. Not many people in the middle. I have a buddy that is strictly a shovel head guy and he loves the Keihen carbs. The old guy at the Motorcycle museum today seemed to turn his nose up at the Keihen. He indicated that the Keihen was robbing power from the engine. My wife's old sportster has the original Keihen and it runs perfectly. That bike is probably the best running Harley I have ever ridden and it's an 883/1200 (warm weather, cold weather, rain, mountains, beach, whatever it runs like fuel injection). So, the carb can't be all bad.

BTW, the bike had 63,000 when it went to the MoCo for the refurbish in 2004. So, I would imagine that the cam bearing would have already been worn badly by that time and they would have fixed it. They also redid the suspension and the swing arm bearing. So, it rides really nice and tracks straight as an arrow.

I feel like I made out really well on this bike. Time will tell. But, it really needs nothing at this point. Even the HD Dunlop tires still have a lot of life in them and the drive belt has no signs of wear at all.

 

Sounds like a nice ride there falconbro, post up some pics sometime.
Not a guru here, just life long mech, and been restoring and continue to improve on my ol' '90 FLHTCU since I got her in early '11.

I put a reman in it at 61,000, and have 24,000 on it now.
I installed a EV13 couple thousand miles ago, like you, I never really tear this bike up(got others for that),,, it did improve the power and mileage and has very good low speed manners when puttin around town, and easily run up to faster than you prob want to go.(took her up to 100 the other day, two up, just to see what it'll do, got there easily, and it was still gaining pretty good)

I did find one lifter with excessive play in the roller, the cam bearing looked ok, but changed to the full roller bearing, and new set of B lifters.
So for me, I'll be peeking at them in another 20k just to see how their doing.

I have a CV carb off a early twincam on it that I been tweaking on.
I'm averaging 47mpg, two up, with all the junk in the trunks, and no decell popping.

88" had a funky three piece swingarm shaft set up that I'd guess Moco updated when they did the bushings.

Check those Dunlops real good, if their as old as I think they are.

 

Don`t worry about the clutch bolts, they can break ifyou overtorque them, but more than likely the damage will be to the hub.

Not sure I have ever heard about one breaking while in service. I put almost 140k on one of those clutches without a problem.

If the guy at the museum thinks the Keihin carb robs the engine of power, he is where he belongs-in a museum...

 

Next time you visit the museum thank him for his advice, but ride on! An Andrews EV13 or EV27 will give your bike a bit more pep and your current carb will only need mild adjustments. A Keihin is said to be good for around 100HP, so is not short in providing go!

 

My 85 had the aluminum clutch hub. The bolts are steel but they screw into aluminum. Mine broke when I pulled the clutch basket to replace the inner primary seal. The new oem hubs are steel. If you ever have to pull the clutch that would be the time to check and replace the hub.

I've heard that the stock cam bearings are not an issue with stock cams, but should be replaced when performance cams are installed.

 

The main problem with the old Keihin butterfly carbs is the manifold and the compliance fittings. When everything is right, the carb functions well. But the compliance fittings are prone to leakage etc. When I got my '89 six years ago, the compliance fittings were leaky and causing issues. Instead of trying to restore the stock system, I opted for a new manifold and a later model CV carb with a free flowing air cleaner. It was an instant improvement over the leaky stock system.

 

Duh....I spoke too soon on the carb issue, I just realized the carb in question is a Kehin butterfly (if the stock carb is still on the bike), and I agree with the museum guy, that carb is a loser as far as performance goes.