03' road glide cam upgrade?
 

i have an 03' road glide F.I.w/ 54000 miles , I have a set of reinharts, hd ram air intake, chip and pwr commander 3. It dunoed @ 77.6 h.p that was in 06' Bike runs great and i change oil every 2000 miles(fanatic on maint) I need to get in motor to check twin cam tensioners and i figured it would be worthwhile to Buy a kit w/ a gear drive set-up and cams etc and eliminate the adjusters. I only want to go a little over stock since i am happy w/ performance of bike. I mostly ride solo and live in Mtn. Hm, Ar so I get my share of curves and hills everyday and some good straight line roads. the bike just needs a little nudge that i think a cam and kit can do. Last i am pretty mechanically inclined . i just rebuilt a 4 bolt main 350 f/ ranch truck and currently doing a body off on a SS el camino. Do you think i can handle this job or farm it out. I have the manual on bike and it gets into some specialty tools that i do not have and may not be worth investing in for a one time job. what do you experts think?
thanks Tony

Tony,
From the sounds of things, the install of a set of gear drive cams would be a piece of cake for you, but before you make that purchase, you will want to check your pinion shaft run-out, with a dial indicator, to insure that you have no more than .003".
You'll also need a couple specialty tools to insure a smooth job.
If that is the case, then a set of Andrews 26 cams, would fit your application very well.
One thing we offer here, is upon the purchase of gear driven cam kits from us, we install/time them on your cam plate at no charge, and that way, no need to buy one-time use, tools.
Let us know if we can be of service to you.:icon_user:
Scott

That's a good offer from Scott at Hillside.

Consider the Andrews 21 gear drive if you're keeping the motor at an otherwise stock 88".

Or big bore 95" kit it and install those Andrews 26's and be amazed...:)

That's the way my motor is set up and I am still enjoying the power and reliability at 108,000 miles young now.

i appreciate the heads up on pinion shaft I just wish I didn,t live so far away or I could get a quote from you

Fed-Ex, or UPS, make us closer than you may realize.
Scott

I have a similar set up you, with no intention to go to a 95" build, and I am super happy with my Andrews 21 cams. I took my bike out to the Rockys right after I installed the cam and was super impressed with the torque those help produce. Bike pulled like a locomotive up those grades. Good power throughout the entire power band. Could not be happier with my cam choice. Keep in mind these are low end torque cams, which is where I ride most of the time. And contrary to what some say...zero loss on the top end of the RPM's compared to stock. Probably a slight gain.

I also went with the HD SE Hyrdraulic cam upgrade vs. the gear drive. Didn't have to worrie about the crank run-out. Quiet and from what I understand very reliable. Peace of mind baby.


Scott, am I correct based upon your experience?

I put Andrews 26s in my 88" and already had V/H 2/1 and Ness A/C on bike with PCIII. Very happy with the combination. All over a good upgrade. When I did this I upgraded all the bearings, the cam bearings in the cases and in the plate. I re-used the stock cam plate with new tensioners. Old were about 1/4-1/3 worn away so I figured good for another 20,000 miles as that is around where I was at mileage wise. I re-used original oil pump, was still within spec, but I put a new bypass spring in, worth every bit of the $15 it cost me. Oil pressure stays above 20 even when hot and motor is idling. When running down the road, the pressure is at about 40 or so.
No matter which way you go, chains or gears, you still need to check runout. If that crank is spinning too far beyond spec, it can take out your oil pump. Not very good, even if you catch it right away. On my 99 runout is not common, mine was still within spec, but I have a forged crank. On your 03, I believe that was the first year for the cast cranks, so be careful how high you rev it.

I donot ever rev my motor high, hell I never even banged the gears. The bike just runs great but I know i have to check tensioners and why not upgrade cams. i too like what i hear and read about 26's and that will be my choice. i also like your input on changing the oil pump spring. Smart easy move for a little extra protection. I don,t know about the crank runout i know its 0.03 but why does gear drive effect it so much if its over 0.03?

Chains are a little more forgiving if something is out of whack because the chain itself can flex or twist a little and allow a little room for error. This is also why some claim that gears are better, because when the chain flexes, or twists, this transmits to the lifters which then do not open the valves quite in time as they should be. Would you ever notice the difference without a dyno? I'm not quite sure. Since the gears are solid metal to solid metal, if they are spinning too far out of true, they will mash into each other and grind themselves away or break. Pick up one of the dial indicators and make sure your within spec. If you are out, then you might consider having the flywheels trued and welded. Where I am at, WI, youcan rent an indicator from Auto Zone, I think its like $20. I just bought one because I do all the work myself and justify the tools expense as what I save in labor. If you look around on the forum, I almost guarantee you will find someone near you that is willing to loan tools to you or even help you do what needs be done. If I were closer, I would be there to help.

JCB, where did you find By-pass spring?
tony