I've recently purchased an 03 road king classic from a rv dealership and it currently has 43,000 miles on it. The salesman told me the old owner informed him it had a big bore kit installed on it. Now I'm in no way an expert on Harley's as this only the second one I've ever owned. So I have two questions for anyone who can shed some light. First off, if it did have a big bore kit installed would it have had the cam tensioners changed? And second is there a way for me to know visually if there was a big bore kit installed? Now I will say the bike runs very! Strong other than the top end of 2cnd gear... is there anything I can look at or look for that could reveal some answers other than taking it to a mechanic? Thx for any input!!!

 

Crystal Ball.


In the absence of service records, reciepts, etc. it may be difficult to verify a second hand story. Any paperwork with the bike? Owners manual with the prior owners name in it?

I bought a used HD from a consignment guy, and got the former owners name off the title. Then I went to the local HD dealer and asked the service writer if they had ever worked on the bike. He was kind enough to give me all prior service records with the owners name blacked out (but I already new it). Take the VIN and ask the dealer that you think may have worked on it. Can't hurt. Good luck, and welcome aboard.

 

Trust nothing but your own eyes. Pull the exhaust and cam cover and look at those tensioners.

 

1. One would like to think so, but not necessarily. As others have said, you can verify the cam tensioner upgrade by removing the cover and checking it out. It's not a biggie to do..


2. I can think of no way to verify the big bore kit or what displacement you have other than removing the heads and measuring.

 

In response to my questions about the "big bore kit and cam tensioners"
No documentation from previous owner or service records. I do like the idea of looking up the vin though!! I will say I've noticed something just recently while cleaning the bike. The chrome push rod covers have a spring loaded cover in the middle. Does this mean that the stock ones were cut and these are after market replacements?

 

Even if you pulled up the push rod tubes and found adjustable pushrods that doesn't tell you what was done in the cam chest for certain.

 

Buy a Harley Davidson Service Manual for your bike. Do a compression test. If the compression reads higher than the stock spec, there have been engine mods. The most popular pistons for 95" bores are the Screamin' Eagle "flat tops". These will bump the compression up a bit but I don't know how much. Even if the engine was stock, you'd want to check the cam chain tensioners.

 

I would think that if it had a big bore kit, it would also have had some changes to the pipes and air cleaner; and certainly it would've had some kind of tuner like a Power Commander. Any of those things present?

 

If its an oem bb kit it should have "screaming eagle" written on it. It does on my friends RKC atleast.

As for the tensioners you just pull the cover and see. 5 min job. It would be very stupid not to atleast change the shoes while he was that deep into the engine.

 

Dealer can give you a good idea if the HD 95" kit was installed. All he has to do is read the ECM and see if the Stage 2 flash was done. That flash was part of the kit.
Back when 95" was all the rage most people had it done pre-delivery.