My good friend is a professional bike mechanic, owns his own shop and has such a devoted customer base. His vast knowledge of just about everything with 2 wheels is off the charts. A few years ago when I gave up my evo's for a twin cam he told me I was nuts to do it, and has continued to tell me every year since. He told me that the new twin cams were harleys answer to cheap manufacturng and profits. and nothing about building quaility. And a great way for them to now build what he calls disposable motorcycles. Get your 50,000 miles out of it and throw it away, he laughed. His comments used to actually get a bit under my skin, probably why he kept it up.

Having now lived through all the late 90ties early fuel injection probems. and the cam problems. I got out of that bagger and in 04 bought a new road glide. The bike now has only 18,000 miles on it. Based on what I see on a regualr basis around the shop with twin cam failures, I started to think that maybe I would opt for the S&S gear cam setup. When my friend pulled the cams on my bike the tensioners were perfect they were actually what I was worried about. But the front cam and bearing were so badly worn that it was only the fitment of the cam inside the bearing that kept the bearing together. The bearing cam out in pieces. Needless to say that the motor was going to fail big time and soon. Again only 18,000 on the bike. It also should be said that I change my oil every 1000 miles faithfully, and I dont ride hard at all. Its a damn good thing I decided to do the cams and catch the problem before it got very expensive. Needless to say I was lucky.

I agree with all that would say that there is no better bike to ride than a harley, and I would rather walk than ride Gmetic stuff. But I now have to agree with my friend. Just seeing so many twin cams in the shop with so many problems due to poor engineering. (or in harleys eyes great engineering designed to fail just after waranty)

Harley is in toruble, and only getting worse in this bad economic time. I was considering selling this bike and upgrading to the 09 road glide. But I have already seen a few 6 speeds blow. Probably due to lugging at low rpm in 6th gear but WTF just another harley problem.

The wall street jounal had a recent article about the struggling harley company and its aging devoted customer base. Now at 50 and by no means a RUB. I just cant justify spending hard earned money to keep upgrading my bike every 4 or 5 years. The value for the dollar is no longer there. I just hope the bike I have now will last beyond the years I have left to ride. But lets face it these new bike are no timeless old Panheads I guess the upside is that its not as bad as the AMF shovel

 

>>I change my oil every 1000 miles faithfully,<<
Really?? That's once a week for me in the riding season.

Anyway what's your point..Trade it on a Yamaha if you don't like your HD.

Mark

 

When my bike was tore apart for the the 95"/gear drive,there were no issues with the cams,tensioners or bearings at 30000 miles.
I changed the oil every 5,000 miles.
Cant say you or the professional mechanic are correct in saying these are disposable engines.

There are many others here with a lot more than 50000miles on their engines.

 

Another troll that doesn't know what he's talking about. Who's your brainy mechanic? What city are you in? Can we see the bike you're ranting about? The evo was such a great upgrade from previous motors that the industry said harleys went from a 20,000 mile motor to a 100,000 mile motor overnight. The twincam had its problems in the early production but it's proven itself to be just as good if not better than the evo. Throw it away after 50,000? Brain dead.

 

70,000 plus......and my disposable hasn't been disposed of just yet. Maybe over the winter I'll freshen up the top end, bore out the cylinders and do a little head work. I should be able to get another 70,000 plus from my disposable in the coming years.


Respects,
Ed

 

I bet your "professional mechanic " sells a lot of unneeded parts!

 

Yeah...because nothing ever went wrong with evos...

 

Don't throw it away I will be happy to pick up the trash for you...I am an EVO lover but my TC is a great motor as well. I recently broke down the motor and did a bunch of work and my take offs looked brand new.

 

Know of many Evo's that have gone 100K + won't be surprised to hear the same about Twin Cams as well although may take a little more upkeep on them.. But Change oil every 1,000 Miles? If read a little about lubrication changing oil too frequently is not good...

 

Another Phuckin Honda Troll pissed off because his crappy credit score will not allow him to buy a Harley.