While we're on the subject, you can get Donny's twin cam book for kindle for 3 bucks. Donny's Unauthorized Technical Guide to Harley-Davidson, 1936 to Present: Volume I: The Twin Cam [Kindle Edition].

 

50k is a good time, replace them with directionals.

 

If it aint broke, fix it till it is.

 

Crack the cam chest and do an inspect. Check the tensioners, they should be the only thing that would potentially need replacement. While you have the cam plate out, check the lifters. I would lay odds that they are just fine (presuming you changed oil at recommended intervals) as well as the cams themselves and pushrods.

 

Being a 2007 with the newer hydraulic tensioners the tensioners should have a lot of life left, especially if you run synthetic oil. HOWEVER I would pull it apart to replace the cheap INA inner cam bearings. Some of those last a long time and some fall apart in less than 50k and can take out a motor just as readily as bad tensioners do on the older Twin Cams. While you are replacing them you can inspect the cams and lifter rollers, replace if the surfaces are starting to look bad.

 

75,000 miles, always synthetic oil, good as new so far.

 

And I have just over 70K on my 06' and it's never been into. Chain tensioners and all are all original.
Well, save for the fact that I'm opening it up for the first time ever today to replace the stator. Next month on my hit list is the tensioners, and I am of mind at this mileage to replace them with stockers and keep the non adjustable pushrods. I'm not cheap, but why go by the theory to replace everything with upgraded and more expensive parts. By the time my second set of tensioners need to be replaced, the motor will likely need to be rebuilt.
I am going to do the lifters while I am in there as I hear one on rare occasion.
I am also keeping the original compensator as well. Nothing wrong with it, and a factory wrench said if he did mine, he would just clean and re install it.




aka Bob

 

If you doubt it change it all out, then you'll feel better.

 

My front lifters went out at about 53000 miles. The rear ones looked fine. The hard finish came off of the surface of both the rollers on the lifters and the surface of the cam face. I always use synthetic and have been changing oil at 5000 mile intervals. The engine is a 103 SE. After mine went out I searched the forums to see how common it was for them to fail and it was a mixed result. Mine had the old stile cam chain tensioners and they were fine. I went ahead and upgraded the whole cam chest.

 

When I do a top end job, aroung 100k or if I'd installed new cams with over 20k on her