At 23,500 miles on my '02 Dyna Low Rider TC88. The bike has been running great. But thought I should check my cam chain tensioners after a long trip.
I wasn't happy with what I found. These are pics of the outer tensioner. I could not get a good pic of the inner tensioner, but it looks even worse! Looks like I'll have to make a decision soon...replace the tensioners only; SE hydraulic cam plate; upgrade cams while I'm in there? Gear drive? I plan to do most, if not all of the work myself. After reading all the posts regarding this subject, I'm not sure what the best solution is. All suggestions/opinions are welcome. In the mean time, I won't be going on any long rides until I fix it.

 

Gear drive and never worry another day about it

 

Did you get the bike new?
Do you ride it hard?
I think 23,500 is pretty low miles to be worrying about the engine already and not taking a long trip as a result, thats shocking to me.
I wonder if this is something I should check as soon as I pick up my bike?
Are you just bored and looking for something to do to your bike, 8) lol
You said it was running great right now right?

lol I dont even know what they are and you got me worried about my cam tensioners, lol thanks

looking at that pic I assume the orange thing is the tensioner?
What are you seeing wrong with it?

Lump

 

ahh, hell!! you got lots of good miles left in those puppies!! if you change them, you can sell them on ebay for what you paid for the new ones!!! I'd try another 20k!!



good move on the inspection, you might want to change over to the newer style tensioners & chains, gear drive cams, after a runout check of crank, or just blow some new tensioners in there and ride another 20 k, and check again. gear drive is definatly the best, zero maintenance, I don't like having to do work on my bikes unless I'm getting some big returns on what I'm doing. as in horsepower cubed!!

 

How long do you plan on keeping the bike...that would dictate how much $$ you dump into it.

On my 01 Deuce I went with the SE kit...the kit was $350 on eBay and my indy charged $200 for the install

 

You better do some reading on this tensioner issue.

 

I'm on it.

So your the third person I have heard say change to a gear, is that right?
I am going to do some reading and check it out.

If the gear is maintenance free and not going to be a problem later I think I will just plan on pricing it out and seeing what I can get it done for.

The bike I bought has 32k on it and I havent picked it up yet so I havent had a chance to go through it yet.

Where in the motor is this, can it be done without pulling the engine?
Thanks

Lump

Didnt mean to hijack your thread OP, sorry man,.

 

It's tempting. I'll have to have the crank run out checked, from what I've heard.

 

If you are going to keep the bike, cam it and gear drive.

Like the bike but looking around, gear drive or up grade tensioners.

Going to replace bike next year, trade the bitch in now. LOL

 

Harleycharlie - Thanks for the great tips. When I opened up the cam cover, I was hoping to find no wear on the tensioners, button it back up and be good for another 20k. I know I'll at least have to replace the tensioners, I'm not sure if putting a slightly hotter cam while I'm in there is worth it or not.