Well, it's been 2 weeks since I got my cams installed & dyno-tuned. I had been getting really disappointed at my bike because, being it is an '07, the gearing is very tall & it was always hard to clutch away from a dead stop. If I had a chick on the back, or was on a slight hill, it was much worse. Also, I was getting tired of looking down at my exhaust pipe at night & seeing it glow red; THAT couldn't be a good thing.

Now; last year I installed SE slip-ons, the ones with the separate endcaps, and an SE hi-flo AC. Bought the SE pro Supertuner, but they just did a smart tune; no dyno run. The bike was a tad more responsive; not much, but you could still light a cigarette off the headpipe.

So; I decided to do a cam upgrade, & if I didn't get the performance I was looking for, I would just trade the bike for a Softail. I decided after much research to go with either the SE 254e or 255 cams. I realized there were better performance cams out there, but I have always gone with SE stuff & been happy & never ONCE had an issue. I was after more low end torque to compliment the tall '07 gearing; wasn't really interested in going fast. Because both the service writer & the tech who did my install are running 254e in their bikes, I decided to go with them, as the low end is similar to the 255s, but the 254s were reputed to pull after the 255s ran out of steam. The cams were installed & then they tuned it on the dyno with the SE Supertuner.

When I got the bike back, the first thing I noticed was that it revved a lot quicker, & was more responsive & a tad more aggressive sounding. When the idle settled down, it sounded similar to the way it sounded with stock cams. Then I went for my first ride from the dealership & was very surprised & happy how easy it was to clutch away from a dead stop. The torque was fantastic right off idle, and the bike pulled like a freight train & never ran out of steam. One thing I noticed was how unbelievably smooth it seemed to run; no backfiring or decel pop at all, unlike before. They replaced the lifters, so there was absolutely ZERO noise from the motor; almost seemed like an electric dynamo. I have never heard a motor run or idle smoother, except in a Goldwing. Also, even though it was in the 90s, the bike didn't seem to run any hotter than my carbed Fatty. When I shut it down in the garage, for the first time, I couldn't SMELL the heat, like when the bike was running much hotter. I took it out last night for the first time, & absolutely NO red glow from the pipe!

The install was done extremely well, no leaks, no residual oil; in fact I got the bike back cleaner than when I brought it in, & NOBODY keeps their bike cleaner than me! I have been going to this dealership since they opened over 10 years ago & everything I have ever had done to my bikes was done PERFECTLY the first time; never had to bring anything back! Kudos to the people at Gulf Coast HD for making me fall in love with my bike again! They really exceeded my expectations with this mod!

Only problem I'm gonna have is keeping this thing below the speed limit!!

OH YEA; I think I may be becoming a performance mod junkie!

 

Yup. Cams are probably the best performance upgrade for the money. I rate my cam upgrade as THE best mod I've made to my bike. Shotgun shock is 2nd, because it's not exactly a performance upgrade and it cost about twice as much as the cam (since I installed the cam myself).

 

Now do the heads and it'll breathe better on top and give a boot on the upper end of the range.

 

Best thing i did to my fatty is cams ,pipes ,intake and most of all tune by a pro . A totally different motor. It was not cheap but well worth it. It is a shame you have to do all that to a new bike .Not Harleys fault but the government regs.Yea heads is another big change . Glad your happy . Good Luck

 

Good reference material for what works w/o stressing the engine.

 

Good thing the OP doesn't have an earlier model where the 1st gear ratio was 10.11 versus 9.31, he'd have never been able to get it going with such a......high gear ratio. And let's see...lives in a 12 month a year riding state Florida, has over 10k posts in 4 years, and we're supposed to buy into his supposed issues coming off the line when he's riding with a "chick" on the back.....riiiight!

 

'07s & '08s had gearing that was deemed too tall for the bike & changed in '09. Next time do some research before you go spouting off.

 

I think its just that some of us come from a time when belt loops were worn above the ***, women weren't referred to as bitches, and what you believed was entirely up to you.

 

How in the hell did a review of a performance mod (and a favorable one at that) deteriorate into a pissing match so quickly?

 

A few engine mods really wake a Road King up. Little to choose from between the 255 and 254 SE cams. I like the low end torque of the 255's better,as I do a lot of 2 up riding in mountainous terrain,and the big bike really performs. I did have the heads ported,cams,intake,and Freedom Performance 4 inch exhausts,with an SE Pro tuner,amazing difference in the 103 inch motor. I heard the 254's run better on the top end,but after blowing off a Fat Boy and pinning the speedo yesterday (without getting out of 5th gear) I gotta' ask how fast you have to go to notice the difference? Still getting 46-47 mpg out on the road. P.S..............Little Mike seems to be short in some departments.