Gear Whine
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 21,090
Likes: 7,610
From: Poolville
the A was originally a solid cam only then as time went on and it fell out of favor because its a dud - but have met guys who think its fine - they are the cheapskates cant admit they spent money on nothing
the A2 is a great cam for today fuel and riding an old machine you are not trying to kill every time you get on it and its hyd lifter
the A2 is a great cam for today fuel and riding an old machine you are not trying to kill every time you get on it and its hyd lifter
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,152
Likes: 2,560
From: CT/FL
One last question - they say the cam won't work with 80-81 valve guides. Is that because they have seals on top, or are the guides actually different? Someone added tin seals to mine, so I hope there won't be a problem.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,152
Likes: 2,560
From: CT/FL
Yeah, that's ideal, but the picture was taken two years ago when the motor was out. I was hoping I'd get an easy answer that it'll be fine, haha, but I know that's impossible. I was really wondering what changed in 1980/81?
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,152
Likes: 2,560
From: CT/FL
Today I was able to focus my attention on the bike. First thing, peel off the chrome covers to find silver tappet blocks,and remove them. I will paint them black before I install them (without the chrome).
Pulled out the cam, and looked closely at the bearing area. There is a very slight (a couple tenths?) ridge on one side:
The gear teeth have marks but nothing bad?
What to do about that pinion shaft?
Pulled out the cam, and looked closely at the bearing area. There is a very slight (a couple tenths?) ridge on one side:
The gear teeth have marks but nothing bad?
What to do about that pinion shaft?
Last edited by Joe12RK; May 15, 2020 at 02:04 PM.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,152
Likes: 2,560
From: CT/FL
The breather actually looks pretty good, but I'm going to change it to a new one to be sure it's right:
I thought about using the gearcase cover from my 82FXR, but the cam bushing doesn't look any better, and the breather pad looks BAD
The tappets have a lot of wear marks, what do you think? The rollers feel very good to me, no slop or notchy feeling. Should I measure them up or are they shot?
[Edit: Next thing I'll do is clean the oil off them and the blocks and see how much slop there is. (I never had any luck with inside calipers)]
With all of that I decided to buy an Andrews A2 cam, a late model breather, cam bearing and red size pinion gear. That'll give me all new gears that should mesh properly.
I thought about using the gearcase cover from my 82FXR, but the cam bushing doesn't look any better, and the breather pad looks BAD
The tappets have a lot of wear marks, what do you think? The rollers feel very good to me, no slop or notchy feeling. Should I measure them up or are they shot?
[Edit: Next thing I'll do is clean the oil off them and the blocks and see how much slop there is. (I never had any luck with inside calipers)]
With all of that I decided to buy an Andrews A2 cam, a late model breather, cam bearing and red size pinion gear. That'll give me all new gears that should mesh properly.
Last edited by Joe12RK; May 15, 2020 at 02:14 PM.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 157,456
Likes: 57,014
From: Michigan 15 Minutes East Of Hell
Maybe clean the breather window if you haven't already done so to look something like this ... some of the original holes were rather small and roughly cast .... Changing a cam cover can result in binding ... May have to be "align bored" ... Good Luck and "Shovel On"
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 21,090
Likes: 7,610
From: Poolville
Uncle Larry has a point about the cam bushing it's not just a straight swap out. And it's possible that the nose cone that is on there might not have been the original one to the motor based on the fact how your cam and pinion gear have been meshing poorly.. Your pinion gear definitely doesn't look good and it looks like you're going to need a new one... You're going to have to measure everything with the pins to get the proper clearance from the cam to the pinion gear.. it definitely looks like it was tight.. And there's your wine.. has nothing to do with the breather gear..
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2006
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From: la la land jerzey
at some point you need a professional to look at the fitness of what your dealing with - too tight like you have its noisy and it wears stuff out in an egg shape you cant feel or see
tooling and experience is the answer
tooling and experience is the answer
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 2,169
Likes: 435
From: australia
i agree unless you know what your doing