cam advice from all
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 259
Likes: 1
From: Kansas City, MO
if you want specific answers, you can't ask vague questions. A cam change was worth it to me. A gear drive setup (gears, cams, bearings) will cost around $600. That's not including labor (unless you do it yourself - it's not hard). The cam you choose depends on what and how you ride. Do you ride 2 up a lot? Do you ride a superglide or an ultra? Do you plan on a big bore later? There's a lot that goes into picking a cam. If you decide to do it yourself and have all the parts, you can do it in a few hours (more if you use your stock pushrods). It took me quite a while to pick mine out, and I'm very happy with them, but they're not for everybody.
Road Captain
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 717
Likes: 3
From: IN
I had the 95" kit installed over the winter with the 203 cams. it has pleanty of low end trq, which is right where i wanted my power. If you get new cams get the adj push rods that way if you decide to change cams later it will be easier & cheaper.
Novice
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
From: NW Missouri
Cams
Matt816,
Somthing that has been overlooked here is the head-quarters USA cams I am running the 0034 grind which is a nice drop in cam designed for the midrange. To me its all about what you want and where you want the cam to come on so to speek from what Im reading your kinda like me and like the low to mid grunt. Here is the link to the catalog.
www.head-quarters.com/catalog.html4
Somthing that has been overlooked here is the head-quarters USA cams I am running the 0034 grind which is a nice drop in cam designed for the midrange. To me its all about what you want and where you want the cam to come on so to speek from what Im reading your kinda like me and like the low to mid grunt. Here is the link to the catalog.
www.head-quarters.com/catalog.html4
Novice
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
From: NW Missouri
Cams
Matt816,
Also in my opion if your dealing with Gails stay there very good people, as far as a wrench ask for your work to be done by Robin by far the best in the business in the KC area.
As far as parts Worth up north is easier to get the priced reduced but Gails will also come down it just takes a little more work.
Also in my opion if your dealing with Gails stay there very good people, as far as a wrench ask for your work to be done by Robin by far the best in the business in the KC area.
As far as parts Worth up north is easier to get the priced reduced but Gails will also come down it just takes a little more work.
R.I.P. BROTHER
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,076
Likes: 6
From: Colorado Springs
I'm certainly not an expert in this arena, far from it. But back in November I had SE 211 cams installed in my 88B and think the improvement was well worth the money. More midband torque and the bike just snaps from 60-80. Hell, I even like the sound at idle better. I may spring for the 95 kit and head work in the future, but I'm really happy with the performance right now.
Shakey
Shakey
My 211's combined with my 95" kit were cool and then I had the heads milled and ported.
Its night and day. The 211's will rip in a bigger bore motor with bumped up compression.
A guy not going "Whole hog" or doing some version of a stage 3 would get a bigger bang for his buck outta a 204 or one of the woods or Andrews grinds that are close to that cam.
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 259
Likes: 1
From: Kansas City, MO
im open for any advice on this topic. again, id like 6-8 more hp and maybe 10 ft lbs more torque which i feel is a reasonable result from a cam swap and retuning the carb. i will say down the road (years) im not ruleing out the possibility of working the heads, different carb or even maybe the 95" upgrade. if the new cams could be used with a new setup great, if not oh well. im just wanting to make my bike more aggresive for now without a crazy expense and we'll figure the rest out when i get there. a cam change is something i want to accomplish within the next month so i can enjoy this riding season.
Last edited by matt816; Mar 31, 2009 at 09:16 AM.
Cruiser
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 210
Likes: 3
SE211 cams
My 08 fatboy has SE211 cams with BSS/SEAC/SERT. 85HP/92TQ
When I fitted the cams I had the V&H quiet cams in, and I didn't notice much difference low down (although there was a suspicion that it was a tad gutless at very low revs) but at the top end it was definitely stronger.
I then took out the quiet baffles and had it retuned. There was then a definite lack of torque low down but once the motor is spinning over 2500 there is no stopping it all the way to the red line. A 'bloody rocket' is how my Softail standard riding friend described it.
I particularly like leaving it in 4th gear and riding between 80mph and 100mph, rolling on and off the throttle, bike seems to love it and is an absolute monster. Sounds amaaaaazing.
So SE211 won't suit you unless you like having to wind yout bike up a little to get the most out of its performance. As one of the previous posts says, if you want lower down TQ then there would be better cams. I love the bike as it suits my riding style - laid back until its time to not be laid back anymore!!!
When I fitted the cams I had the V&H quiet cams in, and I didn't notice much difference low down (although there was a suspicion that it was a tad gutless at very low revs) but at the top end it was definitely stronger.
I then took out the quiet baffles and had it retuned. There was then a definite lack of torque low down but once the motor is spinning over 2500 there is no stopping it all the way to the red line. A 'bloody rocket' is how my Softail standard riding friend described it.
I particularly like leaving it in 4th gear and riding between 80mph and 100mph, rolling on and off the throttle, bike seems to love it and is an absolute monster. Sounds amaaaaazing.
So SE211 won't suit you unless you like having to wind yout bike up a little to get the most out of its performance. As one of the previous posts says, if you want lower down TQ then there would be better cams. I love the bike as it suits my riding style - laid back until its time to not be laid back anymore!!!
Grand HDF Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 4,624
Likes: 189
From: Newcastle, Ca.
Installed 21's in an 88" for ~ $130 total. Cams were had on eBay and did not buy adjustables. More work, but less money... The install was well worth the cost and time. Much improved low and mid tq, better than stock above that. If I paid some one $700 to install "any" bolt in cams I probably would not be as happy about it. Every ones expectations and finances are different. If I spent $700 and got a cam, BB kit and some head work, that would be worth $700. Guess my budget is tighter than most, prefer to save on labor and have different expectations...
Good luck and be sure to research 21's and 26's. For a stock 88", 21's are great. Especially for occasional 2up riding and if you are not a high rever and prefer low to mid tq. A 26 would provide a little less in low to mid, but more above that.
Good luck and be sure to research 21's and 26's. For a stock 88", 21's are great. Especially for occasional 2up riding and if you are not a high rever and prefer low to mid tq. A 26 would provide a little less in low to mid, but more above that.
Intermediate
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 44
Likes: 0
From: Santa Maria, CA
Matt,
If your looking for sustained torque and constant HP increase accross RPMs I think you check out the Nightrider site:
http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/hplist_twin_cam.htm
http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/street_tc_engine.htm
(see links on right side below the little dyno sheet).
Also these sites are good for general performance questions:
http://www.harley-performance.com/index.html & http://www.harley-davidson.com/pdf/SE_001_031.pdf
I did a stage 2 (or 3 depending on who you talk to about what consitutes the difference) w/ Andrews TW37G. I have really strong pull from about 2000 rpms to ??? (guessing around 5000-5500).
If your looking for sustained torque and constant HP increase accross RPMs I think you check out the Nightrider site:
http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/hplist_twin_cam.htm
http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/street_tc_engine.htm
(see links on right side below the little dyno sheet).
Also these sites are good for general performance questions:
http://www.harley-performance.com/index.html & http://www.harley-davidson.com/pdf/SE_001_031.pdf
I did a stage 2 (or 3 depending on who you talk to about what consitutes the difference) w/ Andrews TW37G. I have really strong pull from about 2000 rpms to ??? (guessing around 5000-5500).
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 259
Likes: 1
From: Kansas City, MO
yeah ive seen/been to all the different websites to find what im looking for, and for the most part i have. i tend to always over think things, and look for proven results from peoples real world builds and results. looks like an adrews 21, se 204, woods tw6 are all pretty popular. ill probably skip the gear drives and do the upgrade roller set up. Basically ill know what i need to hear when i hear it. i dont want to waste the money, my bike runs great as it is now. i do not want to suffer as far as reliability or longevity, however i do want more performance. ill pull the trigger soon i know that much.
Last edited by matt816; Mar 31, 2009 at 11:38 AM.