I got the new upgraded cam plate for my bike as I am tired of having to check my tensioners and replace them. The pre 2007 models all could possibly suffer from this issue. The 2007 and newer bike all have the new cam plate and hydraulic tensioners with the bigger oil pump so you guys have no need to worry.

I last did my tensioners when I put my 203 cams in at 40K miles. the bike had 60000 miles last Sunday. So there have been 20K put on since the last swap. I figured that there would be plenty of tensioner left seeing as the first change they were worn but not too bad at all.

WRONG! As soon as I got a look at the outer tensioner I was extremely glad I had decided to do this now. Teh outer tensioner was worn much more than it was when I swapped them at 40K. I could tell without even pulling back to expose the shoe.
OUTER TENSIONER





Once the shoe had been pulled back I could see the extent of the wear on the outer shoe and it was bad. I was trying to imagine what the inner would look like. After pulling the cam plate, I breathed a heavy sigh of relief seeing that the rear shoe was cracked and ready to grenade my motor.

OUTER TENSIONER




INNER TENSIONER





The part that was cracked broke off when I was prying it back to get a good pic of it. It is funny, but I ahd not given much thought to the tensioners as far as being worn out as it had only been 20K miles but I sure was glad that I had decided to do this, and now.

OUTER TENSIONER ON THE LEFT, INNER ON THE RIGHT



The new style cam plate comes with the bigger oil pump and the hydraulic tensioners and is very nice looking unit. Well worth the money in my book any day especially to avoid a catastrophic failure.

Sure I could have done gear drive but with 60K on the motor I decided that I would just put my 203's back in and run it as it is. I want to get as much longevity out of this bike as possible.

If you are w2ondering how your tensioners look, I would suggest that you check, even if it is just for peace of mind.

Drew

 

i think that kit is a good up grade!

 

This is not an upgrade. It is an owner funded warranty item.

 

unless you have an esp...

 

Correct you are sir. The confusing part about this is the varying mileages at which the tensioners wear. I was told taht once they had been changed taht the chain should be polsihed and smooth enough that it will not wear as quickly. Wrong. I have seen quite a few tensioners and there is nothing the same about any of them. Mileages vary, wear varies.

All I can say if pull your cam cover and have a look. Know that the inner shoe will be worn more than the outer.

We all know that Harley should have warrantied these old tensioners, but they did not.

 

wow, they look like *** for only 20,000 miles. not good.

i replaced mine @ 36,000 miles and was thinking/hoping the new set would last longer than the 1st set, being the cam chains should have been smoothed out some.

but damn, you just de-bumked that myth i guess.

got 47,000 on her now. looks like i'll be opening it up again soon.

did you make sure to put the cam chain on the same way it came off?
did you replace the cam chains when you replaced the shoes the 1st time?

 

I used the same chains so they should have been smoothed out. The chain was installed the same way it was originally on. I did add cams and a big bore kit later on. I guess riding a bit harder made a big difference.

Drew

 

**** poor design; caught mine at 50k miles; just in time. installed roller chain with hyd tensioners and i check it about every 5k; perfect condition.

 

I changed to gear drives at 38K and the shoes had very little wear. Since the gear driven cams were installed, I haven't even thought about them.

 

Nice reminder and pics. So you went with the hd kit which keeps your original inner chain and cams?