I have heard conflicting stories regarding Gear-driven cams. A local mechanic swears by the gear-driven set up where one of the Harley dealers "good engine" guys states some models have issues with gear-drives and recommends the screaming eagle cam upgrade kit. Anyone have more input regarding this?

I have a 2006 Heritage Softail Classic.

Thanks,
Richard

 

Need to check crankshaft runout. Should be less than .005 I believe for gears. The closer the better.

 

Dealer will always try and sell you HD parts. Their parts are always better then the rest? At least according to them. Take your time and talk to other riders who have gear drive cams. Ask to ride their bikes. Ask to see if they have run into any issues regarding the cams they have. Then make your decision.

 

More like .003 max. Good luck getting that on an 06. With the hyd set up going 80k before a check up and a better pump id go hyd. And the gear set up costs more plus harder to set backlash.

 

Thanks for the correction, Soft 02!

 

Pretty much once the MoCo went away from a forged crank I think in 04 the tolerances got looser and it gets harder to find a good canidet for gears or finding one who knows how to set one up. The hyd set up really is the best thing out there either for the shade tree or the indy.

 

Some Motors have issues, not Models unless he's talking Yr of the bike. And yes If Ur runout is over .003, most won't do them.

Gear cams do make more noise vs the chain, but on a 88, they remove the need or worry of tennsioners.

If U do go with the new HYD set up,, Make sure U replace the Rear/inner chain replaced with the new roller chain the same as with the front/outside.
Usually done with cam change.


some are doing only the SE HYD upgrade that doesn't replace the back chain, which will cause the new back tennsioner to wear the same as the old setup.






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With the SE hydraulic upgrade tensioner you also get an upgraded oil pump. I disagree with the need for the inner roller chain. The hydraulic tensioner takes out the slack in the chain by oil pressure. More tension at high RPMs, less tension at low RPMs. Not the constant high tension the spring provided.

 

Gear driven came up as a fix to an earlier problem however they are more of a race bike than a bike you plan to ride. I know a lot have done it, but real world most do not put many miles on.
Gear drive cams have no forgiveness. The update HYD setup is the way to go if you need to update. If you have the 2007 and new system ride on and forget about it.

 

While I agree with their being less pressure on the new tennsioners..
I am only reporting what others have said and what I've read in here..

It has been reported in here by several members that has installed the new SE HYD kit replacement that didn't have the new style 96''er roller chain installed in the rear.
Then they checked the new rear tennsioners after another 20-25k and they are saying they are wearing out about the same as the stock 88''er set up..

In other words, they are not lasting anything like the front Tennsioner in the HYD kit..

Their reasoning is the old style chain is causing the the New Tennsioners to wear just about as much and as fast..





Here Below is a pic of the tennsioners that one rider that installed the new SE HYD kit..

With 20k since the install... the outer one look new.. the inner one is shot.. That should prove that the roller chain does make a big difference..

From this link.. http://www.aimag.com/forums/harley-t...html#post94446



Here's one of the threads that explains it even better..
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/softa...-at-20k-4.html






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