I'm sure this topic has been covered a bit but I can't seem to find much on the newer / modern era cams available for an '08 cvo 110, which is in a Road King. I'm thinking of buying one of these in the very near future! The seller states he's had some work done to it but the motor has a slight "tick" in the valve train, and also states that this noise has always been there from when the RK was new. I'd like to freshen up things with this bike if I buy it including heads (valve springs), cylinders/pistons and replacing the Wood's cams with a different set-up ....... any suggestions on the subject would be appreciated!

 

I had them mill the heads down to bring up compression, polished the ports, and put an SS585 cam in it. Ran really good .

 

Suggest you call and talk to Bobby Wood. I would keep his cams, change the springs in the heads, double check i had at least 10.5 / 1 compression, and clean up the heads with good head work. Best torque, will be achieved that way, with out a big expense.

Unless you have mismatched cams to the rest of the components. Woods cams will produce great torque in the 110 unless you have not adjusted compression.

if you are not a big woods cam fan, then GMR has a good set of cams, Drago has a good set as well as T-man.

 

for cam selection the most useful tool is a dyno chart showing where the power comes on- if that is the area in which you ride- you have the right cam.

final gearing ratios and the bike weight ( w/ rider) should also be part of the calculation

then how the cam is going to work with your heads ( combustion chamber, springs and valves) pistons ( comp ratio/ valve relief), exhaust and intake systems.

proven "package" solutions are out there- best to choose components which work together.

for any performance part, how it works within the system is key

and as always

cost
reliability
power

you pick 2


I'd advise against milling heads for a compression bump ( my CHP FXRP has milled heads) this can cause silly little problems such as having to mill the manifold as the angle is slightly off, and having to use adjustable pushrods.
everything in the top of my motor is off by .060- even the top motor mount

mike

 

I'm not opposed to milling the heads for added compression or to the Wood's cams that are already installed in the motor! Since I'm going to dig into the upper end of this motor to freshen it up a bit, I could consider a SE or aftermarket PISTON design that would boost compression, pending my cam choice. Only objection I have to milling is that this process is more of a "permanent" mod as opposed to changing pistons to reach the desired CR. I've been reading stuff on this forum for a long time, and know a few of the issues associated with the 110. Today the seller states that the original lifters bit the dust, and decided to install Woods cams, lifters, SE adjustable pushrods along with inner & outer cam bearings ..... same seller told me today that the bike has performance exhaust which are 1-3/4" vs the stock 1-1/2" header pipes ......... so when you start hearing this from a seller ..... alarms and yellow flags start popping and waving! Sure is a gorgeous bike though -

 

Why is it alarms go off? Sounds kind'a like ya were planning???

 

No reason for alarms to go off. Doesn't sound like he had a catastrophic failure. The stock lifters in the 110 are notorious for failing. Sounds as if the majority of what your wanting has already been done.

2010 Limited with some stuff

 

I'm with SBates. Haven't seen anything that says there is even anything wrong with the motor as is. Any bike (even a brand new bone stock) is going to have some valve train ticking. And for sure will when you start adding higher lift cams. If you can get the dyno sheet on the bike to check out the torque curve (to make sure its where it needs to be for you and your riding style) and have a reputable mechanic check it out for you. It may already be perfect. Now obviously the bike is 7 years old or so, but I would think the mileage (especially since cams and stuff were done) would be the main indicator as to whether you need to do work on the motor yet.

 

If it's got woods lifters installed then i would change those. Bob's lifters are usually loud and I've never liked them. Others may have a different opinion. I agree with mkguitar i would get the right compression ratio but would avoid milling anything as it creates a host of downstream issues to deal with.

 

Bike has 49,400 miles on it! In actuality, the owner said one of the original lifters (front, but couldn't remember if it was intake or exhaust) went south at 30k, then, after another 8k another front lifter went again. He took the heads to an indy that reported the head were fine! So here we are, 11,000 miles later with Woods cams and lifters and other stuff mentioned before ..... says the motor runs excellent, but there's a tapping sound? I mentioned piston slap, as well as if the noise could be coming from an improperly sealed exhaust port gasket leak, but he insists the ticking noise is coming from the valve train! Apparently, at approximately 2500 rpm the noise gets a little louder, which is about the rpm range would be if I were cruising at 55 mph - should I go for it and take my chances or should I be concerned about some serious issues beyond just freshing up the motor (if need be) as mentioned before? That is alot of miles, but have seen excellent pics of the bike from all angles and you would think it only had 5,000 miles on it. My real problem is I luv working on my bikes as much as I luv to ride'm .... major problem ... especially when trying to make a decision on this RK. If the bike wasn't more than an hour away I would take a short road trip to see the thing, which I'd like to do this weekend, but at the same time I don't want to waste my time! Thanks for the positive feedback so far.