Sorry for the long post but want to get as much info out there ASAP because I'd like to order parts tomorrow and put it together next weekend.

I have an 02 FLHTPI with 17K miles on it. I bought it in April 2015 with 10K on it and decided to give it a good looking over during some winter maintenance since I didn't get a good feeling as to what degree it was taken care of previously. Now I'm in there and thanks to a worn out secondary cam chain tensioner, I now have the opportunity to pull the cam plate.
I had figured around 30K I would be in here replacing the tensioners, and look at upgrades to the top end then, but I think I might as well do it now. I am anxious to get it back together and back to riding ASAP and I haven't had a long time to think about how and what is the best approach from here. So I know there is a lot of questions here, but I have done what research I can over the past 24 hours, but I'm sure some of you have good first hand experience that would really help a brother out.
I commute to work most days (60 miles round trip) and like to two up tour when I have a chance. Most of my ride to work is 70-90 mph on interstate just trying to stay slightly ahead of the flow of traffic. I am really interested in lower end torque as I rarely ride over over 4000 RPM. I am currently getting about 45 mpg and would like to try to keep as much of that as possible so I don't kill the range I can cover on a tank of gas.
Right now it is a stage 1 setup with Screamin Eagle Air Cleaner and slip-ons. I just bought the S&S power tune duals to put on while I have the pipes off to access the cam chest, so they will go on when I put it back together.
Dependability is the priority to me, which is why I bought an 02, and the idea of never having to worry about cam tensioners is a real motivator to me.

So what I would like your opinions on are this:
1- SE Cam Plate upgrade or gear drive cams? I will check crank run out later today when I pull the cam plate, but it being an 02 I don't anticipate a problem there.

2- Cam suggestions? I'm leaning towards the S&S 509's but am open to suggestions. It would be great if the cams I put in now would work if I take the engine to 95" a couple of years from now. If you think leaving the stock cams is a good idea, I'm ok with that too.

3- I will put in adjustable pushrods so I don't have to reopen the rocker boxes for any future work. Any suggestions on which pushrods to go with? I just finished replacing rocker cover gaskets and put in the metal breathers before I opened the cam chest thanks to a leaking rocker box gasket on the rear cylinder.

4- Should I replace the lifters?

5- Will I need a SERT or similar, or is there a map that could be downloaded that would work well? I haven't used anyone to do any work in the past, but if I would benefit from a good dyno tune I would pay for that. If I need a dyno tune, should I go with the controller the guy doing the tuning prefers or do you think one is better than another. Being a guy that prefers to do things myself, a tuner that makes that more practical is a plus.

6- If a dyno tune is necessary, would it hurt to ride it for a couple of weeks until I can get it in to have the work done?

As far as the budget goes, I am willing to spend what makes sense to improve reliability and serviceability of the bike up to around $1500.

Thanks for any advice.

 

I'm currently running the 509 in my 95". Still breaking the motor in, haven't hit the dyno yet. So far I'm happy. Are there better cams out there for this setup, sure. But I got a smoking deal on these and took the bait.

 

My brother put the 510 gear drive in his 04 and the gas mileage improved slightly with no other tune needed over the stage one. 509's will get you a little lower torque curve over the 510. Nice lopy sound at idle.

 

I don't know how he was able to do a cam upgrade without tuning, no way there is enough fuel in a Stage 1 map. Plus it has to be big time soft on the bottom end without some added compression.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Measured crank runout this afternoon at .0035. So it is just barely outside of what I've read from S&S installation instructions tolerances for their gear drives at .003.

 

J&B Performance put some in a Heritage last month and they ran well but imo the Andrews 21's shouldn't be overlooked either.

 

Your at 35 tenthousands based on what you wrote.

 

From his fuel mileage before the cam swap, I'd say he was very rich, Now it's good.

 

He wrote .0035

That's three and a half thousandths OR 35 ten thousanths. Same thing; right?

 

Yeah your right Nomadmax, or I would call it 3 thousandths and 5 tenths.