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I would like to thank the camshaft suppliers for there help in supply us with the camshafts necessary to get this testing done. This testing was done to be able for us to supply based calibrations within Mastertune for there products. Since we do not sell any of these camshafts, we are about as independent as it gets when this testing is being done. Each of these companies donated the camshafts to us, for testing and we supplied the bike, labor and dyno time to get this all done.They each picked the camshafts they wanted us to test for them, so we did not pick them. Here are the first set of test results for camshafts in the 103 TC engine. There will be more to follow as we were not able to get everything all done, prior to us closing for the holidays but it's our Christmas gift to you.
The test bike used for this round of testing was a 2014 103 Road King. The bike was equipped with a Fullsac DX headpipe, Fullsac 2" muffler cores in Stock mufflers and High Flow Air Cleaner. This is strictly BOLT IN Camshaft testing which is what most of you have or will have done to your bikes.This is typically called Stage II configuration. Tuning was done using Mastertune and each camshaft set was run and tuned using 91 Octane CA fuel. We purchase 55 gallons of fuel in a sealed drum so that all testing and tuning was done with the exact same fuel!
There are plenty more graphs I could post that show the baseline run against each different camshaft set, if that's what you would like to see. The baseline configuration is the stock 103 engine with the Fullsac DX exhaust, Fullsac 2" muffler cores in stock mufflers, High Flow Air Cleaner and tuned with Mastertune. So this would show you just what the camshafts added. The charts as posted are just the results from each supplier in a group. One needs to remember if the configuration is changed to add more compression the results will change, so you need to be careful and understand these are just BOLT IN results. As for the exhaust on the bike we have tested many of them and in our bolt in testing this is one that we have found time and time again to perform at the top.
You have to really be truthful with yourselves and look at the area where the performance increase occurs, for your style of riding. For years I've tried to teach people to look hard at how your ride before looking at peak numbers to make your decision. What one does with a Trike versus a Softail are very different requirements, just as a person who rides solo most of the time versus two up riding. Lots of things would cause you to pick a different setup that is best for you and what you are doing. I personally have a few bikes and my Dyna is barrels of fun with the big engine and big performance but it's not what I would get on to head out for a few day trip either. The most common mistake is getting a big HP build for a daily ridden bike. There fun and I enjoy the h3ll out of mine but I have a Touring bike to enjoy for that couple days of out on the road riding too. A quick and easy way to look at a dyno chart is to locate the 4000 rpm spot, then take the chart and fold it in half along that line. The side below 4000 RPM for most of us is where we will spend 90 + % of the time when riding.
I'm surprised by the results on the S&S 551 cams below 2,500 but I definitely appreciate that someone would take all this time to benefit riders who are looking at future mods. I'm guessing the exhaust system has a lot to do with the early TQ results.
Last edited by 2013_FLHTK; Dec 27, 2019 at 09:15 AM.
For all the bad press the S.E. cams get ,it sure looks like they're right in the hunt with the rest of the these cams...of course there's a couple that are a bit above the others but it's closer than I thought it'd be. Thanks for all the hard work
The SE 259E was in the hunt but that was at 5500 RPM. I was more interested in the SE 255 profile that made more power up until the peak. Will a rider feel the extra 6 or 7 foot pounds of torque while normal driving?
There are plenty more graphs I could post that show the baseline run against each different camshaft set, if that's what you would like to see. The baseline configuration is the stock 103 engine with the Fullsac DX exhaust, Fullsac 2" muffler cores in stock mufflers, High Flow Air Cleaner and tuned with Mastertune. So this would show you just what the camshafts added. The charts as posted are just the results from each supplier in a group. One needs to remember if the configuration is changed to add more compression the results will change, so you need to be careful and understand these are just BOLT IN results. As for the exhaust on the bike we have tested many of them and in our bolt in testing this is one that we have found time and time again to perform at the top.
You have to really be truthful with yourselves and look at the area where the performance increase occurs, for your style of riding. For years I've tried to teach people to look hard at how your ride before looking at peak numbers to make your decision. What one does with a Trike versus a Softail are very different requirements, just as a person who rides solo most of the time versus two up riding. Lots of things would cause you to pick a different setup that is best for you and what you are doing. I personally have a few bikes and my Dyna is barrels of fun with the big engine and big performance but it's not what I would get on to head out for a few day trip either. The most common mistake is getting a big HP build for a daily ridden bike. There fun and I enjoy the h3ll out of mine but I have a Touring bike to enjoy for that couple days of out on the road riding too. A quick and easy way to look at a dyno chart is to locate the 4000 rpm spot, then take the chart and fold it in half along that line. The side below 4000 RPM for most of us is where we will spend 90 + % of the time when riding.
Interesting point made about the trike and the dyna.
Steve, i ride an 11 103 with sidecar two up a lot. What cam would you reccomend that comes on early and stays throughout the curve?
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103 & 110 TwinCam Camshaft reviews
