I agree.

 

I disagree with "most folks". 3 model years came stock with 3:37 gearing. I doubt if many people geared them higher because the the highway rpms. I've ridden mine 69k miles, most of them on the interstate, and love it.

 

I was almost leery of jumping inhere and giving an answer as there were so many conflicting suggestions.

First, if going from 88 to 95 cubic inches only adds 3hp/tq, I dont think anyone would ever do it. This is a 8% increase in displacement and will result, all thing being equal in about a 8% increase in hp and tq (5hp, 6ft lbs tq) An 8% increase is nothing to sneeze at especially just for the price of boring the cyls and a set of pistons. (about 600 bucks if you do it yourself, not bad for an 8% increase in power).

No offense MrHD1, but if I want to know about magazines, I call the editor, if I want to know about building engines, I talk to a shops like Headquarters, GMR, Hillside, Kuryakyn, Woods Performance, the list is endless. Talking to HD shops sometimes doesn't get you much as they are really trying to sell both the HiPo parts and the labor to install. There is a lot of info available out there through mags, websites, forums, etc. Call the shop. Also, to say "go gear drive" for the cams really needs a qualifier. Most manufacturers of gear drives do not recommend them for anything beyond .004 crank runout as the cams will be noisy and with a lot of runout, will self destruct. There are a lot of later model HD's out there with a lot of crank runout. Needs to be checked first, and if there is too much runout, the alternative is to switch to the late model drive chain-tensioner set-up which includes a new cam support plate and pump assembly. The new assembly so far has proven to be pretty much bulletproof, but again, they dont have the miles on them that the earlier style does.

I agree with Dawg, the 3:37 set-up is not the way to go unless you are running a DD6, then final gearing will bring it down a highway speeds.

Easiest gain without too much work - a good set of cams,(I like the Woods TW6 as a "bolt in") a freer flowing air cleaner and a good tune. Again under $1000.

Now, if you want the whole enchilada, go with 95", heads, cams, exhaust, tune and you can get some really serious gains. And stay with components that have been proven to work and complement each other. Last95"I built was 102hp and 112 tq, and was reliable as all get out and was very rideable.

Do a lot of research on this site, there are many who have built inumerable combos of engine setups both HD and non-HD. As with anything, research the facts behind what you read here.

BTW - great choice of bikes..

 

No offense taken Dalton but let me qualify my post in light of your response. I read alot of articles in mags that say the latest this or that is the best thing since sliced bread so you obviously have to be knowledgeable enough to separate the wheat from the chaff. However, I don't know of too many folks that are even close to being as knowledgeable as Joe Minton nor do they come close to having his credentials. There are way too many motors running cams and flowed heads that don't come on till 3500+RPM. I 'spose you can build a TC 88 to rev 7K plus and it would be a hell of a ride in a FXD maybe but not my choice for a two up bagger. Your mention of crank runout is an interestingconcept and I will check it out but to date I've heard of no one having a motor "self destruct" withgear drive cams. Noise yes SD no. The new set-up (I have a '07 FLST) is an improvement as far as reliability but maintaining accurate valve timingis another question. BTW the crank runout seems to be an issue on some 07 96s as mine is currently having a new bullett being installed since the original one was in SD mode.

Going back to the torque curve issue: I want a bike that is at 80 ftlbs. by 2500 so I can pass briskly loaded down on a two lane road around a semi. Most of these passes start at about 50 MPH and end at around 80-85 preferably in 5th gear. If Iwant to have dyno numbers to brag about then I'll by another V-Rod not a Milwaukee tractor that runs best between 1500 and 5000 RPM.

 

MrHD1, you are correct in saying separating the wheat from the chaff is difficult at best. I am sure Joe Minton knows what he is talking about, but again, he is now in the business of selling mags. Yes, the crank issue is more prone to the 07's and up but is not uncommon in the 03 to 06 models. Gear drives in anything with greater than .004 runout on the crank are not recommended, due to noise, and yes, eventually the gears may eat themselves up or worse. The more you build the engine, the more your stress the crank, and the more likely it is that a "marginal" crank will show up to have issues.

You are also correct in that torque is where it is at, and for touring bikes, you want the torque low in the rpm range, 2000 to 3500 rpm, where most of us spend most of our time. There are a lotof combinations that will get you this, Woods TW5G and TW6 are cams I have experience with, are are great low end cams. I am building a 120" now, and using HQ575's, again a low end torque cam.
With that being said, I again urge anyone asking for suggestions from this forum to do their research and contact the builders, they will get the info straight from the horses mouth.

 

dalton ..the 05 i have has a dd6...i was thinking of going with 3.37..gears...& maybe s& s 510 cam..was thinking the gears would give me the tq in low & mid..& the cam would pick up the top end.....but the tw6 does look godd for rpm range,,,also going to do fat cats..with a sert....i guess after all the reading & searching...i am trying to put the best combo together.....so what does eheyone think about the 510 with a dd6 & 3.37 gearing...or do a diffrent cam?...

 

Dalton: I did some more checking and it seems that the gears come in three different sizes and if runout exceeds .006 then it is not recommended to run them (gear drive cams). Upgrading to the new style is an idea I would otherwise entertain although I don't really like the new bearingless cam plate. The other alternative is to stick with the stock set-up and figure on having the shoes checked every 20-25K miles.

I noticed you have an '07 and are building a 120". Are you planning on upgrading your crank bearings?

The other thing that has not been discussed all that much on this thread is matching the compression ratio to the cam specs. The cam you are running in your 120 will most likely be well matched to your C.R. while I doubt that it work nearly as well on a stock compression88".

GO BROWNS!

 

MrHD1: I have the HQ-0034 cams in my '04 otherwise bone stock 88 FLHTPI w/ Rinehart TDs and SE a/c; it runs very strong with a good SERT tune and would strongly recommend them for your application.

Let us know how your mods turn out--should be a nice improvement to what you now have.

 

Thanks, I'll take a look at those cams. Do you have any dyno #s on that set-up?