Cam chain tensioner rumor

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Aug 14, 2008 | 08:16 PM

#21

olgoat

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Joined: Nov 2007

Posts: 67

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From: Penna. Furnace, PA.

how do you know when yours is going bad?

Aug 14, 2008 | 08:24 PM

#22

deadeye1340?

Cruiser

Joined: Feb 2007

Posts: 130

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My cam chain tensioners finally gave up the fight at around 15K. I have an 01 RG, it now has double that. The stock harley chains (like said above) are not finished to a nice polish, they may be now, I don't know. I replace the chain and threw new bearings to the cams while I was in there. To check them, I'd leave the bike on the sidestand and pull the cover off the side, there is a wear limit to them in the service manual, but I aint getting of the couch to go look.

Gear driven is the way to go from what I have gathered...why didn't I do that? Simple, $$

Aug 14, 2008 | 08:30 PM

#23

Olde Skool

Road Captain

Joined: Jul 2007

Posts: 658

Likes: 1

From: Chesapeake, VA

Mine has 23.5 K miles now...Not to hijack the thread but...What gear drives do you suggest if not changing cams?

Aug 14, 2008 | 08:35 PM

#24

Taterdog

Outstanding HDF Member

Joined: Oct 2006

Posts: 2,183

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From: Lenexa, KS (KC)

Quote:

Originally Posted by olgoat

how do you know when yours is going bad?

That, my friend, is the million dollar question. You can look at the tensioners I removed from my bike in my post above. I had absolutely no idea one was cracked and about to fail. You won't know until it happens.

I went with Andrews 26G's, but there are other good cams out there. Go to the Andrews website and they make recommendations based on what you want. Other manufacturer's do the same. For me there's nothing like the peace of mind from not having plastic in the cam chest.

Aug 14, 2008 | 08:48 PM

#25

white trash

Thread Starter

1st Gear

Joined: Apr 2008

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From:

Ok, thanks for all the replies, now my ? is.........Whats the inspection proceedure? Is it in the archives?

Aug 14, 2008 | 08:50 PM

#26

TN Houndog

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Joined: Dec 2007

Posts: 2,415

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Olde Skool

Mine has 23.5 K miles now...Not to hijack the thread but...What gear drives do you suggest if not changing cams?

You must change the cams when going to gear drive because the rear cam runs backwards in the gear drive setup. Andrews makes a 12G cam profile that supposed to match the factory cams fairly close, but if it was me I'd look at the 21G or 26G Andrews cams. You will gain more torque with either one and their profiles are still mild enough to make tuning easy.

Another option is to use the roller chain, hydraulic tensioner, and oil pump setup for the 07 and later engines with the N series Andrews cams that use the smaller inner cam bearings of the 06 and earlier engines. The cost is about the same as the gear drive setup, but works better with flywheels having more then .003 runout. The Andrews web site has the parts list for this conversion.

Aug 14, 2008 | 08:58 PM

#27

notlost_nc

Road Master

Joined: Sep 2006

Posts: 1,121

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From: Huntersville, NC

Quote:

Originally Posted by Olde Skool

Mine has 23.5 K miles now...Not to hijack the thread but...What gear drives do you suggest if not changing cams?

If your riding an '07 I would suggest you leave it alone, quit worrying and enjoy the ride. You have the newer hydraulic tensioner system.

Aug 14, 2008 | 08:58 PM

#28

Uncle Scrooge

Road Warrior

Joined: Feb 2007

Posts: 1,785

Likes: 4

From: Oklahoma

My 02 Dyna tensioners were shot at 30k. I just looked at the ones on the 06 EG prior to a long trip. They are barely worn at 16k.

If you could plot the raw data on when pre-07 tensioners are shot, I'll bet you would find a pretty good bell curve starting around 18-20k, peaking out around 35k, and ending up around 50k. Why they behave this way is the $64 question.