With the help of this forum and it's members I installed cams in my Steet Glide this weekend. Went with the SE255s 'cause I got em cheap. Following Atrain's write up along with the advice given on this board from Click and others the install was easy. Runs great but notice a little clatter from the valve train. Might take another half turn or so on the PRs if it keeps bothering me. After tearing into things you sometimes hear things, you know what I mean? Thanks to all on this forum.
Mmont

 

Okay Mmont, now you have me feeling guilty for not sending out my own note of thanks to Atrain and iClick for their great write ups on the SE 255 cam swap. I did mine about a month ago and have about 200 miles on the new setup with the PC V and SE adjustables. Mine runs great as well. Much smoother power especially at slower speeds and two up riding. And the idle lets you know that the cams aren't stockers. I am going to take it up to Fuel Moto for a dyno tune to get the most out of the upgrade. It's also a good excuse to take a nice ride up past Lake Winnebago.

I had some valve train noise initially as well, but it was not too bad. I was worried at first, but after 200 miles I don't hear it anymore. Either it has gone away or I am used to it now. Actually, I think it's gone because I am too picky to let something like that go unnoticed. You might want to get a few miles on it before making any adjustments. Not sure what other's experiences might be, but that was mine.

Now, if we could just get some decent riding weather here I would be a happy camper.

 

After my cam swap, I had more valve noise. I talked to all kinds of experts and followed their advice by adjusting the pushrods this way and that way, adding the famous Baisly spring, and swapping lifters. Nothing made the noise go away. It bothered me at first. Now, 5 years later, I don't worry about it.

 

I'm thinking of the 255's also. I'm guessing sence you have an 07 bike & are using a PCV, you got it (PCV) from Jamie @ FuelMoto? Did you recieve pre-programmed so it was just "plug & play"? If so, how does it run with the canned map? Would be interesting to do a basline dyno run with the canned map before Jamie does any tuning to see how close his pre-programmed maps are.

 

Hi 07FLHT,

Yes, I bought my PC V from Jamie at Fuel Moto. The map he "canned" for me seems to be pretty good. Bike really runs nice, but my mileage has dropped off about 4-5 mpg. Since this is their busy time of year I am having trouble getting a time scheduled to get the bike tuned. But, he graciously offered to send me another map that might help with the mileage until I can get it in for a dyno tune. I hope take a 1700 mile trip over Memorial day and a 5 mpg change gets to be noticeable on the longer days.

I will ask them for a before and after dyno sheet for the sake of comparison. I will try to post it once it is done.

As for the cam swap, I am quite happy with the cost vs. benefit of the upgrade. I got exactly what I was looking for which was more torque in the 2k-3k range when riding two up and it didn't cost me a fortune. I bought my cams on e-bay for $125 and got my SE adjustable PRs and other stuff, like gaskets and spacers, from Lakeshore HD (lshd1.com). The PC V was the biggest single item cost.

Since I am not a mechanic by trade, it took me 8-10 hours, but I enjoyed every minute. The write up that Atrain had with the pictures was invaluable. He deserves a beer or three for that! The HD service manual is essential, but doesn't stitch the story together in a linear fashion like Atrains pictorial did. I took my time and re-read bits that weren't clear to me at first. Suffice to say, there are no shortcuts - everything is important. I have to admit that it was a tension filled moment when I got ready to hit the starter for the first time. And, waiting those 5 seconds for the oil pressure to do its job seemed like 5 minutes. But, patience and attention to details was rewarded.

 

Nice work

 

Fuel Moto's maps are renowned for their accuracy. They are created from a dyno-tune on a bike like yours with identical hardware, and because of the on-board MAP and other sensors that still function you can transfer this map to another bike ridden in another location and retain the precise tune.

 

FM tunes for performance and cooling. If you want optimal mileage you'll need to lean the cruise range, and by doing that you can get mileage at or near stock as long as you keep your wrist movement to a minimum. There are quite a few threads here about doing this, and you can actually increase mileage while keeping the good roll-on performance you have now. The downside to leaning at part-throttle is heat, so it's a trade-off. Adding an oil cooler and using synthetic oil helps keep engine temps under control. With my PCV with Auto-Tune I'm running 14.5-14.6:1 AFR's in the cruise range (stock is 14.6) and my head temps stay at around 225° with oil <200° while moving at moderate highway speeds in the 80° air temps we're getting now. Both climb in traffic, but rarely into a worrisome range. When that happens I use the PCV's map switch and toggle to a richer configuration to help cool things down.

Did you notice any mileage decrease after adding the cams? Did you change maps after the cam swap? If not you'll need to.

 

Hi iClick,

I have not done a thing with the map that Jamie put in. I sent him a copy yesterday at his request and he was going to see if there was another map that might give me better mileage until I can get up there for a dyno tune.

While I do like to tinker with things, I like to be a bit better informed on the topic before taking any chances. I have read many excellent threads by you and others on the subject, and while they are informative, they are still beyond my understanding. So, I am reluctant to make any changes. I will have more time available beginning in June and I might be more inclined to dig into this in more detail. You guys are way ahead of me, but I really appreciate the encouragement you have provided thus far in doing the cam upgrade.

I have a good oil cooler, a pure power oil filter and run Redline in all three holes so cooling has never been a problem. I don't do much city riding either since we prefer the open road. But, your solution of using the leaner map for most of the cruising and just switching to the richer setting in town sounds like a good one.

So, where did you mount your map switch?

 

Congrats Mmont.
It is cool to "do it yourself".