Gear drive cams that are "noisey", are gear drive cams that were not setup properly. There is a cartain amount of lash (slack) reguired in both the inner and outter gears. If that is too tight or too loose they "can" make noise. I have my 2nd engine with gear drive cams and BOTH were QUIETER than the original build from the factory.

If an installer discovers a lash problem, all he has to do is call the gear suppliler (S&S, Andrews, whatever) and get a gear that is slightly smaller (or larger) to resolve it. Noise won't hurt anything, but might be annoying to some.

Is it worth it? He11 YES! At least to me, it is.....

 

So the mfg's have over/under size gear sets?
How do you know what to ask for?
Are the gears marked for size?

 

I have never had a problem with the ones that ship as sets. Having talked with folks that do this for a living and install a heck of a lot more than the onesy ~ twosy stuff we do, I learned of the possibilitiy of needing to request over or under sized gears. No, I have never seen stamped sizes on them, but they know what ya need if you call and tell them "I have no lash" or "it's way too loose".

I, personally, would not sweat it at all. Just order a kit. From my personal experience, the odds are very good that they will be perfectly fine.

 

I love the sound of mine, and yes it was worth every $