My '04 Ultra has close to 47k miles on it. I'm keeping it for awhile longer (even tho I'm drooling over the '14's) and thought it would be a good time to add the SE Hydraulic Cam Chain Tensioner upgrade kit. And since the cams were coming out anyways.... I added the SE 211 cams to the pile of parts I bought from HD.

I brought my bike to a recommended indy mechanic and told him I was leaving in 2 weeks on a bike trip to Tenn. He said the bike would be ready in less than a week and away I went. Got a call a couple of nights later with some bad news. While removing my front exhaust pipe, one of the exhaust studs broke. This seems to be a somewhat common occurance so I didn't get upset. He explained that the head had to come off to get the stud fixed. I was bummed but wasn't blaming anyone.

Shortly after he txt'd me pictures of the offending stud and the bike with the fuel tank off, I started thinking...in for a penny....

A friend of mine got me the 95" kit for 20% off and we got the parts to the mechanic. He was still fairly sure it would be ready for my trip. Got the call last night and picked the bike up this evening. I brought my laptop and the new fuel map from Fuel Moto and downloaded it to the bike. Another fan of Fuel Moto by the way, 2x in the last few weeks I requested a fuel map and both times I received the new map the same day as the request. Thanks FM!

Fired it up and loved the new sound at idle. Much more "lopey". He said he had adjusted the clutch and cable and I almost stalled it leaving his driveway. That took a little getting used too. I noticed the difference in power right away, especially on the highway when I was able to zip by cars and trucks without downshifting. It did drink fuel a lot faster, but then I was moving along faster than I normally ride. Definitely happy with everything. I had always wanted the 95" upgrade but never got around to it. Happy happy here. AND leaving on time Sunday!

 

Good for you - glad the bike made the repair/upgrade trek OK & have a safe trip!

 

Any break-in? You did the right thing getting it all done since it was mostly apart. Having all that extra power may slow your urge to buy new for a while.

 

No special break-in, just rode it home varying the speeds more often than I normally would. Ok, so probably faster than I normally would ride too. Couldnt' help it!

 

Great to see a positive outcome and good for you for thinking one step ahead.

 

That's awesome. I see so many people trading in new bikes just to get the latest and greatest. Refreshing to see someone breathe life into an "older" bike, although 47k is nothing. You can easily get over 100k with a twin cam.

 

If you don't mind me asking, what was your total cost? I'm considering doing the same.

 

The labor was $950, tho this also included getting the exhaust stud work done on the head. Parts were about $1550, which included the cam chain tensioner upgrade, cams, the 95" kit and all related gaskets. I had bought the adjustable pushrods, but the mechanic didn't use them once I decided to get the 95" kit done, so I can return those. I didn't include their price in the parts cost.

 

Really? How strange Sounds like your mechanic knows what he's doing.. good for you!

 

Right on. Glad to hear that you don't need to " keep up with the Jones " My brother in-law has a '03 RKC w/50k miles and he loves it and it runs and looks great. On the other hand my neighbor is the guy that has the latest model every year and is never happy with them. He always hopes that this year is better, but to him they never are.