A Good Time for Cams?
Thread Starter
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,187
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From: Ladera Ranch, CA
A Good Time for Cams?
Well I just turned 15k on my '05 RKC. I know chain tensioners are an issue with my year. I also know my bike could run a LOT better with some mild cams in it.
I've already got the stage 1 covered with V&H Dressers, Riney 4"ers, PC III, and a Ness Big Sucker. I want do to my tensioners just to keep the worst from happening. Is now a good time to consider cams? I'm not looking for huge power here, I just figured while I was in there, I could get after it without much more hardware changed.
What do you think?
I've already got the stage 1 covered with V&H Dressers, Riney 4"ers, PC III, and a Ness Big Sucker. I want do to my tensioners just to keep the worst from happening. Is now a good time to consider cams? I'm not looking for huge power here, I just figured while I was in there, I could get after it without much more hardware changed.
What do you think?
Last edited by RaceFace; Sep 8, 2013 at 01:51 AM.
Thread Starter
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,187
Likes: 11
From: Ladera Ranch, CA
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 11,392
Likes: 184
From: Big ol Titties
I get the money thing, I'm a single income family so any extra money goes straight to my daughter's activities or my old *** house that is falling apart. I think the cams would be a worthwhile investment if you don't end up needing to purchase a bunch of additional parts. I know most everyone I talked to when I did mine recommend new lifters and pushrods along with the cams. As long as the base circle is the same you can reuse the pushrods it just saves having to pull the rockers off. As far as the lifters go I know a few guys that used lifters from small block Chevys to save on some cash. Not sure if you alreadyhave a tuner or not but tthat's one more thing to consider as well. Even on the cheap it all adds up fast, if your not really needing or itching for more power then maybe it's not worth it.
Even if you've never swapped cams on a twin cam motor, you can do it in a day, easy. Once you've done it once or twice, it's a three or four hour job, using quickee pushrods. For a stage I TC88, you'll be just fine with a set of SE203s, Andrews 21s, or HQ 0034s.
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Joined: Mar 2008
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From: bklyn,ny
Trending Topics
Naw man, not looking for that kind of change. I know that cams have done in my boats and cars over the years. The more performance I wanted, the more hardware I had to change. This is my first HD. If I wanted a rocket, I would have bought a rocket. I cruise with this scoot. I just wanted to know if while I have it opened up, that if I open it up a little more, would it be beneficial to my efforts without changing too much hardware. Money IS an issue for me.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 1,672
Likes: 17
From: Orange, VA,
I went thru the same thing with my 99 Electra Glide, my tensioners were shot at 38k miles, I had my local HD dealer do the job during the winter, got a 20% parts discount this way. I did the SE hyd tensioner upgrade with SE 204 cams, gave the bike a nice boost in power. I suggest going with the adjustable push rods, if you ever have to go back in there it saves a lot of time and money not having to pull the top of the engine apart. I also replaced my lifters with Crane lifters, better and cheaper then Harley's. The SE hyd upgrade kit comes with the new cam plate better oil pump and almost everything needed, the entire job cost me about $1,200 total. You can go with gear drive but that will cost more, the least expensive way is just replace the stock tensioners, put cams in and check the tensioners about every 20k miles.
Banned
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 11,232
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From: Socialist Republic of the USA
Gear driven cams and you won't have to worry about the tensioners. Never even opened my cam chest until about 70K and was shocked that my tensioners were still intact. On a budget so I replaced them and went with Andrews 57's and really appreciate the boost. If I had the money I would have gone with Fueling gear drive system but you can go cheaper. Right at 2K for everything to bulletproof your bike from Fueling. $$$$$$$