[Daves02]

Hey all,

I have a 02 Heritage Softail with 15K miles on it. I started hearing a churning noise while riding, the bike upright and idle'ng it would get loud and noticeable after riding for a few miles (8 or so) seems like when hot. It sounded like it was coming from the front cylinder and could only hear it on the right side of the bike, (lifters, cams side).

I took it to 2 harley dealerships and a custom build shop and NO ONE knows what it is. So I wanted to upgrade anyway so I bought a BB Kit 88 to 95 has 203 cams cylinders, pistons, etc. What I would like to know is should I change the lifters as well and my purpos of upgrading is to get more power at high speeds. Example, going down the highway at 60 and want to pass someone, I know I have the power to get and go. Also should I get some sort of Power Commander, should I get 26G cams instead of the 203's that come with the kit?

Thanks for your help.

[chucktx]

i would change the lifters and pushrods. not sure on your riding style, 2up, lots of hiway....singleup and barhops. i do 2up, touring, pull a trailer. i used the 26cams,but i also stayed 88. have fun with it!!!

[hotroadking]

what pistons are you running the flat tops at 9.5 to 1 comp?

When it's apart get the heads cleaned up (flowed and machined) for better power, if you don't have a reliable show with a flow bench and experience then call bill at Bishops Performance

And don't insult Amy (his wife when she answers) about women and bikes, she keeps a shotgun handy and knows her stuff on bikes. LOL

Point is when you do the big bore a stage 1 street clean up of the heads is a good idea to take advantage of the new go fast goodies. about $300 to $400 I believe.

JMO 203's are not the best cam in the book

I would skip to Bobby Woods tw-6 cams, they are similar in lift to the 203s and the andrews tw37B cams but the other bits that make up cam design will play in your favor to create more TQ. Don't worry about HP concentrate on TQ, you HD tractor motor is a TQ street motor.

As to lifters the HD lifters work well the new designation is B on the end of the PN and those are the ones you should use.

This would make a very nice mild street machine, that will pull like crazy

[Daves02]

Good grief!!!!!!!!!!!!! all these choices and prices.....

Here is what I have decided on (of what I want to do NOT what I am getting) I know I am only going to change the chain drive to gear drive cams. I am putting the BB Kit I bought in other than the cams and exhaust of course... I am going to put Fueling HP+ Hydraulic lifters in and a set of Adjustable pushrods (still need to find a good (I know these two words don't really go together) cheap set.

My concerns are what cams to get....26G 37G 570G.... All I want is a smooth idle..and power left in the throttle at 60 - 70 mph so I can pass quickly...

Any suggestions on Cams and rods would be greatly appreciated... also here is a link to what I believe is EVERYTHING I NEED to convert from chain to gear driven cams.....if I am wrong PLEASE tell me.....

eBay



Thanks
Dave

Oh yeah, whats the diff between a race tuner and a power commander???? PC is sooo much cheaper. Harley says I need one (RT that is).

[duke76]

from 60-70 to pass and a bagger I would go with the 26s, maybe even the 21s. Todd

[Daves02]

Originally Posted by duke76

from 60-70 to pass and a bagger I would go with the 26s, maybe even the 21s. Todd

Really? I am really uneducated here so. So the higher the number the worse for what I want?

Thanks

[chucktx]

the numbers are basicly for the mfg. it is best to get the mfg spec sheets and compare. one mfg numbers will be completly different from the others. altho the cams will preform the same..................
research, half the fun of these machines!!!!!!!!!!!!

[duke76]

With the andrews cams the higher the number the more radical or the more that cam likes higher rpms, I think if you put in the 37s you would be disappointed without headwork and increased compresion you may find those cams seem lazy at the bottom end, the 26s are a good choice and the 21 s have been called tractor cams, they can really pull but they will drop off at around 95-100 mph it depends on your riding style but unless you hit your rev limiter often I would stick with the 26s or the 21s. Todd

[Daves02]

Originally Posted by duke76

With the andrews cams the higher the number the more radical or the more that cam likes higher rpms, I think if you put in the 37s you would be disappointed without headwork and increased compresion you may find those cams seem lazy at the bottom end, the 26s are a good choice and the 21 s have been called tractor cams, they can really pull but they will drop off at around 95-100 mph it depends on your riding style but unless you hit your rev limiter often I would stick with the 26s or the 21s. Todd

So if I really only care about having power at higher speeds, stick with the 26's?? I don't jump off the line, I don't race people, I like crusing and crusing fast at times.

Thanks for your help. Should I stick with converting to Gear drives?

[duke76]

Originally Posted by Daves02

So if I really only care about having power at higher speeds, stick with the 26's?? I don't jump off the line, I don't race people, I like crusing and crusing fast at times.

Thanks for your help. Should I stick with converting to Gear drives?

If I remeber quickly the 26 will drop off right around 100-105 mph for most riders this isnt a problem at all, If they want a cam that has low end grunt to get their big heavy bagger going then they are not worried about going 100 plus miles an hour, it all depends on your riding style and what mods you want to do later on, A cam between the Andrews 26 and the andrews 37 would be the Hq0034, that is the cam I have, definetly more low end grunt and if you decide to increase compression and do some headwork, it will still handle that where as the 26 and the 21 you wouldnt want to raise the compression over 9.5 to 1 or you would have some pinging problems, Another good choice for a bolt in cam is a Woods 6, I have heard lots of good things about that cam as well, on the same lines as the Hq0034, as you can put it in a stock bike and it performs well, and if you do some more engine work it can handle that as well. As for your gear drive question, that is also up to you, if you do decide to go gear drive you should check your crank runout before youi order all your stuff because if it is not in tolerance you will end up with a noisy engine that you could have issues with eventually, you want the runout to be less than .003 I had to much runout in my crank so I opted to go to the new style hydraulic tensioners, then you have to also purchase a larger oil pump and chains and sprockets, It ended up costing me around 900 but that also included pushrods and new lifters, but I am very satisfied in my quiet engine. If you have any more questions or need help with these cams dont be afraid to ask,alot of us have been through this before and can probably save you some money and frustration, Todd

[Daves02]

Todd,

Thanks for the info, it is very helpful.

I really don't want to spend the cash for gear drive yet as I just bought the 95" big bore kit that includes the cylinders, pistons, and SE203 cams. I know I want bigger cams (okay I am told I want bigger cams) but I was also told what 257's do and I do not want that as I want a smooth idle but I want the git up and go when doing high speed. So I think I will go with your suggestion (at least research them) on the Hq0034, where can I get these?, cost? and do I need to change anything from what I have now.

I am going to put the new Fueling lifters in, adj push rods and depending on the cost, maybe change the tensioners to the hydraulic (if I don't change them I will at least get new ones).

Thanks again for all the help from everyone here.

[hotroadking]

Check out Bobby Woods street cams
scroll down t
right cam, better JMO than the Andrews or HQ cams, as his cams tend to outperform the others on TQ on the street

You need to focus on getting a cam to work in your riding RPM, the Woods cams tend to be better in these areas.

With mild .510 lift cams like you are looking at Gear drive is overkill.

Just change out the tensioner pads when you do the work, have the outside of the chains polished to remove and burrs and reinstall.

[duke76]

Here is where you can find them, I also know a guy that sells them I can get you his number if you like.

Head Quarters

I did lots of research for cams on about 4 different forums and that is the cam I decided to go with you can do a search on them, lots of info. Todd

[Daves02]

I'd like to find the prices on the HQ's

[Daves02]

I just saw a set of SE 253's would this be good with the 95kit I just bought, replacing the 203's with them? They came out a SE 103ci bike with 1000 miles on em.

[Daves02]

Okay.............. I am going with the Wood 6 and keeping my current setup as chain drive. Anyone know where I can get a good deal on the Wood 6 and should I get TW6 or TW6H? The web site doesn't have prices and I may be able to get better pricing elsewhere than from the manufacturer.

Thanks... I'll be back when I get them in and when I do more upgrading.

[duke76]

I havent heard of to many people impressed with the SE253s but I dont know that much about them. As for the prices for the cams I would call them at HQ and Im sure they will tell you but when I did mine they were in line with all the other cams, that was one of the deciding factors was the woods cam was more money and pretty close to the specs of the hq, with that being said I think you would be happy with either cam and if your not going to do headwork or increased compression I think you would also be happy with the andrews 21 or 26, I have heard many times that the wood 6 really likes around 10-1 compression. Todd

[Daves02]

Yeah I wont be doing any head work or much else for a little while. One day maybe, it will all depend on what these HQ's or TW's will do

[duke76]

They will both do 100/100 with headwork and good tune and pipe, the woods has .010 more lift but a little pricey at 365. I will contact my guy and see what he can sell the Hqs for Todd

[hotroadking]

Call Phil at California Phil's Concordia, KS (785) 243-9991

He's got pretty good prices on cams from woods.


Problem on woods is lower volume (compared to Andrews and SNS) so even discounted they are a bit more expensive

The tw-6H loves the 10 to 1, the TW-6 is only 510 lift, that's the smaller street brother cam of the bad boy TW6H with .590 lift.

Although both will love more compression.

Go with a cometic thinner head gasket to raise compression a little too.