het there
i have an 03 roadking with
new creaming eagle cam plate , crane 300-2 cams,wood lifters, true dual exhaust and power commander 3. 33k miles on the clock

in my frustration over bad valve noise i was ready to trade her off yesterday, in a last ditch effort i took it to my local indy shop for advise , he agreed the engine should not be that noisy , he felt like there was wear in some of the valve componants
he advised to dis-assemble and do valve job, complete inspecton and replacement of any worn parts, he also recommended a 95'' big boar kit
he said if i did the big boar kit and replaced any parts required on the valves ,heads he gauranteed the noise would be gone

i really dont know what a big boar kit will help with the valves but my impression from him was 33k miles warranteed it with doing the vales

he will be using my juggs and boaring them out, he will also dyno when complete, total cost less parts needed in valves , heads etc $995.00 plus $75.00 dyno and he assured me that the dyno tune would be a thourogh dyno, he is reducing to $75.00 sence he is doing the other work

thanks for any input

what should i expect from a big bore kit. this is something i have not even thought about
if done correctly can i expect a solid servicable engine, will there be a difference in power

 

Just a thought, see what the price difference is in the HD or SS 95ci big bore kit, just thinking the heads might be thicker and thus a little more reliable...
too thin and you might have heat issues and other bs...
jmo.

 

screamin eagle 1550 cylinders are 88" bored at the factory,seem many will tapers & out of round bores.much better having a reputable shop bore yours (dont trust factory cylinders,when we bore them,we KNOW their right)we`re getting an easy HP per CID on the most mildest of 95" or 103" builds,much more with more aggressive builds.your 300 crane cams will give a nice low end torquey build

 

he is boring my cylinders out to do the kit ,
with boring cylinders will i have to worry about any heat issues, also he is re-using my heads , doing a valve job on them and replacing any parts that show signs of wear

 

Damn.. really !? Careful did that include labor time ? That could easily double the price. Much like you still learning my way around upgrades.

 

Yes, the engine will be dependable and there will be definite increase in power. The TD exhaust will hold down the low end on a 95"; 2:1 sytem would be better. No heat issues to worry about. Price is reasonable; make sure the guy it boring/honing with torque plates as some don't. He may be outsourcing the boring to a machine shop, so check. Prodrag is dead nuts on with his comments about the SE kits. I am sure I haven't seen as many as he has but even with the limited number I have seen, there have been considerabel variances in piston to cylinder fitment and trueness of the bores.

It all sounds good but I am not convinced that the noise issue will be resolved. The Woods lifters pretty much eliminate leakdown issues that might start to show up at 33K miles with stock lifters. So, the only wear issues will show up in the rocker suport plate. If the rocker shaft to rocker arm fitment has loosened up, that will definitely generate noise. Some shim rocker arm end play down to .004" but my experience has shown me that you cannnot expect anything more than some marginal noise reduction, if any at all.

 

DJL
you had actually spoken quite extenivly about the valve noise, (thread was ready to tackle valve noise)
i never did feel comfortable with doing my own labor after trying the woods lifters, i never did remove the rocker box covers, to be ohnest i never could grasp how to torque all the bolts properly with the engine in the frame
anyhow when i took it to him yesterday he listened to it and said some valve noises are normal but this was not according to his experience, he said i could possibly have a valve guide issue or smething worn causing it, i am a little leerie but at this point i almost have to put some faith in him , i just cant deal with it anymore
i did stress to him the noise issue is my goal here, not to get more power, i must have said it 100 times, and i asked him point blank would he gaurantee the noise would be gone and he said yes if i do the heads, big bore and tnue as he recommended
one other thing to note here is when trying to tackle the valve noise issue myself, when working with you and others i could not get ahold of the guy that put the cams in, finally did and they are crane 300-2 cams, i spoke with hillside and a couple others and appearaantly those are not radical cams and should not create alot of additional noise

one other note, we were riding fridy and basically i lost my clutch ,we were a long way from home and passed a hick indy shop , a young guy went to adjust my cable and said whoever put my cables on (same guy that did my cams) did not pull the derby cover and adjust the clutch,
this kid did and i goota tell you it is a world better and makes me question the first guys work

thanks for your input ,i value it greatly

 

I have some experience chasing valve train noise and you very well may have a valve guide issue or, as I said in my previous, a worn rocker shaft; make sure your wrench checks the rocker shaft to rocker arm clearance. I know for a fact that clearances that are at the outer end of spec or out of spec will make noise.

You really don't have to worry so much about exact torque, particularly on the rocker cover bolts. The fronts can be torqued in the frame and you can put an open end wrench on those and tighten those that can't be torqued until they "feel" as tight as a torqued bolt; close enough. If the rocker covers leak after the first ride, re-tighten. Torquing bolts shouldn't make you uncomfortable about doing your own work. Of course, you need professional assistance when it comes to machine work, like boring, headwork etc.

I completley understand how valve train noise can be annoying enough that it makes the bike no fun to ride; been there and have torn down a top end three times chasing the noise. In that instance, the noise was always piston noise due to excessive piston to cylinder clearance and not in the valve train at all. I was just cautioning you about the possibility that the mods you are about to make, may not eliminate the noise. It is my belief that some of these motors get put together with parts that are on the outer edge of the specified tolerances, i.e. a "loose" motor that makes noise. Sometimes, machining components like boring, decking heads, valve train stack up height, etc. addresses those issues and does quiet the motor down

I have never run those Crane cams but everything I have heard about them has been good and I have never heard that they were noisy like some of the Woods cams. Let us know what your wrench finds and how it goes. Good luck!

 

What to expect from a solid, mild engine combo, with a good set of heads, that is a daily driver??
Doc, Thayers, and Joe's, all showed between 106-108 hp, and 108-111 ft/lbs with our proprietary(have had those for almost 4 years now) Wiseco 98" piston kit/Andrews 37 cam/Stage II Head combo, this past spring set at 9.9 cr.
More needed??
We'd step up the program with a Wood 408, Stage III Head, and a throttle body.
Scott

 

thanks guys
djl
i understand and i will call him tuesday and make sure he checks the rocker shaft specs and let him know i want them close on tolerance

hiilside
what he described to me was a valve job ,new seals and cleaning up the ports, i really dont know alot about stage 1,2 or 3

i wouldnt think that was a stage 2 or 3 but just sounded like the heads would be cleaned up ,service but still be stock

i also do not know what pistons he will be using but will ask next week

thanks again