Contrary to what some on here must think, there is NO difference between the cam chain tensioners in either the A or B engines. If and when they self-destruct, the B engine will cost more to fix due to extra bearings and a little extra time. I don't think the changes in the 2007 engines are going to cure the problem and neither will the type of oil used....it's a bad design and the quality of the shoes ranges from excellent to poor! The best fix is to go to gear drive cams, and for several reasons, but mostly to protect the engine from being torn all to hell when and if the cam chain tensioners wear down to metal. I've rebuilt engines that have been destroyed by this problem, and have worked on bottom ends that have had different mileages on them and have seen the way these things wear and wear out.

 

I`ll give these new shoes try, i`ll check them in another 30,000 and see how they`er wearing. If they show lots of wear and i still like the bike i`ll switch to gear drive.

 

Having just replaced the stock cams in my '05 RK, I was very curious to see how the plastic shoes were wearing after using Red Line synthetic for the past 14,000 miles. There was very little, if any, appreciable wear on the shoes - I should take a photo, I suppose. Judging from that, I think if one changes his oil every 5K and uses a good synthetic oil (I am convinced that there's no better oil than Red Line - no, I don't sell LOL), the cam shoes should wear for a long, long time. Having said that, I feel better now that I have installed a geared set of cams from the standpoint(s) of reliability, precision, plus having the knowledge that I can get in there and fix the engine if need be. One of the reasons I went with HD is due to the engine design that lends itself to a guy who likes to tinker, like myself. If you like to wrench, don't be afraid to get in there and have some fun - very rewarding!

 

Was there a noticable difference with the Andrews 26G? I'm talking the cam part... not the gears. The gears issue is a given but I'd like to know if you noticed a performance difference. I'm usually 2-up and don't really care about doing 120mph or showing off. Andrews website says that the 26g helps with 2-up riding and low end torque. I just need to know if I'll ever notice the difference from the seat of my pants.

[IMG]local://upfiles/5729/895D589E1FA0497E89249056FC663199.jpg[/IMG]

 

Spoke to friend who rides a hyabusa if his bike had chain or geared cams. He said chin. My question is, that if a crotch rocket can rev in th 1200-1500 orhigher rpm why can't hd? Is it the material the shoes are made of?

 

Almost any engine with overhead cams -- and that includes most of the high-revving sport bikes and many, many cars -- has to have a chain or belt drive to run the cams and these systems work pretty d*&% well when you consider that many are used for racing at very high rpms. Cars using belt or chain drives go for more than 100,000 miles with no problems. In other words, the chain-drive cam system is not a weakness, its a time-proven way to reliably drive cams in internal combustion engines.

The issue on a Harley TC 88 is whether the chain drive system has been properly applied. Apparently there is an inconsistency in the wear of the tensioners, as is evident from the lengthy discussions you've seen on this forum and others. Unfortunately, no one, including Harley, has ever presented statistics that show just how prevelent the problem is. Is it 5 percent or 75 percent of all TC88 engines? Nobody knows for sure. I know people with more than 75,000 miles on their Harleys who've never had the cam cover off. I know techs who say it's such a small number that it doesn't pay to worry about it. If there's a big problem, how come we see so many Harleys happily blasting their way around the country on a daily basis? Then there are other techs that say that there's an epidemic and TC 88s are self-destructing by the thousands. Just keep in mind that although Harley has a lot to gain by playing down the problem, people who service Harleys and sell aftermarket parts have a lot to gain by playing up the problem. Somewhere in the middle is the truth, but we Harley owners are probably never going to get it.

As to your question, I'm assuming you mean 12,000 to 15,000 rpms, which is where the hot metric bikes run at highest HP. The answer to that is a long one and has nothing to do with cam chain tensioners. Bottom line: the Harley engine is a large mass, long-stroke, big piston, pushrod-driven overhead valve engine first designed in the early 20th Century to produce torque and horsepower at lower rpm ranges in the area of 1500 to 5500 rpm. It has more in common with an old John Deere tractor engine than it does with the hot, high-tech metric bikes on the road today. That doesn't make it a bad engine -- it has it's own beauty, performance characteristics, style and sound -- but it isn't going to compete with the newer designs in the screaming performance arena.

RB

.

 

You should notice a considerable amount of difference on the bottom end, unless that exhaust you are running hurts you....Which I'll bet it will unless you have it baffled.

I love the way my 26's pull. Riding two-up and loaded heavy, she pulls great. Top gear roll ons on strong. Passing at 55+ mph requires no downshifting for a good strong pass....Of course my 3:37 gearing also helps.

 

OK, I guess I didn't get all the facts! Could it be the way the bike is ridden on the ones that are breaking? I don't hot rod my bike. AsI said inanother post, I hardly get over 45000 rpm. Either way I am changing to gear.Hopefully in a couple of weeks.
Yea, you are rightabout what I ment on the rpm scale.Thanks!

This part don't pertain to the post,but I am trying to add a pic to this post. Do I have to upload every time I post. Cause I added a picon my profile and noticed it's not comming out on the posts.

 

Well that didn't work the way I thought it would.

 

I can't help you there. I've never tried to upload a picture here. I think there are some threads on this at the top of the forum.