Cams are gear driven , no tensioners and i dont believe the cam bearing would offer that much resistance. As far as the difference in engine goes Im ready to ride all day with any EVO out there, not a thing wrong with them , seems like theres a hatred towards the TC 96 for some reason. As far as heat issues go, after a stage one which is the same as jetting a carb I have no heat issues and if that carbed bike was new today it would be running as lean as the injected bikes are and the heat issue would be the same.

 

The point was that stock TC's have more moving parts than Evo's. With your gear drive, you still do. More moving parts = more potential sources of failure.

You sure are defensive with mis-information. No TC hatred here......After riding them and seeing what other owners deal with, I'll keep my Evo (and my 200,000-mile "model of failure" Shovelhead). If your bike makes you happy.....great! I think you need a ride (and maybe a parts manual).

 

My evo has never been over 200° even in 125° temperatures, so the TC does have heat issues. 260° between my legs, no thanks!

 

"Cams are gear driven , no tensioners and i dont believe the cam bearing would offer that much resistance."

Again? You are not doing yourself any favors here.

The Twin88 and Twin96 use chains from the factory....Gear drives are aftermarket. Here is the kit to replace 88 tensioners with the 96 style.

http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/g...bmLocale=en_US

 

Curious if anyone has used this kit and if they were satisfied with the results. I've had an Indy speak to me about an aftermarket one and the price was very close, but it didn't include the newer oil pump, that is included with the Screaming Eagle kit. Any information would be appreciated.

 

Comparing my 89 Softail to my 99 RK, The TC 95" in my RK has a much wider powerband than the Evo in the Softail. It's also much smoother on the highway. Forget a 6-speed, they should develop an 8-speed for those older Evo's, they have a usable RPM range of a Farm-All tractor. My 87 was no different either.

 

I stand corrected. thanks for waking my **** up, I had seen an animation of the twin cam and thought it was gear driven, deeper digging opened my eyes.
As far as reliabilty goes, I think the automotive world is a testament to how reliable a twin cam set up can be and perform. I figure if you already have one chain and tensioner then the second chain and tensioner are as reliable . If technology didnt advance reliably then we would all be driving model t's . Performance wise you I would think you have a lot more options with two cams instead of one.

 

There is no doubt to the reliability of the EVO or the TC88 at this point. The TC96 may prove to be just as reliable, but may not have the time in at this point. There is no reason not to believe it will prove itself over the long haul. I do have found memories of my EVO of years gone by, but aslo like my TC88.

Yeah - getting old sucks. I would have bet a lot of money that the softails had a single shock shoved up under the tranny there. Had to go look to see the second one. It was kinda funny to see the look on my buddies face when he came out the the parking lot to find me laying on the ground looking under his Softail.

 

HAving had both, there is no denying that the sound changed with the twin cam. I loved that evo sound but not the fooling with the choke all the time. It also being a 5 speed ran at higher rpm on the interstate. The TC is a breeze to cold start, just hit the button. It's always there. True it is warmer. The 6 speed tranny makes all day cruising on the interstate a breeze, with decreased rpm and vibration. I find I get much better fuel mileage with the TC even though the bike weighs more.

Conclusion, While I loved the evo, the TC withthe new touring frame and the 6 speed is the hands down winner every time. Best thing aboutthe evo was no payments.

Bub

 

Most had the 70 tooth sprocket in em (up to 1994), easy to change the sprocket and belt. Mine has a 65t (1995-1999) and runs 3000 rpm @ 80mph.