I ride an 03 Deuce, with almost 17,00 miles on her. Being mindfull that my cam chain tensioners will wear out at some point, I'm thinking about switching to gear driven cams. Can this kind of job be done by the local HD dealership, or is it one for independants only? I currently run with V+H Big Radius, Hi flow filter and SEST . Any pros and cons about installing slightly more aggressive cams? I suppose the SEST would need to be re-programmed, with dyno time too?
Can anyone tell me how much they have paid for this kind of job? Thanks .

 

My indy says that the gear job would be ~1400 at his shop.

 

I don't have the exact break down of the cost (I had other stuff done at the same time)...
but my gear/cams and adjustable push rods came to right about $1200 at an indy.
I still have stock a/c and pipes. I had installed modified harley pipes andnoticed quite an increase in torque. Back seater noticed too much increase in noise, so went back to stock pipes. I had 28K on my bike, shoes worn maybe a quarter. Nice not worrying about the shoes anymore.
I hope the next owner appreciates the effort.

Chuck

 

Here's a pic of mine at 30,000. They are not worn badly, but note the crack in the one on the left. If that had failed....

We installed Andrews 21 Gear drives, new bearings, adjustable Harley pushrods, new Harley lifters, and labor, total came to $1008. We bought the complete Andrews 21G kit from American Classic Motors on ebay.

 

Well mine is in the shop right now for gear cams. Andrews 37G. Would have been about 1300 for cams,gears,adjustable pushrods and lifters. However when they got it apart the cam bearings had spun in the cam plate and the chunks galled up the oil pump. So add another 600 for a feuling cam plate and oil pump.

 

Both the dealership and an independent can do the work. If you chose an indy, make sure he can tune using your SEST. $1200-$1400 sounds about right for what you're looking to do, depending on who does the work (labor costs of indy vs. stealership) and how much it will cost for the parts (cams w/4 gear set up, bearings & adjustable pushrods w/covers). With a mild bolt in cam and no other work to the engine, just re-tune the bike. Dyno time would be a waste of money, IMHO, unless you're also installing stage I/II heads and playing with the compression ratio. Oh, and unless something came apart in the engine, like in montanacharlies case, don't let them talk you into buying an upgraded oil pump/cam support plate, you don't need it.

No real con's to installing cams. The toughest part is deciding which cam best suits your riding style, and what, if any, future mods you have in mind for the engine. Talk to who's doing the work and explain to him what you're going for and what type of riding you do. If he's worth his salt, he should be able to suggest a cam that will meet your needs.

 

I've had gear driven cams and the hydraulic conversion cams in my bike. I did both installs myself. Neither is difficult, but the hydraulic setup is EASY. I definitely recommend the hydraulic cam set. It's quieter, the oil pump is better (and cheaper now than the original pump) and if your wheels ever slip, you don't have to worry about a tooth going through the oil pump.

 

Thinking about same for my '05 FLSTN, so thanks for starting this thread.

 

Had them done on my 04 Road King Classic, cost $1200 for the complete jib at my indy. I would stay away from the dealer. They don't touch my bike. I get to hang out in my indy's shop area, he shows me what he's doing, and I get to learn things about my bike that no dealer will show you or tell you.

 

The above $ numbers seem about right. Did the gears myself and spent $750 on everything. But the hydraulic is much easier and with only 17,000 on an '03, I suspect you don't ride enough to ever wear out the new tensioners in the new kit.

'00 FLTRSEI 83,000 miles