for all of you cam upgrade guys, whats your take on them? Are they worth it? ive got the usual stage 1 upgrades on my 05 fxsts tc88... v and h bss quite baffles, thunderslide kit and se hi flow with k and n. it runs great, but i am looking for more without breaking the bank. whats the best bang for the buck without getting into the engine and without high end revving. streetable i guess you could say. dyno tunning would probably be done, but i feel thats more for tunning air fuel ratio. any advice would be cool

 

your gonna get a bunch of opinions on this one..lol. cams are a good choice if well thought out. one thing usually leads to another. some type of tuner/ign, module, to get the most from a cam change.

 

I've got S&S 510G's and love em. They have made a huge difference in my hp and torque, especially over 2000-2500 RPM. I also never have to worry about cam chain tensioners again.

 

theres got to be others that feel like pitching in for the cause. trust me ive done a ton of searching. and i still havent found the answers im looking for

 

From what I've been told it's a pretty decent upgrade. I looked into doing mine (96") last summer. One of our harley shops has a dyno, and of course they tried to sell me a 103 kit as well, saying I'd be way more happy. His hp estimates didn't give me any confidence in spending money with them. What I would say based on all the advice I got back then is either just do cams, or go with a 95" kit plus head work. Basically a cam upgrade is good but anything further should be an all out deal for the money.

 

Hey 2wheeltom, what was your take on worth hd? how confident were you in there parts and service department ive only delt with gails.

 

if you want specific answers, you can't ask vague questions. A cam change was worth it to me. A gear drive setup (gears, cams, bearings) will cost around $600. That's not including labor (unless you do it yourself - it's not hard). The cam you choose depends on what and how you ride. Do you ride 2 up a lot? Do you ride a superglide or an ultra? Do you plan on a big bore later? There's a lot that goes into picking a cam. If you decide to do it yourself and have all the parts, you can do it in a few hours (more if you use your stock pushrods). It took me quite a while to pick mine out, and I'm very happy with them, but they're not for everybody.

 

Best bang for your buck, WOODS TW-6G. Will give you a grin from ear to ear!!! Nice bolt in GEAR DRIVE cam, ran perfect in my stock 88" motor. Still using it now in my 95" motor, and now it performs even better. GOOD LUCK!

 

At this point in time, stay away from gear drive cams. Crank run off has become a recent problem to some, and this will eventually damage the gear drive. It's just not the better option anymore. If you plan on spending money on a new cam drive, I would suggest the new HD roller chain set up with the hydraulic tensioner
Go with the SE 204. It's the same as the Andrews 37B, but with a 4 degree advance. It's the perfect all around cam that really wakes things up. If your dealer installs this cam, they will warranty the cam and the work. There are lots of great bolt in cams to choose from.

 

I'm certainly not an expert in this arena, far from it. But back in November I had SE 211 cams installed in my 88B and think the improvement was well worth the money. More midband torque and the bike just snaps from 60-80. Hell, I even like the sound at idle better. I may spring for the 95 kit and head work in the future, but I'm really happy with the performance right now.

Shakey