Hey guys can someone out there give me some advice. I've got a 2000 softail with 2800 miles on it, I'm going to put a big bore kit in it and a Mikuni or a S&S carb and new cam's. what is the better way to go gear or bolt in cams ? I'm looking to get that low lope sound in it. Any advice is welcome
Thanks Jeff

 

2800 miles??? plenty left in that motor
i went to 95" at 77,000 , the cam tensioners without a word of a lie were hangin on by a thread!
i put andrews 37 cams in mine,one thing i should of done and regret not doing is going gear drive cams and never having to worry about the tensioners again
i have an s&s carb on mine, with my pipes,cams and carb it seems to go good!
i have no regrets, a couple of things i wouldnt mind trying and here good things about are woods cams and mikuni carb, and a fatcat exhaust
in saying that my setup is great

 

I did a SE 95" kit on my bike before I took delivery. My dealer was running some winter specials on builds, so I bought one.

I look at it slightly different. I wanted easy and I wanted warranty where ever I rode.
Today, the new hydraulic tensioners are a better choice than gear drive cams IMO.. There is no crank run off to worry about like gears, they're quiet, and if your HD dealer does the build, they're warranted. I wish they were available when I did my engine.

I substituted SE 204 cams for the 203. The SE 204 cams are basically the same grind as the old Andrews 37B. With the 95" flat tops, they make a ton of power down low and up high without any pinging issues. Again, if your HD dealer does it, it's warranted for 2 years.
I would also add a Baisley spring http://www.baisley.com/oil_spring_product.htm to your cam plate. It's a cheap and easy way to make higher consistant oil pressure for your pre- 2007 Twin Cam. With this spring, you'll never hear a peep out of your top end.
If you have the extra change, send the heads out and have them done. This is probably the most important part, and again, relatively inexpensive to do, but a major power maker.

There are other quality kits out there, and if you have a good independent mechanic, that's another option that may work better for your situation. Personally, I like to know I have HD nationwide coverage, and I know this build is basically bullet proof and runs GREAT...

 

Hey Jeff, what's your budget, ie how much are you looking to spend? How much power do you want and where do you want it, low to mid range, high rpm? What's your riding style? Do you have a builder or are you gonna be wrenching on the bike? Your stock CV carb is a good carb for a mild build. You should post this thread on the engine portion of the tech section. Good luck.

 

I like the S&S kit I think it will make a 88 a 97 nice kit then choose the cam you want,I am not to impressed by Harley cams I like the woods

 

What you did is a good start and all will and good but you won't really appreciate it until you do the heads which I feel is a nessesity. You will really feel the difference if you do the heads . You went this far now finish the job you won't be sorry

 

Hey everyone thanks for the replies. I haven't done nothing yet just trying to get all of my part together, why is a gear driven cam better then a bolt in? I'm looking at a set of screamin eagle heads that came off of a 88ci (used) what should i do to them.
Once again thanks Jeff

 

Gear drive cams are bolt in cams. The term "bolt in cams" refers to mild street cams (Andrews 21, 26, 37, SE 203, 204, etc) with low valve lift (normally .510 or less) that don't require major head work to install. When you install gear drive cams, you're eliminating the '99 - '06 spring type cam chain tensioners, which had a tendency to wear out prematurely.

Nowadays, a lot of people are going to the hydraulic tensioner conversion kits that still use cam chains and tensioners, but are holding up better than the spring type set up (less tension on the adjusters=longer wear), and is more forgiving than a gear drive cam set up. You can pick one up from Harley, but Flying W Performance (Herko) makes one of the best kits on the market. Give John Wadsworth a call and talk to them about it. http://www.flyingwperformance.com/

Being a 2000, your bike still has the hot-forged crankshaft as well as the Timken bearings, which is a good thing if you're thinking of installing gears. But you'll still need to make sure that your crankshaft runout does not exceed .003" before buying and installing a gear drive cam.

Just have a mild street port done on your stock heads. A good machine shop (Syke Performance, Big Boyz Head Porting, Deweys Heads, etc) can work wonders on stock heads.

My suggestion, for what it's worth, is to talk to either GMR Performance or Hillside Cycles about their 95" or 98" big bore kits. And they can suggest the right cam to compliment the build. That's their business, they do some great work, and have solid reputations. They can also suggest the right heads/carb/exhaust to use with the build.
http://www.hillsidecycle.com/ http://www.gmrperformance.com/

It's only a few phone calls. And, if nothing else, you'll get a little education on big bore kits and cams, not to mention an idea of what it'll cost to do what you want to do. Good luck.

 

I have the 203's and a 95". I put in the 203's at 40K and the 95 kit at 50K. At 2800 miles I would just leave it as well. My bike runs great and has a nice amount of torque without sacrificing reliability.

Drew

 

I think if you're going to pull the entire box apart(short the cases) you may as well do it right the first time. I suggest a call to Tman Performance. These guys eat this stuff up and really live for it. They have great kits too that can make it a real easy swap.

No I don't work for them, but if the job was offered.

I also agree that your motor has lots of life in it at that low mileage number. Why are you pulling it apart?