I talked to the service guys at the local dealer here yesterday about switching to the gear drive cam chain system. He told me they couldn't do it on my '03 Softail. Said if the something wasn't perfectly round it would eat up the gear drive system, seems like he said flywheel. WTF, do I have options and if so what are they? Thanks in advance!

 

No, it's not BS... they just don't want to warranty the work.

You have to have less that .003" runout on your crank. As far as I can tell (I don't work on this part of a Harley every day, but any supplier/installer of cams will be able to tell you what the odds are that yours will pass) it is generally not a problem, but the more miles you have the more likely that it is. Some cams have a steep ramp on them which puts additional stress on the cam chains, so in that case you should be going with gear driven cams. If you are using a mild cam and aren't going to be racing, IMHO a new hydraulic cam chain tensioner with a new oil pump and a chain driven cam is just as good but it costs more money...

You can forego the new tensioner and pump with a gear driven cam which will save you quite a few bucks. OTOH if you're getting both and sticking with chain driven, the new cam plate, etc. can be completely assembled with new torrington bearings before they tear down your bike, saving some down time for you.

Some cams are noisier than others, especially when gear driven. If you live in an area with strict noise regulations, you need to take that into consideration, too.

Just my buck fifty. You will probably get quite a few more opinions on this one...

C#

 

You can get the newer chain drive set up

 

Chalk up another one for Cape Fear...
Without physically checking, they have no idea what the crankshaft runout is, or if you can go to a gear drive set up or not.
We rode together and you've seen my '03 Fatboy, with gear drive.

 

That is true, I left there a tad discouraged. I will look into the hydraulic system, sounds like that is a good option. We put in an offer on that house in Linden that you and I went to, after a verbal acceptance and a month delay it turned out that the idiot that was trying to sell it didn't even own it, go figure.

 

If you're going to take the cams out, might as well replace them with some that give you better performance. If you go with gears you won't be using HD parts, and some people can't fathom that. All I know is that HD made the original tensioner system that is the cause of all this angst in the first place. And my gear driven cams sound fine. I notice a little "whirr" when I let off the gas and the pipes get quiet, and that's it.

 

Do yourself a favor...find a reputable independent shop...get some references... stay away from the dealership.

 

It is a fact that crank runout needs to be measured before installing gear drives. The thing that sucks about this is you don't really know what to order until your bike is torn apart so it takes longer, but it is a necessary step.

Drew

 

BULLCHIT..... unless they check the crank run-out and its past the limits they have no Idea what there saying.......

I wouldn't go to that service dept for anything Unless U not telling us the whole true story....

It ain't if the crank is round,,, its how much run out of the crank,,, 2 different things...

 

Wow, that sucks. I rode past it a few days ago, the for sale sign was gone and someone's living in it.

Let me know if you want the name and number of the independent shop I use in Dunn. I highly recommend them. They can do either the gears or the hydraulic conversion kit. Probably for a whole lot less than Cape Fear. See you around bud. Ride safe.