So I’m thinking about installing Andrews 57H cams. Did some reading and think they are a good match for my riding (mainly cruising and 2up). Heard it’s a fairly easy install. But I need a shopping list. What else is a must have to purchase with a cam install. (Push rod, gasket kit, etc). I don’t want to buy the cams and then have to make a 2nd purchase because I forgot something TIA

 

Cam cover gasket, inner cam bearings, inner cam bearing tool, adjustable push rods, assembly lube, exhaust gaskets if you remove exhaust. Torque wrench. ( inch pounds) Dial indicator in the event you want to check pinion runout this should cover it . If you have a lot of miles on the bike you may want to change cam chain tensioners ( over 30k miles).
don't forget oil pump and cam plate orings

 

Pull the heads and have them ported/polished and new seals & seats installed to match the cam and exhaust combo.

S&S Quickie push rods, cam bearings, upgraded lifters, depending on your finances cam plate upgrades, new oil pump, etc etc etc.

Complete upper gasket set from James or Cometic,

Service Manual is a must, although there are some good videos from Fuel Moto on YT, they leave some things out,

Ball end allen wrenches !

a whole bunch of specialty tools like the cam bearing pullers that are going to cost you a pretty penny.

Current mileage?

Measure the cylinder bores and if they are good then hone and re-ring.... once you get the heads off the jugs and pistons are easy, if you are going to do cams, do the heads, if you are going to do the heads, do the jugs even if it is just a refresh hone and new rings.

I did not do my cams in the 13 since the Stage 4 was already done, but I had a bad intake valve seal that was causing it to burn a quart of oil every 500 miles, once I committed to tearing one head off, the rest was easy... and I already had the S&S push rods and better lifters in the bike.... I didn't have to tear into the cam chest on a 12K mile bike. Doing the heads and jugs was simple compared to the cam case IMHO.

 

Moly lube (Yamaha stuff on Amazon for 5 bucks is a deal), 243 locktite, assembly lube... the thick red stuff various taps to clean out the old thread sealers from bolt holes (although I use thread cleaners as they don't remove metal) oil, filter, some 20-50 oil to lube the cylinder walls and rings with. Popsicle sticks can be used to compress rings ( see the Fuel Moto videos on YT to see how it is done, also watch to see how to remove and install the piston pin retaining clips. Lots of shop rags to stuff into holes like the block where the jugs go to keep stuff from falling into the bottom end.

Besides a good INCH POUND torque wrench, a 3/8 drive FT POUND torque wrench is needed as most 1/2 inch ones are like 0 to 250 ft/pounds and are not as accurate at the bottom end of their range as one where 100 Ft Pounds is the top end... the 44 Ft Pounds for the final torque of the head bolts is going to near mid range.... and on some of the initial torques you will be converting FT to INCH and using the inch pound wrench as it is hard to get a 7 foot pound reading but easy to get 84 inch pounds on a 250 INCH POUND wrench.... and some of the bolts you are not going to get to with a torque wrench so a calibrated elbow will be required.

Lots of cleaning solvent and lint free rags... contact cleaner/MAF Sensor cleaner worked for me.

If you are not going to pull the heads, and you are going to cheat by not taking the rocker boxes apart to get the push rods out, you are going to need a set of heavy effn duty bolt cutters to cut the OEM push rods out, and I mean industrial quality, anything you find at a consumer store (Home Depot, Harbor Freight) ain't going to cut it literally and figuratively .

Oh some sort of a jack because you are going to have to rotate the rear wheel in 6th gear to set the push rods... you need to get the lifters on the base circle of the cam (both lifters down as far as they can go at the same time) to set the pre-load of the lifters with the S&S push rods

 

I looked at the cam bearing puller/installer from Jims, and about had a heart attack at the price. So, I bought an aftermarket puller/installer that fits the 88 in motor bearings, as well as the larger bearings in the 96/103 motor. Entire tool kit set me back just under a hundred bucks, and worked like a charm. Heavy duty steel parts. Moral is, you don't have to sell your first born to get the tools for the job.

 

Tuner and who is going to do the tune? You also never mentioned which exhaust system you have installed. Make sure all your parts and pieces are going to play well together or you will end up with very low torque numbers under 3,000 RPMs. We have similar motorcycles and my opinion is to look for a cam with an earlier intake close than 38 degrees.

 

You will get a lot of opinions on cams... If you are new to this cam swap stuff... you may want to discuss your goals with a good shop. They will guide you to a solution that will reach your goals with parts that work together well...

A bolt-in cam will make a great seat of the pants improvement... you don't need to do headwork or pistons, etc.... But, you will "benefit greatly" from a high flow air cleaner and a more open exhaust than OEM. The exhaust can be a full system or just high flow slip-ons. I consider both of those to be "must haves" if you are going to bother to improve your cams..... Now, if you have the "sickness" like me and others, displacement, head upgrades etc, etc.... are really cool too...

IMHO.... for your riding style, you may want to consider the Andrews 48H cams over their 57H cams... the torque curve on the 57H cams is a little to the right (higher RPMs) than the 48H and the 57H really shines when slightly raising compression or doing headwork. For just a bolt-in cam only mod, and cruising while two up riding, there are many very happy 48H cam owners out there...




Additionally, don't discount the tune. You will need a tuner and a new tune. I am partial to a DynoJet PowerVision Tuner. I have one and licenses for 3 of my bikes and 3 friend's bikes...very easy to use, does anything you could want to tackle, and because it can have as many licenses as you want to buy, it will be the last tuner you would ever need. If you buy it from FuelMoto, they give lifetime map support, which is quite a good deal. Their maps are very spot on in most cases. If you have an issue, run a few auto tune sessions and/or just run a data log with the PowerVision tuner (sounds daunting I know, but they are both actually very easy to do), send it to them, and they will adjust the tune...

A couple of "while you are in there upgrades" I believe are necessary when doing a cam swap.

1) Get new lifters.. The HD "C" lifters (that you have as OEM) are a weak spot (to put it kindly).... I prefer Johnson Hylift from WFO Larry (Larry's Motorcycle & Machine). Of course, many use S&S and there are few other premium brands, but most will be more expensive, and really no better, than the Johnson Hylift... I use the Johnson-Hylift 2313SE lifters for around $179/set of four, but the standard 2313 lifters for $129/set of four are most like OEM, but much better quality..

2) Replace the inner cam bearings. The OEM INA Brand cage bearings are NOT as good as the Koyo Brand (formerly Torrington Brand) captive needle bearings. You will need two Koyo (Torrington) B-168 bearings.

I wouldn't open a cam chest just to change those two things on a low mileage Twin Cam engine, but if you are going into the cam chest, replacing the lifters and inner cam bearings is a no brainer in my opinion.

This is a very doable project for you to tackle yourself... I highly recommend getting a Harley Service manual for your bike, as well as watching some of the various videos out there (S&S and FuelMoto have some good videos just to name a few). Take your time, pay attention to the details (like cam plate o-ring install and oil pump centering procedures) and you will have fun, as well as love the results...

Good luck with your mods....

 

You may want to consider the Andrews 48 vs. the 57, esp. since you are riding a Limited 2-up.

Fuel Moto has a 20 cam shootout pinned in this forum:

"Andrews 57H

What Andrews says: “Bolt-in broad tip cams; 96 in., 103 in. limited and 110 in. CVO engines, Cams work best at rpm range of 2200-5600”

Fuel Moto’s take: not as strong as the 48H and some of the others in the lower RPM’s, however it comes on quite good in the mid RPM’s and carries out well to the upper RPM’s"

 

Nothing against the 57H cams but I agree the 48H cams are likely a better option (if sticking to Andrews) for a stock compression Road Glide that’s ridden 2-up. I tend to favor cams with earlier IVCs for heavy bikes and/or 2-up riding. Other good options that come to mind include: Wood 222, S&S MR103 and CR 570-2.