Greetings everyone;

Has anyone just changed cams on the '09 96" engine instead of going to the 103" kits? I've heard of a lot of people that do the 103" upgrade, but NOT change cams.

I'm wondering if just going to the SE 255 cams on the 96" engine might produce a significant improvement.

Bryon

 

It really depends on what you are looking to gain, and what you want. You could read this post:
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touri...ad-advice.html

Bob

 

Friend of mine had a Andrews 26h w/SE air cleaner and Rinehart true duels on a 08 SG with a custom map make 85hp & 101 torque. He is selling the cams. The map may help you also. He has the SERT and I believe it can be converted to the SEST.

 

I just installed Andrews 26 cams in mine. The added power is nice, but I'm probably going to a 103" next winter.... It's never enough.

 

I just added Andrews 26H cams. I'm very happy with the improved performance and have no plans to go to 103" until I need a new top end.

 

Your 255 cam is more of a high end cam which comes on later in the powerband. At our dealership we install a lot of 204 cams with a woods 4 degree advanced cam gear and have had great numbers out of that combination.Obviously it depends on your exhaust that makes a big difference and from what I have seen on here a lot of guys do not use a screamin eagle race tuner or super tuner. The tuner is by far the best way to tune your motorcycle it may be expensive but by far the best way to tune your motorcycle barnone.

 

Ive had the 255 cams in my 96 it was ok. Went to a 103 with flat top pistons and 255 cams and made 85hp and 105tq. I have changed cams to a 258 and its a whole new bike WOW is all i can say

 

You must be thinking of the 251's, because the 255's are just the opposite. They are low-end cams if there ever were any.

Well, some will dispute the superiority of SERT/SEST and although it is certainly overkill for many riders it is truly a fine tuner among others on the market. It could be easily argued the PCV with Auto-Tune with its wide-band O2 sensors is the better tuner since it tunes on the fly, which is something SERT/SEST will only do within the limited parameters of the narrow-band O2 sensors. The PCV-AT will do it throughout the RPM/TP range, which is something SERT/SEST can't do.

 

I just performed a cam swap on my '07 TC96 and opted for the SE255. I was looking for cams that would take my already excellent, flat TQ curve achieved with the Fuel Moto Power Package and simply move that curve up about 5-6 with no shift to the right at the expense of low-end TQ. If I don't count the time I'm at idle or transitioning to cruising speed, about 99% of my riding is between 2-4K RPM and that is the range I'm concerned with.

The end result was exactly what I expected, and I mean that favorably. There is a nice improvement in power throughout the RPM range, primarily from 2500-4000 RPM. I'm very happy with the result, but these are not racing cams and a massive increase in peak HP should not be the reason you buy them, as you won't get it. For heavy touring bikes with tall gearing this is my idea of a meaningful performance increase where most of us ride.

I did the work myself and spent $285, which includes $110 for the slightly used but perfect cams and the remainder for the HD cam-install kit (17045-99C), Timkin inner bearings, and bearing install/removal tool. The SE255's can occasionally be seen on Ebay that sell for no more than $150, and buying used cams is not a problem as long as they weren't removed from an engine that cratered. I did a write-up on the install process here.

I didn't want to go with the 103" upgrade because of the expense and realization that it would likely make a smaller difference than the cams alone. Fuel Moto has dynoed many different Harley configurations and I was told the 103" kit alone (no cams) would bring only a small HP/TQ increase over a TC96. The Stage II kit with 103", flat-top 10:1 pistons, and the SE255 would make a bigger difference, but that's a big expense and I wasn't looking for major increases, just a meaningful change that didn't cost an arm and a leg. I got that and am happy with the result.

 

Increasing your motor's displacement by 7 ci (96 to 103), without doing anything else, will yield a significant increase in torque (10+ ft-lbs) across the entire powerband and a bit less of an increase in horsepower and these increases are accomplished without affecting driveability in any way.

The 'best' option is to do both cams and jugs, but if you're on a budget, increasing your displacement alone is a viable alternative to doing cams alone. I don't think there's a wrong option here. I've always loved good cams and plan to swap out my stockers in the future, but for now, because my goal was primarily to boost low-end torque and power, increasing my motor's displacement to 103 ci was the right choice for me.

After I add the right cams, the process will be complete, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying the nice increase in power I've gained with the 103 ci Stage I kit (jugs, pistons, and SE intake).