I bought my 2000 Ultra from a private party who was the 2nd owner. After doing a bunch of reading on the Ultras I read about the cam bearing issues starting on the 1999 models. I did a search and can't seem to find the answer to my question which is does the Moco keep track of upgrades on motorcycles by the vin number and can a dealer run the vin and tell me if there have been upgrades performed at a dealership? Follow up question to the first is if there is a way to look at the engine and tell if the cam bearings were upgraded or not. My mileage is just over 17,000 miles and right in the prime area where they historically go bad according to the reading I've done. Any info would be appreciated.

 

I am not able to answer any of your questions, but I was faced with the same issue on my 2001 Road King with 24,000 miles on it. You can look at the condition of the shoes on the cam chain tensioners using a dental mirror and see how they look. However, I elected to have the S&S cam gears with adustable lifters installed. A lot of advantages to this approach, but also more cost. I too, sought the wise counsel of the members of this forum and, because I have no plans on getting rid of my 2001, I listened to what they suggested and I went for it and got it behind me. (I also am a member of the American Legion and Partiot Guard Riders.) I know the other members of this forum will not lead you astray. Good luck, Halfbreed

 

The dealer can run your vin and tell you if your engine was made before the cam bearing upgrade was done. The issue is with the rear/outboard cam bearing, these were changed out from a ball type to a roller type on engines manufactured after Dec 14th 1999. I don't think just any dealer can tell you that the bearings have been replaced (if needed) on your engine. This was not a recall by HD, all they did was replace the bearings IF they failed. So unless something went wrong with your cam bearings they were not replaced under a warranty. So many people just paid out of their pocket to have the bearings changed. And unless you know exactly what dealer the previous owner had the bike serviced at you may not be able to find out if the work was completed, some folks use an indy for this work, etc.

Best way to go if your vin shows that your engine has the old style ball bearing is to inspect it, this way you know for sure. The cam chest cover must be removed and the crank/primary cam chain sprockets must be pulled to check the rear cam bearing. I changed my cam bearings at 33k and the rear cam ball bearing (old type) was in great shape but I upgraded it and replaced all the cam bearings and chain tensioners while I was in there. At 17k you might want to inspect the chain tensioners anyway even if your engine doesn't have the bearing issue.