If I was doing a cam change I would also change them out.

 

Based on what little I know I think the problem is largely corrected, but I would still replace them with Torringtons. I did and would not have done so had I not had reason to think it was the best route to follow.

Evos had very small 3/4" inner bearings with a configuration similar to the INA's (made by Shaeffler Technologies) in today's stock bikes, and may have been INA. When you did a cam job on an Evo you were never given an option, and changing to Torringtons was the rule, not just a suggestion.

Early TC's went to 7/8", which was an improvement, and I don't know how prone these are to failure. Most of the cam-bearing failures in these bikes were the outer bearings.

Newer TC's have 1" INA bearings and I've never heard of these failing. My dealer uses the INA on cam installs and HD includes them in their cam-install kit which I assume makes them approved for every cam upgrade, so at least HD and some of their dealers are convinced they are safe. All that said, I would still swap them with Torringtons.

 

Iclick, Thanks for the info, now I feel like I can make an educated decision about the bearing install, I'm waiting on the parts to come in and I have purchased a set of bearings in the order and if I do the swap myself I'll need to round up some sort of bearing removal/install tool. Two reasons I'm shying away from installing the cam bearings is the cost of a tool and 35 years ago I had a VW that I was always chaging the seal in the transmission, and I remember always struggling with the getting the seal to seat. But everyone is correct, if I'm already in there, go ahead and change out the bearings for insurance, they aren't that expensive.

 

I am still researching my upgrade also so I have not tried this but I have read that putting the bearings in the freezer overnight will make them easier to instal using the old cam as described in post #2. Somewhere on line is also a series of good pictures showing how to get the bearings out using the blind puller you can borrow from Autozone. It looks very easy.

 

Change the damn bearings and do it yourself.

 

You don't need to freeze them.... they are relatively easy to install. Just use the right tool for the job.

 

Nothing wrong with the INA bearings in the new motors,I did not change mine and it had nothing to do with cost,tools,time etc. I never was a follower.
Stan