I had DC V-Twins in S. Ga. do an S&S cam change in my '05 Road King with the adjustable push rods. Big difference. Part of me wishes I'd have went with gear drive just for the simplicity. I still don't understand why H-D did the twin cam. too much crap to wear out IMHO.
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Any Harley guys here?
- Thread starter robtattoo
- Start date
Not sure if Porsche sold them on it or not. Back in the early 80's HD knew they needed to do something to modernize they're aging Shovelheads. They looked at two possible contractors to make engine improvements, Riccardo in Britain and Porsche. In the end they went with Porsche which modernized the combustion chambers shapes from the domed Hemi of the Shovel to a lopsided bath tub shape with a flatter topped piston. They again contracted them for the twin cam further evolving the chamber shape. I'm not sure about the newer M8, I think they're gone back to a single cam.
hovel
ol' stupid
They have, and after all that crap we had to put up with about how the twinkie solved the bad valve train geometry problem.
Typical HD BS.
Side note, the EVO was the first engine Harley produced that they (HD) said would run 100K miles.
Evo for sure. Untouched and no computer to deal with. Easy to work on with few surprises.
The thing that pisses me off is that H-D sent out the twin cam with a POS cam chain tensioner and POS tensioner shoes that would last 30-40K then totally fail and ruin the engine. It took them until 2006 to figure this out? Harley loves to let the folks who buy their products do their durability studies for them. Don't get me wrong, I love my Road King, and I fixed the aforementioned tensioner problem before it was a problem with a Fueling hydraulic tensioner and upgraded cam bearings and has 74K on it and is as reliable as a rock.
robtattoo
Someone said there'd be cookies???
Well, I went with the Evo.
I looked at the twink & honestly, it was much ropier in person than in the pics. His opening line was that he'd "take four grand"
Hard pass.
The evo is just as nice in person as it is in the pics. Maybe better. 2 owners from new (father, then his 50 year old son) & other than the tassels & a few shiny bits, it hasn't been fooled with at all. No air cleaner, no pipes, cams no nothing. Not a screaming chicken in sight. Starts up nicely, shifts clean, finds neutral & there are zero rattles, knocks or hitches.
He took an even 5 grand & I'm picking it up on Saturday!
I looked at the twink & honestly, it was much ropier in person than in the pics. His opening line was that he'd "take four grand"
Hard pass.
The evo is just as nice in person as it is in the pics. Maybe better. 2 owners from new (father, then his 50 year old son) & other than the tassels & a few shiny bits, it hasn't been fooled with at all. No air cleaner, no pipes, cams no nothing. Not a screaming chicken in sight. Starts up nicely, shifts clean, finds neutral & there are zero rattles, knocks or hitches.
He took an even 5 grand & I'm picking it up on Saturday!
Good choice. 
I think you'll have many miles of happy motoring. Congrats!!!
Good decision to buy the Evo I reckon. Sounds like a great bike.
Another Harley guy here ... potato potato potato ... there, that's your proof. LOL
I have a TC88 from earlier years of this century. If you don't like the cam chain tensioner, you might as well replace it. At 30k miles, that's not a bad time. And it's not as bad as others make it out to be. Light a nice cigar (Churchill) and if you pay more attention to the motor than the cigar, I guarantee the motor will be finished first.
When I turned it into a cafe racer a few years ago, I've gone through my engine, bottom up. Installed a new tensioner, took a few minutes only because I had the case split already. Either buy the tensioner tool or make one. Not hard at all. Grind out a piece of pipe, attach a lever and you're GTG.
And while I was inside the motor, I marveled at the incredibly sophisticated dampeners inside the crankcase. It really helps with the motor vibration. This is not the typical shake-your-fillings-out HD motor.
If you are not concerned about the aesthetics of the MC, consider the condition of the frame and motor. Those are the most important pieces. Unless you are swapping those out too.
With an EFI motor, you don't have to worry about the bike sitting a few weeks and fuel gumming up the carb. But if you make any airflow modifications, you will need to re-tune the motor.
What will you turn the project into?
I have a TC88 from earlier years of this century. If you don't like the cam chain tensioner, you might as well replace it. At 30k miles, that's not a bad time. And it's not as bad as others make it out to be. Light a nice cigar (Churchill) and if you pay more attention to the motor than the cigar, I guarantee the motor will be finished first.
When I turned it into a cafe racer a few years ago, I've gone through my engine, bottom up. Installed a new tensioner, took a few minutes only because I had the case split already. Either buy the tensioner tool or make one. Not hard at all. Grind out a piece of pipe, attach a lever and you're GTG.
And while I was inside the motor, I marveled at the incredibly sophisticated dampeners inside the crankcase. It really helps with the motor vibration. This is not the typical shake-your-fillings-out HD motor.
If you are not concerned about the aesthetics of the MC, consider the condition of the frame and motor. Those are the most important pieces. Unless you are swapping those out too.
With an EFI motor, you don't have to worry about the bike sitting a few weeks and fuel gumming up the carb. But if you make any airflow modifications, you will need to re-tune the motor.
What will you turn the project into?
robtattoo
Someone said there'd be cookies???
Another Harley guy here ... potato potato potato ... there, that's your proof. LOL
I have a TC88 from earlier years of this century. If you don't like the cam chain tensioner, you might as well replace it. At 30k miles, that's not a bad time. And it's not as bad as others make it out to be. Light a nice cigar (Churchill) and if you pay more attention to the motor than the cigar, I guarantee the motor will be finished first.
When I turned it into a cafe racer a few years ago, I've gone through my engine, bottom up. Installed a new tensioner, took a few minutes only because I had the case split already. Either buy the tensioner tool or make one. Not hard at all. Grind out a piece of pipe, attach a lever and you're GTG.
And while I was inside the motor, I marveled at the incredibly sophisticated dampeners inside the crankcase. It really helps with the motor vibration. This is not the typical shake-your-fillings-out HD motor.
If you are not concerned about the aesthetics of the MC, consider the condition of the frame and motor. Those are the most important pieces. Unless you are swapping those out too.
With an EFI motor, you don't have to worry about the bike sitting a few weeks and fuel gumming up the carb. But if you make any airflow modifications, you will need to re-tune the motor.
What will you turn the project into?
Well, the end goal is going to be a kinda mashup between this lot....
I'm going mostly black (matt with gloss accents & a little chrome) no front fender, minimal (maybe) rear fender, low & wide bars, hidden turn signals (I'd go with zero signals, but I'm pretty sure it'll be a police magnet as is....) & staggered fishtails. My ideas are evolving the longer I stare at it. I know I want to keep the 3 head light setup, but with guards & the shrouded forks. I absolutely love the short, fat, minimal look.
robtattoo
Someone said there'd be cookies???
This is the last bike I had in England before I moved here & was close to what I'm going for. Too shiny by far, but close:
The TC engine fits those low bobbers pretty well, especially if you paint it black (I did when I had to replace the crank).
The matte black-out look is pretty nicely aggressive without being aggressive. It "looks" fast.
That's close to what I did with my TC. It's a nice show-style bobber slash cafe racer.
You better create a build thread here with plenty of pictures.
robtattoo
Someone said there'd be cookies???
The TC engine fits those low bobbers pretty well, especially if you paint it black (I did when I had to replace the crank).
The matte black-out look is pretty nicely aggressive without being aggressive. It "looks" fast.
That's close to what I did with my TC. It's a nice show-style bobber slash cafe racer.
You better create a build thread here with plenty of pictures.
I don't really want to befoul THE XS forum with a non-metric bike
robtattoo
Someone said there'd be cookies???
This is a day of purchase vs last night comparison. It's getting less cluttered by the day....
I've got most of the parts I need ordered & I've already sold the seat & apes off it. Unfortunately the new gas tanks are backordered. I was going to cut & paint the original tins, but then discovered that they're selling on ebay for over half of what I paid for the bike!
I've got most of the parts I need ordered & I've already sold the seat & apes off it. Unfortunately the new gas tanks are backordered. I was going to cut & paint the original tins, but then discovered that they're selling on ebay for over half of what I paid for the bike!
robtattoo
Someone said there'd be cookies???
I think I've also invested about $200 in various shades of Black paint. 
We are all riders here, I don't see a problem with posting pictures of a cool motorcycle.I don't really want to befoul THE XS forum with a non-metric bike
Those who cannot deal have a problem but it's theirs, not mine. <shrug/>
If the thread has Harley-Davidson in the title, it’s very simple for disinterested parties to ignore it. Speaking for myself, it’s not an issue.
That already looks a lot better with just the Bronco Bill accessories binned.This is a day of purchase vs last night comparison. It's getting less cluttered by the day....
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I've got most of the parts I need ordered & I've already sold the seat & apes off it. Unfortunately the new gas tanks are backordered. I was going to cut & paint the original tins, but then discovered that they're selling on ebay for over half of what I paid for the bike!
Did the seller not throw in a pair of conchoed saddlebags?
robtattoo
Someone said there'd be cookies???
Fortunately not. I would've hated to have to toss them out of the truck window on the interstate.
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