big bore = new cams?

[admin]

I have a 2001 Fatboy with stage 1 kit air breather, 1550 big bore kit, re-jetted carbs, and Vance & Hines short shots pipes. My dealer tells me I should install a geared cam kit, and that my stock cams can actually be causing some engine damage by keeping the fuel/air mix stock (out of line with the after-market mods already done). He's quoting $1400. Question: Are the stock cams damaging the engine? Question: Is $1400 reasonable for an installed set of geared cams?

Posted by: revjim on Nov 14, 05 12:42:42 pm

[admin]

Did you say dealer or was that stealer?
$1400 ? I would ask him to re-sharpen his pencil and get a new figure. Any independent shops in your area ?

Posted by: RichM on Nov 14, 05 9:03:39 pm

[admin]

Thanks for the reply, RichM. I thought $1400 was a bit high!
More important to me than price is the tech question: could I be causing engine damage running stock cams with the stage 1 breather, 1550 kit, V&H pipes, and re-jetted carbs?
Power/performance enhancement aside, I don't want to be hurting the motor.
Anyone?

Posted by: revjim on Nov 21, 05 12:43:59 pm

[admin]

Absolutely not, as long as the carb was rejetted properly. I've heard some really ridiculous BS from some techs at dealerships, but never anything that bad! Now, if you want to get the most improvement for your 1550 big bore kit bucks, you do need to improve the breathing through head porting and performance cams. The stock TC88 heads barely flow enough air for a stock engine, so the extra 7 cubic inches aren't going to do much for you without getting more fuel and air into the combustion chambers. BTW - there is an article by Donny Peterson in the December issue of AIM which explains this in more detail. Also, I believe I would find a different dealer.

Posted by: gcraig on Nov 23, 05 10:35:31 pm

[admin]

I run HQ-0033-G and I love the reliability of the gear drive but I've never heard of a cam install costing $1400 (ouch!)
Get the HD service Manual and do it yourself.
It's not as hard as "most" people want you to believe. I done mine and had no problems. I rented a "blind hole" puller from Auto zone to remove my inner bearings. Oh one more thing like he said ^ do the heads.

Posted by: 03HDFATBOY on Nov 28, 05 12:05:47 pm

[admin]

My 2 cents worth...

I've just done the 95" upgrade and did the S & S gear driven cams at the same time. The geared cams were around $650 and the mech charged me $500 to do the labor. So you do the math. I also went with the Screaming Eagle heads. I am looking at flowing my old heads for a backup if the need ever arises.

Posted by: DLArmand on Dec 5, 05 12:22:45 pm

[admin]

Thanks, DLArmand. That's about the pricing I got from a competing dealer in the area.
What did the SE heads cost you? Was that a needed addition or a personal choice? (Both dealers I've talked to said no head mods were needed.)
Also . . . did you have the bike dyno tuned afterward? Not needed? One dealer swears by it, and the other said they never do dyno tuning 'cause it damages the engine. RevJim

Posted by: revjim on Dec 5, 05 2:30:30 pm

[admin]

Heads were changed on a whim. I guess I bought into the sales guy's story! LOL

I was going to port and flow the old heads and the shop where I was going to have it done went under. I didn't feel like trying another shop without recommendations, so I went with the HTCC heads. Cost? About $800...

Shop did Dyno the bike after the mods and came back with 90HP/102TQ... not a bad improvment.

I was told to take it easy for the first 500 miles and as soon as the weather improves here in Colorado, I will!

Posted by: DLArmand on Dec 10, 05 10:38:04 am

[admin]

$1400 what a Joke , he seen you coming ,
I would recommend SE 204 or TW21 Cam's with stock chain Drive
these will work fine with you're set up and cost about $200 to $300 plus labor depending on you're pushrod's if you got adjustable ones or stock , these cam's work fine with stock it's just a little bit more work to install Cam's, you will notice a good power improvement and this is still a very reliable set up , I installed this on a 99 FLHStandard and Dyno'd 89hp 92ft/pd at 2200rpm good strong pulling from bottom on up ,
but with the Exhaust you're running you will alway's loose low end power,
I hope this is of some help !

Posted by: ZipSpeed on Dec 10, 05 5:32:23 pm

[admin]

I've got a twin cam v88" circa 2005, w rinehardts & a seii intake w a stage 1 kit. I read that adding the 1550 big bore stage 1 would boost HP to the back wheel in the 3500 to 5500 RPM range & that it would also reduce fuel consumption by abt 10%. Having said all that my question is two fold: 1. this sounds like a dichotomy, but is it possible and more importantly is it common? 2. would a cam upgrade improve performance & economy in a similar fashon? V

Posted by: dellegrazie on Dec 13, 05 2:03:20 pm