98 evo reliability : V-Twin Forum: Harley Davidson Forums

sumerfun01 · 07-19-2009, 11:14 PM

reciently purchased a 98 police road king that was obviouslly hammered on. Been reading about all the evo cam rearing nigthmeres. My motor has 36000 on it and seems to run good but you guys are making me nervous. How long should I expect this mill to last with reasonable use? Is my motor a time bomb? Thanks for any feedback.

route66paul · 07-20-2009, 12:21 AM

You have an Evo, there is nothing to worry about.

dickey · 07-20-2009, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumerfun01

reciently purchased a 98 police road king that was obviouslly hammered on. Been reading about all the evo cam rearing nigthmeres. My motor has 36000 on it and seems to run good but you guys are making me nervous. How long should I expect this mill to last with reasonable use? Is my motor a time bomb? Thanks for any feedback.

The cam bearing problems are on the Twin Cams,which didn't come out 'till '99. IMHO, Even though I own 2 Twin Cams, I think the Evo is the best & most reliable motor Harley ever made. Enjoy your sled & don't worry.

TheNowhereman · 07-20-2009, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumerfun01

reciently purchased a 98 police road king that was obviouslly hammered on. Been reading about all the evo cam rearing nigthmeres. My motor has 36000 on it and seems to run good but you guys are making me nervous. How long should I expect this mill to last with reasonable use? Is my motor a time bomb? Thanks for any feedback.

I ran my 80 inch EVO for 100k.
It was pumped up fierce putting out 104 hp.
It still is strong but sitting in my garage.
Those motors if oil changed every 3k are bullet proof.

rickr01 · 07-20-2009, 08:37 AM

I have over 100k on my 1998 Evo. Outstanding motor.

rewind · 07-20-2009, 10:07 AM

EVO's are great engines!!!! I've got almost 50k on mine. If it hasn't been done I'd put in an Andrews EV27 cam and also replace that INA cam bearing with a Torrington.

4XLT · 07-20-2009, 12:44 PM

what everyone said...

i have a 98 E-Glise and when i bought it 3 years ago it had 52K on it. i put another 18K hard miles on it and then stroked it to a 93"

i know a guy that has 213K on his 87 Heritage with only a re ring job done after 175K. he does not beat it but still rides allot.

mtkawboy · 07-27-2009, 06:01 PM

If you still have the stock factory cam bearing Id get it out of there ASAP if it isnt already too late. I dont know about all these trouble free ones but Ive seen dozens with spun cam bearings. They have a plastic cage on them & spin in the cases. I had an Andrews EV13 cam & the $10 bearing out in mine at 2000 miles. From what Ive seen its the best $10 youll ever spend. I later changed it my self to mackie heads & a Comp Cams 3030, 240 duration, 530 lift.

NHFree1 · 07-27-2009, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtkawboy

If you still have the stock factory cam bearing Id get it out of there ASAP if it isnt already too late. I dont know about all these trouble free ones but Ive seen dozens with spun cam bearings. They have a plastic cage on them & spin in the cases. I had an Andrews EV13 cam & the $10 bearing out in mine at 2000 miles. From what Ive seen its the best $10 youll ever spend. I later changed it my self to mackie heads & a Comp Cams 3030, 240 duration, 530 lift.

I agree. I don't know why everyone is saying not to worry. If you've seen what the INA bearing looks like, you would get it out of there too and replace it with the full roller Torrington. My bearing was ok after 17k miles but the guy I sold my bearing remover to had a spun bearing with 23k miles. Bearing hadn't disintegrated completely, but after flushing the bits of the bearing from his cases, he's still changing his oil and cutting open oil filters every 300 miles for at least 1200 miles to check for pieces.

It's not worth the risk and you will be kicking yourself if the $10 bearing lets go and you're saddled with $4000 in repairs. Just change the bearing. With the gaskets and adjustable push rods, you'll still be under $150 for everything. You can buy the bearing puller on ebay for $80 and then sell it after so you'll get that back. Just do it though. If you don't want to listen to us, then search INA cam bearing and read the hundreds of threads on it.

rcsoftail · 07-29-2009, 01:39 PM

I am a victim of the INA cam bearing failure in my 1995 softail. Change it to the torrington before it is too late. I was thinking Harley went back to the torrington bearing in the later years, but not sure which year.

NHFree1 · 07-29-2009, 07:58 PM

I believe they used the INA from 1992 to 1998 and switched back to the torrington in 1999.

chetg · 08-01-2009, 07:19 PM

i have a 95 flt ,with 56000 miles on it. not one oil leak still running strong.

Unca Mike · 08-01-2009, 10:27 PM

If the bike was used by a local police dept you could go to their service dept head and find out the history of the bike. It might have had the cam bearing changed already.

Beemervet · 08-02-2009, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dickey

The cam bearing problems are on the Twin Cams,which didn't come out 'till '99.

See above posts. Ina bearing is a known issue for EVOs.

HEY!! Who let this Twinkie guy in here?

1949shoebox · 08-02-2009, 10:44 PM

your motor is a lot more reliable than the twin cam crap. should last you 100k at least good luck ride safe.