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Seasoned Rider
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Bristol, CT
Posts: 38
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SE-204 Cams on a Stage One Budget
OK guys. I'm not a builder. I'm not a tuner. And I'm not a drag racer. I barely understand enough about velocity and flow to be highly dangerous. I bought my first Sporty about 13 years ago after years of Hondas and Triumphs and loved it. Two years later, Oct 1998, I bought my 99 Dyna TC 88. Wahoo! I had the distinction of owning the first one in the area to explode the cam bolt and it lived at the dealer for the next six weeks while they trained their techs on it (admittedly). The end result was a motor that was very carefully assembled and properly torqued so that they would never have to hear me whine again! I also understand REAL break-in procedures, hot-soaked it several times, changed the oil at 200 then 1000 miles, and was bumping redline at 500 miles. I love this motor!
Anyway, we bolted on all of the stage one stuff when it was only a few months old, after checking with the dealer on warranty issues. This included everything but the cams. I spent alot of time studying Dyno charts and parts combos, and decided to stick with the CV carb. It's really an exotic little piece if you understand how it works and IMHO will easily outperform those 'simple' carbs with all of the S's, E's and G's in their names. And, people who say "just put in bigger jets and a 'Sportster' needle" have probably never seen a Dynojet accelerator pump shoot gas compared to the little whiss of a stock one.
Personally, I think of the TC88 as a slice of a 350 Chevy and all the same rules apply. Simply make it more efficient and it will make more power, as well as maintain driveability, reliability, longivety, and gas mileage. Blueprint, balance, cc, airflow, velocity, and MODERATION. This is how to build a 'street machine'. I also understand the basic premise that torque=acceleration and horsepower=speed, and that you can't have both (please don't flame me for that statement, I know they both increase collectively, but...). That you have approx 3,000-3,500 rpm 'window' for a power curve and all you can do is move it left or right, no matter what the actual numbers are.
I'm very proud of the fact that my little 88 with stock heads and jugs is making more power (and is more fun to ride) than alot of 95's and even 103's that I'm finding out there. I can't WAIT to get some head work done and some forged pistons (keeping it 88) with a little more compression, so I can really pi$$ off some these guys who spent BIG money on BIG motors that just don't make any power. Sorry, does that sound cocky?
Yes, I understand that a good tuner will make all the difference in the world, and I've read some really GREAT stuff from tuners on this site in particular, but some of us just can't afford 124" motors and 8 hours on the dyno at 80 bucks an hour to tweak the snots out of it. So I guess I'm posting this for the rest of us po' folk who just want a little more out of their machines without spending thousands of dollars on monster motors. The cams were the most expensive thing I did so far. (Thanks to Joe and Doug for helping with the install) Spent about $600 on all of the Stage One stuff, which made some pretty decent power (thanks to Tim at Cycles Plus), and about $600 more to add the cams which added about 10/10 more, and much cooler sound, nice bark. If I could start over I would use a Crane or Dynatec ignition so I could adjust the bumps out of the graphs, cause I think they're from timing issues (could just be slop from chain drive instead of gear cams). Like I said, I'm not a drag racer and I don't need to have the fastest bike in town, I can't afford it. I just want to have fun and a bit of a rush when I crack the throttle. EPA motors suck.
btw - these cams are SO under-rated. They can chug smoothly away from idle, lug right down 1700-1800 without chunking when cruising, and pull really hard all the way to the 6200 redline. If they're petering out at 5800 I don't feel it yet. They're giving me a rock-solid idle, have a real nice bark, have not spit at me once coming off idle, and seem to have eliminated the popping I was having on decel with the stock cams and stage one stuff. We changed nothing else but the main jet (from a 190 to a 200). Bike had 40,000 miles on it when we put the cams in and ran up a fast, hard 400 more in the 3 days since, cuz I'd rather break it now than 500 miles away from home.
So, I've rambled on WAY too much, just wanted to properly introduce myself. You guys have helped me more than you know in choosing these cams and getting them safely installed. I should also mention that I found alot of technical installation help on HD Talking dot com. The British guys have to do alot of work on their own and are very detailed in sharing this info. (hope it's ok to post this and the guru's don't delete it)
One last time, I am a RANK AMATEUR at this. I'm just trying to share some basic knowledge that the experts tend to take for granted and alot of people don't seem to get. If your builder tells you that I'm an idiot, BELIEVE HIM.
Here's my before/after chart so far. I'd love to hear what you big guys think. Thoughts, suggestions? I'll post more after head work this winter (unless I stumble onto some money before then). My goal is 90/100 (HP/TQ) while maintaining 88ci and a reasonable budget. I don't think I could make much more power than that without using bigger, more expensive stuff.
Sorry, one last note. Dyno runs were done at local dealer because of proximity and scheduling. They also gave me a good deal. Very enthusiastic young guy and eager to help, but not a 'tuner'. Mix was a little lean above 4000 rpm with 190 jet, hence the 200.
OK Bye !
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1999 Dyna FXDS
TC88
SE A/C (K&N)
40mm CV w/Dynojet Kit
SE Racing Slip-ons (modified)
SE 6200 Ignition
SE-204 Cams
SE Quick-Change Pushrods
Torrington Bearings
Stock Heads & Jugs
Progressive 412's, SE Fork Brace
83.56 HP(SAE) 91.17 FT/LBS
 
Last edited by BrokenStroke : 07-01-2009 at 01:19 AM.
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