I have an '04 Dyna Wide Glide that is getting the 95" kit Stage II build out of the book with SE II pipes. One dealer has told me that there are a lot of problems with Harley cams and is pushing hard for me to go to S&S gears. That's a lot of money that I don't have now. I cannot find any posts about anyone having problems that according to him can result in motor damage. Anyone seeing this?
Problems with SE 203 Cams?
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TheBigDog said:
Sounds to me like he is trying to make some more money off of you. Lot's of people running around out there with the SE BB/203 cam kit. My wrench recentlytold me me that when he builds those kits for people they get good dependability out of them. He does prefer the 204 cam though.
I have the same problem, sort of. I want the gear drive cams, but they will bust my warranty, and my wallet. I don't want to pay for 203 cams just to swap them out later, so I'm just going with the Stage 1 Big Bore. Next year, when my warranty is up anyway, I'll be putting in the Andrews 26G myself and saving the labor fee.
Every time I talked to the stealer he recommended more and more mods. He even told me there was little to no difference between the 26G and the stock cam. That's when I lost any confidence in his advice.
Every time I talked to the stealer he recommended more and more mods. He even told me there was little to no difference between the 26G and the stock cam. That's when I lost any confidence in his advice.
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701 Posts
JMynes said:
Yeah, I think I would scratch that guy off of my list too.
I enquired Andrews about the tw-26. They said to make sure the compression ratio is around 9.0 to 1. Anything higher would cause pinging. Sounds like a great bagger cam.
Gear drives are great for accurate cam timing, and a worthwhile upgrade if you go with something other than an SE cam. It may make a extra couple of ponies too.
I don't think the all out emergency to replace the tensioner exists anymore, and it really isn't a "must" do if you don't want to..
I might have gone that way myself, but I decided on the SE 204 which is only offered in chain..
May I humbly suggest that those that have responded to this thread do some
serious searches on cam selection in this forum. There is some incorrect
info on this thread.
HD has not solved the cam chain issue.
There is more to gear drive cams than timing issues.
There is a big difference between the 26G and stock HD cams.
Without head work a 21g is probably a better choice.
I'm no expert. This is just info I've picked up from the experts here.
Good luck.
serious searches on cam selection in this forum. There is some incorrect
info on this thread.
HD has not solved the cam chain issue.
There is more to gear drive cams than timing issues.
There is a big difference between the 26G and stock HD cams.
Without head work a 21g is probably a better choice.
I'm no expert. This is just info I've picked up from the experts here.
Good luck.
Joined
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701 Posts
I'm new, I'm not an expert, but I am no dummy either.
There are a million opinions, and only a few opinions made by qualified personel.
From my own investigations into the matter, the problems that were prevelant up to 2003MY aren't as serious of a concern as they were, moreover everybody is still pushing the panic button. Like I said before, some folks still won't run Quaker State oil.
Gears are a great idea, and worth doing, but not the necessity they once were.
Maybe in a couple of years, I might break back into the engine and do a different build. Maybe then I'll convert, but one poster here did not have the coin to do it now, and he needs to know that his engine won't blow up tomorrow.
There are a million opinions, and only a few opinions made by qualified personel.
From my own investigations into the matter, the problems that were prevelant up to 2003MY aren't as serious of a concern as they were, moreover everybody is still pushing the panic button. Like I said before, some folks still won't run Quaker State oil.
Gears are a great idea, and worth doing, but not the necessity they once were.
Maybe in a couple of years, I might break back into the engine and do a different build. Maybe then I'll convert, but one poster here did not have the coin to do it now, and he needs to know that his engine won't blow up tomorrow.
I had pinging issues with my .203 cams and HD 95 FlatTop pistons. Whenever the weather turned hot, the engine got heatsoaked and I would get pinging. So I did swap to Andrews 26G gear cams (Great for a Bagger) got a set of AMS heads, and dropped my compression to 9.25 to 1. Bike runs exceptionally well and no pinging. Lots of usable torque!George C said:
The guys at AMS said my build was a recepie for ping. A heavy Ultra with .203cams, 10.5 to 1 compression, and poor flowing heat retaining OEM heads all combined to make my engine a ping monster.
Just my personal finding.
Your results may vary.
Mark
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372 Posts
I run 203s. Nil problem. Ran stock for 5000K. World of difference with 95/SE 203 and air cleaner along with SERT tweaks.
The kit with everything for ST2 is good value, in my opinion, and I kept full warranty using all MOCO parts.
I get wee bit of ping between 1750-2250 RPM with little load , but am working through it and the ANTI KNOCK sorts it out so I do not stress. Its a 110% cooler than stock and has been mega super dependable.
In stock trim it kicked into HEAT MANAGEMENT Cycle the first day I had it, when stuck in Melbourne CBD traffic. That sucked big time.
I range up to 7 hours from closest dealer regularly and reliability, durablity, street cred and touring cred are paramount to my needs.
I will crack the engine open again when warranty runs out to do gear drive cams, oil pump spring, head work, and intake mods. Plan on doing work myself with the confidence I am building up reading this forum.
I am in no hurry, yet, thought as while I would love more I got enough to keep me happy and the added performance with SERT keeps me entertained.
The kit with everything for ST2 is good value, in my opinion, and I kept full warranty using all MOCO parts.
I get wee bit of ping between 1750-2250 RPM with little load , but am working through it and the ANTI KNOCK sorts it out so I do not stress. Its a 110% cooler than stock and has been mega super dependable.
In stock trim it kicked into HEAT MANAGEMENT Cycle the first day I had it, when stuck in Melbourne CBD traffic. That sucked big time.
I range up to 7 hours from closest dealer regularly and reliability, durablity, street cred and touring cred are paramount to my needs.
I will crack the engine open again when warranty runs out to do gear drive cams, oil pump spring, head work, and intake mods. Plan on doing work myself with the confidence I am building up reading this forum.
I am in no hurry, yet, thought as while I would love more I got enough to keep me happy and the added performance with SERT keeps me entertained.
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1,672 Posts
SYCLONE said:
I can show you exactly where the plastic is going. Oh and lets not forget everywhere it travels before it gets to the filter. With some oil holes the size of a pinhead, I don't want any of that plastic crap in MY engine. The sharp plastic also does wonders on scoring up the soft aluminum bore of the oil pump. Sorry, no pic of that though.
http://65.38.172.84/forums/showthread.php?t=62902&highlight=tensioner+failure
Huuuummmm. How did you get 10.5 to 1 compression with 95 Flat top and 203 cams? If nothing is removed from the head you should get 9.4 by the book. I have stock heads, 203's and 95's on my 02 FXST, no pinging whatsoever. also run Amsoil so oil temp is around 200 F most of time.Paniolo said:
only once has been at 250 F in NYC traffic, Holland tunnel going 5- 10 mph
on 911 ride. was a 95 degree summer day...wwhheewwww
Steve at AMS told me that during the era when my build first came out, 2000-2001, HD sometimes included an .030 headgasket in the kit. Although the .030 had better sealing properties to help the bigger build, it raised the compression. When I did my heads and cams, AMS sent a .043 headgasket. This thicker headgasket is what lowered my compression. Since the AMS heads are cut and faced differently, there is no risk of leakage.Red02FXST said:
I'm not really a gearhead, but Steve's explanation made sense to me. And I no longer have pinging issues.
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