Why no bearings in 06 dyna, 07 later cam plates?

[harleytoprock]

Why did HD decide to drop the bearings in the later cam plates? Are the camshaft bores now lubricated with oil pressure ? Any advantage to just a hole compared to a roller bearing?

[Faast Ed]

From what I understand, many auto's are using similar bearings. Must be a manufacture cost thing?

Funny:  I just replaced the bearings on my furnace blower last night. Same kind of brass thing. LOL

[x52gnr]

 Yes I found this interesting as I had mine apart this weekend. They ride on a bearing of oil so to speak.....Must be working ok. I have over 10k on my Ultra and there was no signs of wear what so- ever. Even my inner and outer shoes looked as new as the ones I have as back ups....  

[harleytoprock]

For sure its a money saver for Harley. Could the lack of roller bearings be also quieter? I think I read that andrews claims that  ball bearings are quieter than roller bearings. So maybe no bearings are even quieter?

[PoorUB]

Why did HD decide to drop the bearings in the later cam plates? Are the camshaft bores now lubricated with oil pressure ? Any advantage to just a hole compared to a roller bearing?

Big advantage as far as I am concerned. With a roller, or ball bearing the load from the valve springs gets set to a few small areas of contact on the bearing where the roller or ball rides on the race or shaft. With a pressure lube sleeve bearing the load gets spread over a much larger area that is cushioned by a film of oil.
Pretty much all overhead cam automobiles use a similar setup for cam bearings and run for hundreds of thousands of miles with no problems.
I often wonder when HD is going to get rid of the forked con rod, and roller bearings on the crank and rods and go with full pressure lube sleeve bearings, just like cars, trucks, and pretty much any other engine out have been running for a century with no problems!

[Wingnut]

Japanese bikes have been using this technology for years.

[crazycalvin]

A bushing is capable of dealing with much more radial pressure than a bearing.  When you use a bushing, you sacrifice high speed operation for the extra radial load capability.  When you use a ball or roller bearing, you sacrifice high radial load capability for high speed operation.

[hrdtail78]

From Knuck to Evo they used bushings.  Dont know about the real old stuff