camplate vs $

[roadkingdresser]

How much advantage is there to different camplates in a twin cam compared to stock one with say 2010 and up.

[smoserx1]

They may have bushings for the crank and the cams and that may have better machining for where the oil pressure bypass valve seats but for the money I am not sure they are worth it.  The stock ones originally had bushings and H-D got rid of them much to the dismay of some, but you don't really hear of that being much of an issue.

[PoorUB]

None, unless you like pretty colors.

[Ohio HD]

Not knowing what you're building, upgrading, etc. Hard to say. As smoserx1 stated are the main differences. In a really highly stressed motor, the additional strength of the billet part may be of help.

[JW113]

On the advice from Bob Wood, I upgraded my '04 to the later style plain bearing cast (pot metal?) cam plate. I've got super high seat pressure valve springs and .650" lift cams. After 50K miles, no appreciable wear that I can see, last time I looked anyway. The plain bearings are pressure fed with oil, just like the cam or crank bearings in a car motor. But who can say, knowing there is a pretty orange anodized billet cam plate with bronze bushings in there may be it's own reward.

-JW

[roadkingdresser]

I've got a 10 r-king with the stage 4 kit. I'm going to freshen it up this winter. Only has 40k on, still runs good but just seems like it's getting a little lazy. I've picked up a set .010 barrels and pistons. Always had that valve chatter in the front head. Found the intake valve collar was just touching the lower rocker box, took care of that and made a world of difference. Going to have the heads checked out also. just wondering if I want or need to spend $500 on the camplate. I've got a high volume oil pump and a baisley spring in it now. Person would think being almost 69, i'd just ride it and leave it alone. (I guess the boy in me won't go away)

[Pirsch Fire Wagon]

That depends.

IMO only, H-D has the very minimal quality and life of both their Campmates and Oil Pumps.

Back to the Plate, the Stock cannot be cleaned thoroughly in the event you wish to following any failure where oil would carry debris. The Stock is sand cast, it's unavoidable to have ridges, no matter how minute that can affect flow. While negatable, these could help trap debris. 07 and later do not have the Manganese Brass Bushing if, that's something you want.  If the Pinion is out more than xx you may be forced to use one without the bushing. Billet tends to run "cooler" as it is an excellent heat dissipater.

The Pump, the piston mating surface allows for lower "pop-off-pressure" after continued use often because of the material and boring following the  cast. That can be corrected with a flat Boring-Bit. Some Aftermarket Kits (Pump/Plate) allow adjustment of pressure without removing the Oil Pump so no need to remove the pump and change a spring.
With all that being said, not trying to spend your money, but the Oil Flow has it going through the cooler and then onto the Filter. I don't like that. "Stacked Plate Coolers" tend to trap debris due to their small orifices. And aftermarket Housing will remedy this as well. I just think the oil should be filtered first, then travel through the cooler.

I am not "bashing" just stating observations over the years.

For $700 – $1,000 on a Stage IV build, how can you go wrong correcting everything at once?

[tomcat64]

IMO only, H-D has the very minimal quality and life of both their Campmates and Oil Pumps.

I find that statement interesting. We do have a few customers with major miles on their bikes, 150K+ (hard to do in Minnesota) and the one common denominator is they ALL have completely stock motors, Air cleaner to exhaust.. STOCK.. One guy rides an 09 FLHR and we checked his tensioners at 163K miles, they were about 50%, so we did replace them, but still,,,

[tdrglide]

Stock camplates are die-cast aluminum. Basically injection molded under high pressure. Don't know the specific alloy used but to me they appear to be harder than the "billet" SE ones which look to me to accually  be made just from extruded 6061-t6 flat bar. Unless you want to pay up for one made from 7075 aluminum.... I don't see any benefit
I wouldn't bother to try and clean any camplate after a lifter or other bottom end failure.

[greasy]

IMO only, H-D has the very minimal quality and life of both their Campmates and Oil Pumps.

I find that statement interesting. We do have a few customers with major miles on their bikes, 150K+ (hard to do in Minnesota) and the one common denominator is they ALL have completely stock motors, Air cleaner to exhaust.. STOCK.. One guy rides an 09 FLHR and we checked his tensioners at 163K miles, they were about 50%, so we did replace them, but still,,,

If it ain't broke don't fix it !!

[Ohio HD]

Actually I've never seen a Twin Cam OEM oil pump or cam plate fail unless motor parts went through them, crank runout, etc. I'm sure they can fail, but it's not at all common.

[sfmichael]

Actually I've never seen a Twin Cam OEM oil pump or cam plate fail unless motor parts went through them, crank runout, etc. I'm sure they can fail, but it's not at all common.

this^^^...worked at a dealer for a year (not very long I realize) and we did LOTS of engine upgrades and had quite a few high mileage (50,000 miles plus) bikes come in for regular service

not one crank or cam plate failure...not many serious failures of any type