cam tensioners

[softailcavie]

I have a 2000 wide glide carb with 27000 on it i am planing on replacing tensioners this winter. i have already purchased timken bearings and ajustable pushrods. the dealer told me i need to purchase a polished chain and new cams my question is do i have to? or can i use my stock cams and chain. i figure with 27k the chain should be polished enough. thanks randy

[dakota224]

You can use the stock cams & chains..

[Arrowsmit]

At 27K your chains should be polished better'n new & cams should be fine but you won't know for sure till you get in there. BTW, several online dealers offer 20% off retail on HD parts; Zanotti HD, Chicago HD, Jenni at Tri-County HD to name a few.

VicW.

[softailcavie]

thanks for the replys its my wifes bike and she told me not to change anything.  an im having my hip replaced so i have 4 weeks to work on it thanks

[Overcamber]

I have a 2000 wide glide carb with 27000 on it i am planing on replacing tensioners this winter. i have already purchased timken bearings and ajustable pushrods. the dealer told me i need to purchase a polished chain and new cams my question is do i have to? or can i use my stock cams and chain. i figure with 27k the chain should be polished enough. thanks randy

where can you purchase a polished chain? I've even googled it with no luck? dont want to do it myself 

[softailcavie]

harley says they sell them

[smoserx1]

There are a couple of schools of thought on this.  Some folks say replace the chains every time you do the tensioners because they stretch and others say reuse the chains since they tend to polish themselves during use.  Also, some folks say stock cams are abnormally soft.  I did what you are contemplating last winter and my cams and tensioners had 70K on them.  The cams were in fact worn out.  About 20% of the lift on every lobe was gone, and there was some visual wear as well on the old stock cams.  I went back with a set of 203s, which I am very pleased with.  Also I reused the old chains, but I could see some evidence of stretch on the outer chain just comparing the indentation of the chain loaded with the new tensioner to some of the pics I have seen on the Internet.  As the chain stretches, the new tensioner will compensate, but the old chain will not follow the radius of the new tensioner face quite as accurately as an unstretched chain, and may cause the new tensioner to wear more on the ends of the pads than in the center.  Anyway, the information you have received from this dealer, IMHO is better than average, and whereas I don't believe Harley sells a special “polished” chain, this dealer may polish the new ones he receives, which is always a good idea.

If you are planning to keep everything stock, and find you have worn cams you might also consider a repair kit.  These contain the whole nine yards, and supposedly have the new cams already pressed into a new support plate.  Once considered an extended warranty only item for bearing failure prone 99 & early 00 models, these kits may be available now to the general public since this extended warranty has long since expired.  I believe Zanotti lists them.  You should find information about the kits here.  Good luck.

www.geocities.com/technobob1964/M1100.pdf

[Scurvy]

Randy, I know she told you to leave it alone, but man, cams were the first thing I swapped out in my bike, and you're going to have the stock ones out anyways... well to get to the point, the bike was like night and day, the engine no longer felt "choked", started easier, warmed up faster, ran smoother. This was with everything else stock. I used andrews tw26a's which come with the outer bearings you need, but I'm sure you could find a set someone's pulled to go bigger when they built up the rest of their bike, for example I sold these for $90.

[x52gnr]

its my wifes bike and she told me not to change anything. 

  yeah ok.......lol   sure dear,  what ever you say dear......

[Faast Ed]

You should be able to tell if the cams are worn or not, let that be the deciding factor.

Tensioners are likely worn, many have been at that mileage (while some have gone much longer). Again, an inspection will tell you. Be ready to change them. I've seen horrible looking tensioners with less miles.

If I went as far as changing cams and tensioners, I'd have to at least consider lifters. They are not that expensive.

Chains do stretch, but many have had success with keeping their old "polished" chains. Another judgement call.

[softailcavie]

you all know i love this site good knowledge and good humor i am trying to do my wifes bike a cheap as possible and keep it reliable and running good. then i can put the money in my bike o6 fxst carb with 30k but you all are right what is a good mild cam for her bike.thanks randy

[Faast Ed]

Last winter I helped a bud put in tensioners only (replaced the inner cam bearings too $14). Bike is fine, his cams looked good.
Was the inexpensive route like you are looking for. Ran fine all summer.

[ederdelyi]

>>what is a good mild cam for her bike<<

SE203, SE204, Andrews TW21, TW26 ... most of the bolt-in chain driven cams will fit the bill. Look around, you can likely find some take-outs that are in good shape for little coin. A stock TC88 with any of the cams listed will provide a nice bump in performance, won't greak the bank, and will have good manners.

[bouncingVman]

The dealer said you had to ?? 

If you really want to get by cheap, the only thing you have to buy are the tensioners, o-rings, and gaskets. Unless you notice some other problem while you're in there. Even cheaper if you didn't mind using the stock pushrods. Just would be more time involved. New cams would probably require a tune as well.... pretty soon cheap goes out the window.

And that's the way it usually goes... Well if I'm in there I may as well do this, this and that. 

[ederdelyi]

>>New cams would probably require a tune as well<<

Unless I mis-read the bike is a 2000 WG carb ... maybe a slow jet change or a couple of shims on the needle. For mild cams like these if the bike has already had the "HD Tax" paid likely won't need anything ... even an EFI bike. Yeah Yeah, I know, tune is everything. In this case, it should not be a big deal. He asked, I answered :>)

[bouncingVman]

LOL.

He mentioned that it was his wife's bike. He's got the right idea to save the money and put it in his own bike. 

[cheetah]

Go with new tensioners and inner cam bearings. If she wants nothing changed, that's good enough.
C

[Overcamber]

does anyone else manufacture tensioners these besides H-D?

[ederdelyi]

Nothing but OEM, AFAIK.

[crazy joe]

If you do change the cams why not go to the updated chain/tensioners.

[softailcavie]

thats going in my bike the new  style tensioners she only rides weekends and over 60f i ride year round i have allready bought timken bearings inner and outer ajustable pushrods tensioners tools since i own two of them wife don,t know no better and she just rides no interest in learning mechanic side. so im going to tear into hers while im down and have a little fun wait till she see her bike in living room and yes i bought this house before we were married. seriously i am checking on cams ( anyone have some to sell ) thanks randy