Posted by Odinn on May 3, 2010, 11:09 pm
Road Glidin' Don wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 3 May 2010 15:00:58 -0700 (PDT), "Road Glidin' Don"
>>
>>>> Now, I did replace the cam chain tensioners at 60,000 miles with a gear
>>>> setup, and they were probably in need of replacing, but I changed them
>>>> out because I wanted the gear setup, not because they needed it.
>>> And if your bike was an '07 or later, you wouldn't even have had to do
>>> that.
>> I've been reading, on another forum, about tensioner failures on the
>> 07's and later, at around 50k miles. It will be interesting to see if
>> this becomes a common problem as folks get more miles on the newer
>> system.
>>
>> I got rid of mine at around 20k miles. I have posted these before, but
>> for anyone who hasn't seen them here are a couple of pictures.
>> Outerhttp://actualriders.ca/Picture_006.jpg
>> Innerhttp://actualriders.ca/Picture_005.jpg
>>
>> As you can see the outer one, the easy one to inspect, looks fine. It
>> is the inner one that was the ticking time bomb. They do a lot of
>> damage when they detonate.
>>
>> I had the gear driven cams installed. S&S 510's. Although it cost a
>> few bucks I don't worry about tensioners anymore.
>
> There's quite a bit of misinformation floating around, regarding
> tensioners. As I mentioned in RMH recently, I spoke to the head tech
> at Edmonton Harley last year and they still haven't had a single
> occurance of tensioners wearing out with the '07s and later. In that
> period of time they have had LOTS of high mileage bikes go through the
> shop.
>
> I think Bob Mann chimed in as well; saying it was the same thing story
> at his shop in Winnipeg.
>
> The problem with the old tensioners is that they used springs to apply
> the pressure to the pads against the chain - way too much pressure.
> Once they got rid of the chains and upgraded to using hydraulic
> pressure instead, the wear problem was remedied.
>
> So, for the '07s and up, basically you don't have to worry about it
> anymore. Old ways die hard though, and some people still think they
> need to replace with the gear-driven alternative (which, perhaps, some
> shops are happy to let people keep on believing).
>
> For those still with the old design, HD now sells a kit to upgrade it
> to hydraulic (a friend of mine just had such a kit installed in his
> older bike). I think it costs around $700 plus labour.
for that same $700, I can upgrade to gears, and I would still upgrade to
gears. I prefer the whine of the gears to the clatter of the chain, and
I prefer the ease of swapping cams with gears compared to doing it with
chains. I just prefer gears.
--
Odinn
RCOS #7 SENS BS #154
Nothing but net to reply
Posted by Road Glidin' Don on May 4, 2010, 1:19 am
> Road Glidin' Don wrote:
> >> On Mon, 3 May 2010 15:00:58 -0700 (PDT), "Road Glidin' Don"
> >>>> Now, I did replace the cam chain tensioners at 60,000 miles with a gear
> >>>> setup, and they were probably in need of replacing, but I changed them
> >>>> out because I wanted the gear setup, not because they needed it.
> >>> And if your bike was an '07 or later, you wouldn't even have had to do
> >>> that.
> >> I've been reading, on another forum, about tensioner failures on the
> >> 07's and later, at around 50k miles. It will be interesting to see if
> >> this becomes a common problem as folks get more miles on the newer
> >> system.
> >> I got rid of mine at around 20k miles. I have posted these before, but
> >> for anyone who hasn't seen them here are a couple of pictures.
> >> Outerhttp://actualriders.ca/Picture_006.jpg
> >> Innerhttp://actualriders.ca/Picture_005.jpg
> >> As you can see the outer one, the easy one to inspect, looks fine. It
> >> is the inner one that was the ticking time bomb. They do a lot of
> >> damage when they detonate.
> >> I had the gear driven cams installed. S&S 510's. Although it cost a
> >> few bucks I don't worry about tensioners anymore.
> > There's quite a bit of misinformation floating around, regarding
> > tensioners. As I mentioned in RMH recently, I spoke to the head tech
> > at Edmonton Harley last year and they still haven't had a single
> > occurance of tensioners wearing out with the '07s and later. In that
> > period of time they have had LOTS of high mileage bikes go through the
> > shop.
> > I think Bob Mann chimed in as well; saying it was the same thing story
> > at his shop in Winnipeg.
> > The problem with the old tensioners is that they used springs to apply
> > the pressure to the pads against the chain - way too much pressure.
> > Once they got rid of the chains and upgraded to using hydraulic
> > pressure instead, the wear problem was remedied.
> > So, for the '07s and up, basically you don't have to worry about it
> > anymore. Old ways die hard though, and some people still think they
> > need to replace with the gear-driven alternative (which, perhaps, some
> > shops are happy to let people keep on believing).
> > For those still with the old design, HD now sells a kit to upgrade it
> > to hydraulic (a friend of mine just had such a kit installed in his
> > older bike). I think it costs around $700 plus labour.
> for that same $700, I can upgrade to gears, and I would still upgrade to
> gears. I prefer the whine of the gears to the clatter of the chain, and
> I prefer the ease of swapping cams with gears compared to doing it with
> chains. I just prefer gears.
Yup, when the price is about the same and you're dealing with a
pre-07, I can see going to the gear system. Not so sure I'd prefer
the gear whine. The gears are supposed to be stronger if you have a
seriously hopped-up motor, though.
Posted by don (Calgary) on May 3, 2010, 11:22 pm
On Mon, 3 May 2010 20:03:34 -0700 (PDT), "Road Glidin' Don"
>> On Mon, 3 May 2010 15:00:58 -0700 (PDT), "Road Glidin' Don"
>>
>>
>> >> Now, I did replace the cam chain tensioners at 60,000 miles with a gear
>> >> setup, and they were probably in need of replacing, but I changed them
>> >> out because I wanted the gear setup, not because they needed it.
>>
>> >And if your bike was an '07 or later, you wouldn't even have had to do
>> >that.
>>
>> I've been reading, on another forum, about tensioner failures on the
>> 07's and later, at around 50k miles. It will be interesting to see if
>> this becomes a common problem as folks get more miles on the newer
>> system.
>>
>> I got rid of mine at around 20k miles. I have posted these before, but
>> for anyone who hasn't seen them here are a couple of pictures.
>> Outerhttp://actualriders.ca/Picture_006.jpg
>> Innerhttp://actualriders.ca/Picture_005.jpg
>>
>> As you can see the outer one, the easy one to inspect, looks fine. It
>> is the inner one that was the ticking time bomb. They do a lot of
>> damage when they detonate.
>>
>> I had the gear driven cams installed. S&S 510's. Although it cost a
>> few bucks I don't worry about tensioners anymore.
>There's quite a bit of misinformation floating around, regarding
>tensioners. As I mentioned in RMH recently, I spoke to the head tech
>at Edmonton Harley last year and they still haven't had a single
>occurance of tensioners wearing out with the '07s and later. In that
>period of time they have had LOTS of high mileage bikes go through the
>shop.
One thing the internet is good for is spreading misinformation. Unless
you know who you are talking with, the information provided is always
a little suspect.
>I think Bob Mann chimed in as well; saying it was the same thing story
>at his shop in Winnipeg.
Now that you mention it I recall that discussion.
>The problem with the old tensioners is that they used springs to apply
>the pressure to the pads against the chain - way too much pressure.
>Once they got rid of the chains and upgraded to using hydraulic
>pressure instead, the wear problem was remedied.
>So, for the '07s and up, basically you don't have to worry about it
>anymore. Old ways die hard though, and some people still think they
>need to replace with the gear-driven alternative (which, perhaps, some
>shops are happy to let people keep on believing).
>For those still with the old design, HD now sells a kit to upgrade it
>to hydraulic (a friend of mine just had such a kit installed in his
>older bike). I think it costs around $700 plus labour.
I am happy with the gear driven cams. The cost of the gear driven cams
is probably similar to the hydraulic upgrade and you can get a bit of
a performance boost at the same time. The shop that did mine did a
very good job. I know some have reported excessive noise from the
gears, but mine are whisper quiet. They are the only component of the
engine that is whisper quiet. ;-)
Posted by grdøg on May 3, 2010, 9:41 pm
> Jim Sloan wrote:
> >
> >
> > tomorrow@erols.com wrote:
> >>
> >>>
m...
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> Lets see you ask how far have I've
> >>>> gone, just passed 30,000 miles on my 2005 giving me an average of
just
> >>> over
> >>>> 6,000 a year, not a large number but from what I have seen it is
> >>>> over the
> >>>> average rider of any brand.
> >>> At that rate, you're never going to get enough miles on that bike to
> >>> talk about reliability.
> >>>
> >>> Even my wife put on over 3 times that many miles (19,000) as you last
> >>> year - and that was done on a lowly Sportster and in Canada, where the
> >>> riding season is short (http://www.xidos.ca ). Her's was an '05 as
> >>> well, but bought new in early '06. Ridden for one year less that your
> >>> bike, she had over 50,000 on it when we traded it in for a Softail.
> >>> That Sportster never cost us a dime out of pocket in that entire time,
> >>> aside from oil changes and tires.
> >>>
> >>> My '98 Road Glide, also bought new, is still running tip-top after 12
> >>> years and over 125,000 miles - that's an average of 10,000 miles/per
> >>> year (on the low side because it's use is split with my second bike, a
> >>> Street Bob).
> >>>
> >>> Come back in a few years, once you've ridden it enough to have a real
> >>> track record with that Victory. Of course, by then you'll have sold
> >>> it for a huge loss and switched to a Harley (you know you want to), so
> >>> the point will be moot. ;)
> >>>
> >>> Me want a Harley again???? You are being funny (-:
> >>> Here argue with a J.D.Power report which they started making public
> >>> in 2007.
> >>> I seem to notice a lack of the HD name as one of the top. As for
> >>> selling my
> >>> Victory at a huge loss, first I don't have plans to sell, I didn't
> >>> buy the
> >>> bike to sell and several surveys say I'll get a better return when
> >>> cost of
> >>> ownership is figured in that I would get with a Harley.
> >>>
> >>>
http://www.allbusiness.com/arts-entertainment-recreation/3964444-1.html
> >>>
> >>> For the first time, consumers could go onto J.D. Powers' Web site and
> >>> see
> >>> how 10 motorcycle manufacturers performed, according to the new bike
> >>> buyer,
> >>> in five areas: product, quality, cost of ownership, sales and service.
> >>>
> >>> Victory and BMW rated the highest in the most categories, with
Polaris'
> >>> motorcycles rating "among the best" or "better than most" in all five
> >>> categories. BMW rated "among the best" or "better than most" in four
> >>> categories. Suzuki was the only other OEM to have the top two ratings
> >>> in at
> >>> least three categories.
> >>> [jump to page 7]
> >>>
> >>> Source: J.D. Power and Associates
> >>> PRODUCT:
> >>> RATED HIGH:
> >>> BMW, Honda, Suzuki and Victory
> >>>
> >>> RATED LOW:
> >>> Kawasaki
> >>>
> >>> QUALITY:
> >>> RATED HIGH:
> >>> BMW, Honda, Suzuki and Victory
> >>>
> >>> RATED LOW:
> >>> Buell and Harley-Davidson
> >>>
> >>> COST OF OWNERSHIP:
> >>> RATED HIGH:
> >>> Buell, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Triumph, Victory and Yamaha
> >>>
> >>> RATED LOW:
> >>> BMW, Ducati and Harley-Davidson
> >>>
> >>> SALES:
> >>> RATED HIGH:
> >>> BMW, Harley-Davidson, Victory
> >>>
> >>> RATED LOW:
> >>> Buell, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha
> >>>
> >>> SERVICE:
> >>> RATED HIGH:
> >>> BMW, Harley-Davidson, Victory
> >>>
> >>> RATED LOW:
> >>> Buell, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha
> >>
> >> How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? All modern
> >> motorcycles are reliable. Reliability is no longer a valid comparator
> >> when choosing a new motorcycle (unless you are riding in the Iron Butt
> >> Rally and considering a late-model BMW, of course). Better that each
> >> rider should choose their motorcycle on the basis of whether it fits
> >> their needs or not.
> >
> > 2003 HD ElectraGlide Standard, just passed 126,000 miles on this
> > speedometer (2500 miles on another speedometer) and the only thing I've
> > had to replace that wore out were a belt (70,000 miles), a belt again
> > (125,000 miles, broken when a rock flew up between belt and pulley),
> > starter (115,000 miles), front shock seal (125,000 miles), tires and
> > brake pads.
> >
> > The ONLY maintenance I do on it regularly is change the oil, trans
> > fluid, and primary oil every 5,000 miles. No other regularly scheduled
> > maintenance is done on it.
> >
> > Now THAT is reliability.
> >
> Oh yeah, one other part that wore out and had to replace, the clutch at
> 75,000 miles because I had lost my shift lever after a semi blew out a
> tire in front of me shearing the lever off and having to ride 30 miles
> in traffic up and down hills in 5th gear.
> Now, I did replace the cam chain tensioners at 60,000 miles with a gear
> setup, and they were probably in need of replacing, but I changed them
> out because I wanted the gear setup, not because they needed it.
> --
> Odinn
> RCOS #7 SENS BS #154
> Nothing but net to reply
Still sounding like a good bike that has provided lots of smiles [miles]....
Posted by grdøg on May 3, 2010, 9:38 pm
> tomorrow@erols.com wrote:
> 2003 HD ElectraGlide Standard, just passed 126,000 miles on this
> speedometer (2500 miles on another speedometer) and the only thing I've
> had to replace that wore out were a belt (70,000 miles), a belt again
> (125,000 miles, broken when a rock flew up between belt and pulley),
> starter (115,000 miles), front shock seal (125,000 miles), tires and
> brake pads.
> The ONLY maintenance I do on it regularly is change the oil, trans
> fluid, and primary oil every 5,000 miles. No other regularly scheduled
> maintenance is done on it.
> Now THAT is reliability.
> --
> Odinn
> RCOS #7 SENS BS #154
> Nothing but net to reply
Glad to hear the bike has been so good to you, seems with bikes and
car/trucks the more miles you put on them the better they work.
XML Sitemap
>> On Mon, 3 May 2010 15:00:58 -0700 (PDT), "Road Glidin' Don"
>>
>>>> Now, I did replace the cam chain tensioners at 60,000 miles with a gear
>>>> setup, and they were probably in need of replacing, but I changed them
>>>> out because I wanted the gear setup, not because they needed it.
>>> And if your bike was an '07 or later, you wouldn't even have had to do
>>> that.
>> I've been reading, on another forum, about tensioner failures on the
>> 07's and later, at around 50k miles. It will be interesting to see if
>> this becomes a common problem as folks get more miles on the newer
>> system.
>>
>> I got rid of mine at around 20k miles. I have posted these before, but
>> for anyone who hasn't seen them here are a couple of pictures.
>> Outerhttp://actualriders.ca/Picture_006.jpg
>> Innerhttp://actualriders.ca/Picture_005.jpg
>>
>> As you can see the outer one, the easy one to inspect, looks fine. It
>> is the inner one that was the ticking time bomb. They do a lot of
>> damage when they detonate.
>>
>> I had the gear driven cams installed. S&S 510's. Although it cost a
>> few bucks I don't worry about tensioners anymore.
>
> There's quite a bit of misinformation floating around, regarding
> tensioners. As I mentioned in RMH recently, I spoke to the head tech
> at Edmonton Harley last year and they still haven't had a single
> occurance of tensioners wearing out with the '07s and later. In that
> period of time they have had LOTS of high mileage bikes go through the
> shop.
>
> I think Bob Mann chimed in as well; saying it was the same thing story
> at his shop in Winnipeg.
>
> The problem with the old tensioners is that they used springs to apply
> the pressure to the pads against the chain - way too much pressure.
> Once they got rid of the chains and upgraded to using hydraulic
> pressure instead, the wear problem was remedied.
>
> So, for the '07s and up, basically you don't have to worry about it
> anymore. Old ways die hard though, and some people still think they
> need to replace with the gear-driven alternative (which, perhaps, some
> shops are happy to let people keep on believing).
>
> For those still with the old design, HD now sells a kit to upgrade it
> to hydraulic (a friend of mine just had such a kit installed in his
> older bike). I think it costs around $700 plus labour.