[Bud_61]

I am upgrading my stock '08 Anniversary Edition because more is better. 'Nuf said. This is my first HD (had bikes for 42 years and finally saw the light) and I love this ride. The shark is a beautiful thing. I have kept Fuel Moto in business the last few months buying parts (Woods 222, FM adjustable push rods, Jackpot Exhaust headers, 4" Rinehart Slip-ons, Koyo bearings, etc...). So I cut the rods and I am fully committed. I have a mechanical question and some requests for opinions from you sage elders

1. Tech Question: Buddy says I need to line up the timing marks on the front gears when pulling the cam support plate out. Seems to me that as long as you line up the front and back markers like you're supposed to when your re-assembling, the crank sprocket fitment on the spline would keep things as they should be. Or do I know bugger all about how things work? I haven't pulled the plate yet but it's worth a beer to him if I am wrong! More importantly... a beer for me if I am right.

2. Bike has 25K miles on it so I am replacing the lifters on spec. Local dealership (good one) engine dude says measure the diameter and I should be okay with just stock replacements (oversized or not). He doesn't think the build I am doing warrants titanium lifters crapped out by Chuck Norris. Thoughts?

3. Well it's coming apart anyway, so I think the bike deserves an upgraded oil pump. I see I can spend a wad of money on this and the Fueling ones seem to worry about the runout and I am NOT going down the road of crank work. Any suggestions on a mortgage-free oil pump upgrade for the mild build I am doing (no head work) that doesn't require NASA tolerances?

Thanks in advance for your time and keep the dirty side down,

Bud

 

[Ike Burns]

Welcome and congrats. Lots of good advice coming from others, but I will throw this video out for you incase you have not seen it yet.

 

[Thermodyne]

20 sets of cans in 12 minutes. It's not rocket science. Pay attention at 5:40.

 

[Bud_61]

Welcome and congrats. Lots of good advice coming from others, but I will throw this video out for you incase you have not seen it yet.

I HAVE IT MEMORIZED! I FALL ASLEEP THINKING ABOUT IT! I CAN'T FALL ASLEEP THINKING ABOUT IT. Lol. Yeah, what a great overview and a public service to us amateur grease monkeys... except he is putting gear drive cams in so he doesn't talk about the timing marks! Definitely, it is a must-see video. Thank you for the link!

I have to say the community forums for ANY bike type are pretty great (I have a '74 CB360T, an '59 Vespa (don't laugh), an '07 Vulcan Nomad (the ever exploding and accursed 'Wolfy') but this forum looks to be top notch. Even some fun flame wars. Passion! Parts! Selling the other bikes in the Spring to finance "Copperhead" (except the Vespa which my daughter gets). I am hooked on Road Glides. I rode my cousins 2020. So. Sweet.

 

[Bud_61]

20 sets of cans in 12 minutes. It's not rocket science. Pay attention at 5:40.

Thanks for the link; Some great sounding and looking ones in there. The quality of the sound and pic is about 1000% better than a lot of the vids. Much easier to get a taste with this one! Nice growl on the S&S Mk45s and the Cult 45s look awesomel. I went with the 4" Rineharts as I am blacking out the bike and also my buddy has some Rineharts that I liked the sound of. I will be sharing your video with some buddies that are looking. Thanks again.

 

[Thermodyne]

I am upgrading my stock '08 Anniversary Edition because more is better. 'Nuf said. This is my first HD (had bikes for 42 years and finally saw the light) and I love this ride. The shark is a beautiful thing. I have kept Fuel Moto in business the last few months buying parts (Woods 222, FM adjustable push rods, Jackpot Exhaust headers, 4" Rinehart Slip-ons, Koyo bearings, etc...). So I cut the rods and I am fully committed. I have a mechanical question and some requests for opinions from you sage elders

1. Tech Question: Buddy says I need to line up the timing marks on the front gears when pulling the cam support plate out. Seems to me that as long as you line up the front and back markers like you're supposed to when your re-assembling, the crank sprocket fitment on the spline would keep things as they should be. Or do I know bugger all about how things work? I haven't pulled the plate yet but it's worth a beer to him if I am wrong! More importantly... a beer for me if I am right.

2. Bike has 25K miles on it so I am replacing the lifters on spec. Local dealership (good one) engine dude says measure the diameter and I should be okay with just stock replacements (oversized or not). He doesn't think the build I am doing warrants titanium lifters crapped out by Chuck Norris. Thoughts?

3. Well it's coming apart anyway, so I think the bike deserves an upgraded oil pump. I see I can spend a wad of money on this and the Fueling ones seem to worry about the runout and I am NOT going down the road of crank work. Any suggestions on a mortgage-free oil pump upgrade for the mild build I am doing (no head work) that doesn't require NASA tolerances?

Thanks in advance for your time and keep the dirty side down,

Bud

1) Doesn't really matter on the tear down. Just be sure you pistons are part way down the jug when you adjust the push rods (or tighten down the rocker supports) so that you don't jack a valve into the piston. And do let the first tappet self adjust before you do the second tappet.

2) Local dealership engine guy most work the TBA counter for his day job. Harley tappets are crap. They need to hit the trash bin asap. Did I mention that the tappets Harley uses and sells are crap? Past that the tappets are hard steel, the hole they live in are soft aluminum. The holes wear out before the tappet bodies do.

Harley tappets at 1000 mile service:

3) You had better worry about the runout. If its .006 or 007+, just close it back up and wait till you can spring for a wheelset repair or a set of S&S wheels. With a mild cam set like the 222, there is no reason you can't run an oem plate and pump. If yours are not worn, no reason you can't reuse them. If they don't pass muster, just replace them with oem equivalents from Drag Specialties.

 

[Zedbra]

I went with gears in my 08, my runout was superb so I went for it. Glad to see another Anniversary on here; looking forward to seeing the mods down the road.

 

[Bud_61]

1) Doesn't really matter on the tear down. Just be sure you pistons are part way down the jug when you adjust the push rods (or tighten down the rocker supports) so that you don't jack a valve into the piston. And do let the first tappet self adjust before you do the second tappet.

2) Local dealership engine guy most work the TBA counter for his day job. Harley tappets are crap. They need to hit the trash bin asap. Did I mention that the tappets Harley uses and sells are crap? Past that the tappets are hard steel, the hole they live in are soft aluminum. The holes wear out before the tappet bodies do.

Harley tappets at 1000 mile service:

View attachment 422258


3) You had better worry about the runout. If its .006 or 007+, just close it back up and wait till you can spring for a wheelset repair or a set of S&S wheels. With a mild cam set like the 222, there is no reason you can't run an oem plate and pump. If yours are not worn, no reason you can't reuse them. If they don't pass muster, just replace them with oem equivalents from Drag Specialties.

1. Thanks! You just earned me a beer. Agree and understand all your points on this one.
2. Will look into aftermarket tappets. My sizing comments was about measuring the hole to see if it was worn as you mention. Understood.
3. Thanks for the feedback. Will stick with the OEM pump on this build. No use gold plating.

I was going to change out the chain tensioners as well or is that overkill? Is changing the pads enough?

 

[Bud_61]

I went with gears in my 08, my runout was superb so I went for it. Glad to see another Anniversary on here; looking forward to seeing the mods down the road.

Thanks Zedbra. as far as looks go, I powder coated some chrome wrap-around saddle bag guards and they look great in gloss black. I will post some beauty shots in the proper thread when I get things bolted back together. Cheers.

 

[Thermodyne]

1. Thanks! You just earned me a beer. Agree and understand all your points on this one.
2. Will look into aftermarket tappets. My sizing comments was about measuring the hole to see if it was worn as you mention. Understood.
3. Thanks for the feedback. Will stick with the OEM pump on this build. No use gold plating.

I was going to change out the chain tensioners as well or is that overkill? Is changing the pads enough?

For tappets, look at:
V2313SE HyLift Johnson
Product: HyLift Lifter - Johnson HyLift Lifters

The oem tensions will work fine with those cams. If yours are worn out, Drag sells those too.

 

[Ike Burns]

I HAVE IT MEMORIZED! I FALL ASLEEP THINKING ABOUT IT! I CAN'T FALL ASLEEP THINKING ABOUT IT. Lol. Yeah, what a great overview and a public service to us amateur grease monkeys... except he is putting gear drive cams in so he doesn't talk about the timing marks! Definitely, it is a must-see video. Thank you for the link!

I have to say the community forums for ANY bike type are pretty great (I have a '74 CB360T, an '59 Vespa (don't laugh), an '07 Vulcan Nomad (the ever exploding and accursed 'Wolfy') but this forum looks to be top notch. Even some fun flame wars. Passion! Parts! Selling the other bikes in the Spring to finance "Copperhead" (except the Vespa which my daughter gets). I am hooked on Road Glides. I rode my cousins 2020. So. Sweet.

Ya figured you had, I would imagine anyone thinking of doing a cam swap for the first time has come across it, props to them for taking the time to put out a video like that.

These Road Glides are awesome SHHH its a secret lol. And this forum has lots of great guys willing to help.

 

[hd4cruzin]

Welcome and congrats. Lots of good advice coming from others, but I will throw this video out for you incase you have not seen it yet.

This is the video I used when I put cams in my 2012. Very good tutorial

 

[kiwidave]

As stated, the stock H-D tappets/lifters are junk. Cheaply made in Mexico, BUT .... only those that are part number 18538-99C from around 2010.

When the TC came out in 1999, the new design lifters were part number 18538-99A and were USA-made by Hylift-Johnson. These were very good lifters. For the 2002 year engines HD changed their supplier to another American manufacturer, Delphi. These were also good lifters and even though they had a smaller volume plunger cavity, they worked well. These were part number 18538-99B and were used until somewhere round about the 2010 year engines when HD went to part number 18538-99C which are made in Mexico. Those weaker -C suffix lifters are still the stock item on Milwaukee 8s.

Your 2008 SHOULD have the USA-made bulletproof lifters.

On my 2019, two of my 4 18538-99C Mexican lifters failed at 12,000 miles. Warranty job. I had to pay to upgrade to Screaming Eagle lifters, but their provenance is unknown (trust me on this, I have held the parts packet in my hand at the dealer). So I will upgrade to USA-made S&S or HyliftJohnson at some stage in the future.

 

[Bud_61]

As stated, the stock H-D tappets/lifters are junk. Cheaply made in Mexico, BUT .... only those that are part number 18538-99C from around 2010.

When the TC came out in 1999, the new design lifters were part number 18538-99A and were USA-made by Hylift-Johnson. These were very good lifters. For the 2002 year engines HD changed their supplier to another American manufacturer, Delphi. These were also good lifters and even though they had a smaller volume plunger cavity, they worked well. These were part number 18538-99B and were used until somewhere round about the 2010 year engines when HD went to part number 18538-99C which are made in Mexico. Those weaker -C suffix lifters are still the stock item on Milwaukee 8s.

Your 2008 SHOULD have the USA-made bulletproof lifters.

On my 2019, two of my 4 18538-99C Mexican lifters failed at 12,000 miles. Warranty job. I had to pay to upgrade to Screaming Eagle lifters, but their provenance is unknown (trust me on this, I have held the parts packet in my hand at the dealer). So I will upgrade to USA-made S&S or HyliftJohnson at some stage in the future.

Thanks to the advice from the Summer Hemisphere! Envious that you can ride while its ice covered here... Good to know that the lifters are probably good. I will still change them out out as a good practice while I have things apart as they will have 25K mile son them. I will order some HyliftJohnson's after I caliper the hole size. Thanks and happy trails. Riding in AU must be amazing.

 

[SteadyEddie]

Don't make the same mistake as I and let your Blinker Fluid get low....HD will deny any warranty claims against it

Welcome

 

[Bud_61]

Don't make the same mistake as I and let your Blinker Fluid get low....HD will deny any warranty claims against it

Welcome

Awesome! I will place it on the same order as the new Johnson Return Springs for the Push Cans! This jug at Amazon is good for up to 6000 blinks!

Blinker Fluid-HAND HELD VERSION-Hilarious Gag Gift-Stocking Stuffer-Car Prank-8 oz EMPTY Bottle, Gag Toys & Practical Jokes - Amazon Canada

Blinker Fluid-HAND HELD VERSION-Hilarious Gag Gift-Stocking Stuffer-Car Prank-8 oz EMPTY Bottle in Gag Toys & Practical Jokes.

www.amazon.ca

[not my first rodeo... just my first HD rodeo]

 

[smitty901]

You are in to it. Don't short cut and put HD lifters back in. Then again your ride and your cash .

 

[SteadyEddie]

[not my first rodeo... just my first HD rodeo]

Was more of a dig at myself as I know (2) things about Motorcycle Maint......Drop Off & Pick Up

 

[direwolf]

Don't make the same mistake as I and let your Blinker Fluid get low....HD will deny any warranty claims against it

Welcome

Blinker Fluid, WoW my 09 has Blinker Powder!!!

 

[Zedbra]

If you ride twisting roads aggressively, I would highly recommend that you look at adding a True Track system to stiffen up the rear end to prevent the 'bagger wobble'. I replaced my swing arm bearings, bushings, and added StaBo bushings, but still had the wobble; whereas the True Track stiffened everything up perfectly.