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Chain tensioner

01 Roadking

01 Roadking

Member
Hi Everybody, I have a 2001 Roadking and I have been having several conversations about timing chain tensioner and whether changing to the gear drive or to the hydraulic roller chain upgrade is best. I read some great articles here on this site and I think going with the hydraulic roller chain upgrade is the way to go. ( Not knowing how much run out I have on the cams ) My question is, at what point should you consider doing the upgrade? I was told around 30,000 miles. I read an older post that said he had 70,000 to 100,000. That sounds like allot of miles. My bike has 28,500 miles and I'm wandering how long to wait before I make the change. Any advice?? :dknow

Thanks, Brian
 
I would suggest the day before the tensioners give out completely or sooner, cause the day after, it will cost more!:D Sorry could not help myself. In a really good mood today. Anyways, with the mileage on the bike, I would say you should get in and take a look at them now as when they give out really seems to vary alot. Best to keep an eye on them and do the upgrade as soon as the money is there. One less thing to worry about and you will enjoy your riding time more. JMO
 
I recently converted my 06 Train to the hydraulic tensioner set up.After reading up on this subject for about 6 months I decided this was the best option for me.I went with the Herko Pro Kit from Flying W Performance. With this package you do have to install new cams,I went with the Andrews 21N. Herko's kit comes with everything you need and is labeled so you don't mix any of the spacers or bolts up.Me and a friend did ours on the same weekend so we split the cost of tools.Kit,tools,cams,pushrods and lifters ran about 1K we did 2 bikes in 1 weekend piece of cake.At 20k miles my tensioners were wore about15% probably had several thousand miles left but got some piece of mind now.
 
Hrlydstn, well done, now that is a way to go...friends can make the job a lot easier and doesn't the taste of the beer afterwards taste sweeter?:cheers
 
I have an 05 RKC with 84000 miles on it and decided last week to put it in the shop and have the Hyd. tensioners installed with some cams. Will let you know how it performs when i get it out of the shop hopefully tomorrow. good luck on yours
 
As hrlydstn said above, piece of cake. Lots of folks on here can tell you about their experience in replacing the OEM tensioner system with one of the two alternative systems, gear drive or roller chain conversion. I personally chose the roller chain for two reasons:

1. I was worried about the runout problem on the pinion (drive) shaft, and
2. I did not want to have the bike out of commission for an extended period of time waiting to get the right set of gears.

I also got the kit from Herko (cheers Kemo!!). As indicated above, it is everything you need except for the tools (that John can get you at his cost), adjustable pushrods, lifters if you want new ones, and the cams which you will have to pick based on what you want from the engine afterwards. John can also get those for you.

Simple job that will take you a day if you relax and double check everything as you go. Faster if you have done it before, or have a helper that has.

Take pix, and let us know how you do!!

TQ
 
Thanx for all the info. Wouldn't it make sense to replace the lifters and pushrods since I'm changing the cams? Plus if I go with the 21N cams the dimensions change from the stock cam. I will take pictures once I get started on it. I'm looking forward to getting it done!!
Does the Flying W Performance site have a page where you can see what you are ordering, or do you have to do it over the phone?
 
Change those inner cam bearings, get rid of those INA bearings and use the Torrington bearings.
 
01 Roadking said:
Thanx for all the info. Wouldn't it make sense to replace the lifters and pushrods since I'm changing the cams? Plus if I go with the 21N cams the dimensions change from the stock cam. I will take pictures once I get started on it. I'm looking forward to getting it done!!
Does the Flying W Performance site have a page where you can see what you are ordering, or do you have to do it over the phone?
Click to expand...

Flying W Performance is John Wadsworth aka Herko. Give him a call and he will answer all of your questions,he is extremely helpful and a all around good dude.His number is(812)923-9027.
 
I second all that ^^^ !!

John was a great guy to do business with, and he stands behind his kits.

Yes, it makes sense to replace the OEM pushrods with adjustable so you don't have to pull the rocker boxes apart. Also, new lifters - I went with the "B" lifters (Harley) that I got from Herko.

TQ
 
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