Blue Knights AZ IX

Just received the following information regarding HD cycles…

There is a potential major issue in the Harley-Davidson Twin-Cam engines. This is a statement of fact, not a bunch of wild guesses.  I’m not here to bash Mother Harley, but you should be educated to its causes, and possible solutions.

Okay, what issue are we looking at? It’s a very serious one that is enough to alarm you.   However, you can fix these defects and end up with a nice bike. Our objective today is to educate, and we are also going to outline some ways to fight back.   Yes, even the new Harley’s have serious, potential problems.  Even the expensive CVO (Custom Vehicle Operations) bikes have issues not to be taken lightly.

Here we go…..

The problem is the design of the cam chain system.  It uses plastic “shoes” riding on the cam chains that can (and do) wear out. Harley has made some changes in later model bikes, but even with the new hydraulic tensioning system, it is not a true fix.  What is the problem?  The shoes rub against the two chains and the plastic shoes wear out.  When they wear in extreme cases, there will be metal to metal contact and this grinding creates metal shavings that can result in a catastrophic engine failure. If not caught soon enough, this can be so bad that the entire engine can be destroyed; cams, pistons, crankshaft and even engine cases broken.  It is a wickedly serious possible engine problem.  Be aware… it can fail as soon 15,000 miles (in extreme cases).  Even the newer hydraulic system can fail at 50,000 miles or less.  The cam chain tensioners have a section in every service manual that covers the Twin Cam engines and is very enlightening.

If your pipes are loud, you may not hear or get any warning.  The oil pump passages can clog up without making any noise whatsoever except when the engine starts tearing itself to pieces.

The scary thing is every Twin-Cam engine has the potential to have the cam chain follower issue, even the new models.  Check things out before this happens to you.  If it has a cam chains, it has the potential problem.

It is our intent to make you aware that pre ’06 Dyna’s and the 1999 to 2006 Twin-Cam Harley-Davidson engines have possible, serious issues and they can mess up.  How? In the most severe cases, as the spring loaded cam chain follower fails it shreds plastic material that fouls the rotary gear oil pump cutting off oil flow to the engine that can cause sudden catastrophic engine failure and destruction.  Also, metal to metal contact in these shoes produces metal filings to disperse into the oil prior to being filtered by the oil filter.  If this happens be prepared (worst case) to buy a completely new motor as rebuilding the engine may not be feasible. This is not a likely situation, but a realistic possibility.

Are the 2007 and newer, updated Twin-Cam engines immune?  No.  Do not be fooled.  Hydraulic cam chain followers are now used to get rid of the stiff spring that put too much pressure on the followers rubbing on the cam chain, but this is “no cure” as it only “delays” the problem.  Instead of the engine failing at 15,000 to 30,000 miles, it now fails at 50,000 to 75,000 miles.  There is only one true cure… getting rid of the chain system entirely and switch to gear driven cams.   Harley-Davidson should, in my opinion, make this a standard fix and not an after the fact option. If you can’t afford to install the gear drive system, then you need to disassemble and inspect the inner and outer shoes every 15,000 miles or risk engine failure.  The shoe material can also clog the oil pump destroying the engine.  There are plenty of motorcycle magazines explaining how to fix this problem and they can fail beyond the factory warranty period.  The problem has not been fixed; only delayed to fail above 50,000 miles and when the engine fails it may not covered under warranty.  Check the fine print in your extended warranty as this cam chain related failure may not be protected. Dealers will tell you it is a failed maintenance issue unless you take the steps we suggest.

You won’t even get a straight, honest answer from Harley dealers regarding this engine defect.  As I did research for this article, I called a local dealership, and the service writer would not answer my questions, and frankly gave me quite a song and dance, refusing to forward my questions and concerns to the mechanic or management. Disturbed and curious, I read a number of different service manuals, and while the drawing of what is good and bad with the cam tensioner shoes is published, there is no inspection interval listed. This leads me to believe Mother Harley knows a problem exists and Harley-Davidson dealers are actively not giving straight answers to customers. How can they not have published inspection intervals? The only mention of this possible failure is in the troubleshooting guide under “Valve train noise.” You will not hear any rubbing sounds or receive any indications the cam follower has failed even if you have quiet stock exhaust pipes on the bike. This is an issue that nobody wants to talk about, but is a real threat to your pocket book.

OK, now that we have ruffled everybody’s feathers, how can we combat this? S&S has truly been visionary in solving this issue. They had the foresight to develop a gear drive system to combat this very issue. It is my opinion, that all Twin Cam engines should have this conversion done, so you can rest easy on your higher mileage TC engines. The gear drive replacement is an excellent and the only true bulletproof solution.

As an alternative to gear drive, our only choice would be periodic tensioner shoe inspection. While not outlined in any Harley Service manual I’ve seen, looking at them and replacing as needed should be done every 15,000 miles. There are nice pictures of what to look for, but no recommended inspection interval. If you decide not to go gear drive, this is emphatically recommended. This periodic inspection can make any future warranty claim valid. On earlier engines, an update to the later style hydraulic tensioners will relive pressures and delay required service, but periodic inspection is still recommended. Check things out before this happens to you.

One way to help understand what may be happening inside your engine is to cut apart your oil filter at each oil change. Look through the pleats for any metallic or plastic debris. If you see junk, it’s time for your engine to come apart. You may be able to save your engine’s life by doing this.

Another thing to consider is better oils. Today’s better performing premium oils can delay the destruction.  While a bit more expensive than conventional oils, oil is still cheaper than engine rebuilds. Here, synthetics, such as the Bel-Ray Synthetic (part number 900-405), the Revtech MTP Synthetic (part number 740-786) or the Lucas Synthetic (part number 900-687) may be your best choice.

As we have a decent oil filtration system in our TC engines, a way to help the filter is to apply a magnet such as PN 740-742 to the outside of the filter. This will help trap any metallic grunge that may be floating in our oil.  Remember though, most of the bad stuff is plastic, and the magnet will not capture that.

I have tried not to bash Harley regarding this, and I’m sure they don’t care about my opinions. It has been my objective here to educate, not to assassinate the dealer network. Being forewarned is to be forearmed. As we pointed out earlier, if you have a higher mileage TC, you might want to inspect the tensioners before they bite you.

Motorcycle lovers agree: supreme function, beautiful form, and the need for speed are what fuel their fire and love for the motorcycle. Difficult to understand for those outside bike culture, motorcycles are loved and cherished by their owners.

There are, however, some really stupid problems with them. Enjoy this look at this list of 10 worrisome elements of motorcycle design.

1. Motorcycles Have Two Wheels
Can’t even stand up on its own — what is that about?! Although an impressive strata of physics and engineering goes into making motorcycles run, it’s a bit worrisome that a motorized vehicle with the capacity to tour the world can’t stand up on its own. And aren’t kickstands on a bike just a little bit dorky?

2. They’ve Gotten Fat
Everyone puts on weight as they get older, but motorcycles are ruling the road. Much like the injection and fire-paced popularization of the Sport Utility Vehicle into American car culture, huge motorcycles are becoming increasingly popular, especially in suburban populations. Why chunk up the slim lines of cafe cycles and the languid angles of an Easy Rider-style bike?

3. The Cyborg Segway
The Deus Ex Machina is a wearable motorcycle concept, and looks like a human-Segway hybrid. Although the future is amazing and cyborgs are certainly hip, it’s unclear whether turning your body into a motorcycle is in any way a safe way to travel.

4. The Harley Wobble
The Harley Wobble is a design flaw noticed in the early 2000s, and is a distinctive wobble that occurs when riding, usually on curves. These bikes tend to shake from side to side — while on sport bikes and other brands of road cycles, this rarely occurs.

5. Disc Locks
Ever had your wheel lock up and been shot face first off your motorcycle? This embarrassing fumble probably occurred because you forgot to disengage your disc locks. It’s OK, rookie. It happens.

6. Crotch Rockets
This entire class of motorcycle? Total design flaw. It seems like the Ducati 999 and the Yamaha YZF-R1 were designed to give jerks and wannabe stunters the idea that they could act like they run the road.

7. The Motorcycle-Tank Mashup
Leave it to 1930s France to design a bothersome motorcycle. Perhaps not at the top of their game (you know what happened a few years later, right?), the 1937 military designed tank-motorcycle hybrid is more operable (read: barely) in targeted reproduction today than it was 80 years ago.

 8. Bad Handling
The 1972-1972 Kawaski 750 Triple 1V and H2s were known as widowmakers. Honda, Kawasaki, the Ariel Arrow, Moto Guzzi: all of these bikes (and many more) have had various recalls, customer complaints, and accidents caused because of poor vibration frequency, shocks, acceleration, weak swing arms, and more. Bikers beware: although the mystique of the wind in your hair and the road grumbling below are intoxicating, don’t be surprised if your dream bike is more lemon-scented than fresh.

9. Invisibility Cloaks
The Moto Undone, an “invisible” motorcycle created by Joey Ruiter is as fascinating as it is beautiful. But worrisome here is the idea that your fellow motorists can’t see your perimeters. Good for a show-off and certainly fetching as a work of art, this abstract cycle is better for showcases and design philosophy than five o’clock traffic.

10. Inclement Weather
One of the biggest design flaws of motorcycles — and certainly a barrier of entry and interest for many non-cyclists — is the lack of weather protection on a motorcycle. While road rash and burns from poor exhaust routing are issues for some, the idea that there’s no true shield on a bike from the wind, rain, and other sinister elements leaves a lot of prospective riders, well, out in the cold.

The state of Arizona turns 100 on February 12th 2012.  In preparations for that they had an Az. Centennial ride for motorcycles on February 11th.  BKAZIX went and met up with the BKAZVI Chapter from Phoenix.  Those that made the brisk ride, in the upper 40’s when we started, that Saturday morning were; Jeff & Kelly Jamieson, Ray and Donna Valenzuela, Will Hanson Will Harris, Dave Lehman, Steve Mathews, Tom Clark, a friend of Dave & Steve’s, Patrick & Georganna Shely, Steve Kelley, Bill “REV” Calkins, and yours truly.  Our newest member, Russ Cole, fresh from his honey moon, could not make the ride but he showed up at IHOP to see us off.  We headed off to Gilbert to meet AZ VI at the Golden Corral on Cooper Rd.  We met up with their chapter, had breakfast and then headed off to the Riverview Mall.  There we were met with a HUGE number of motorcycles.  I would estimate that there was well over 3,000 bikes for the parade.  After checking in and/or registering for those who could not do it earlier we had time to walk around and enjoy the sights and sounds.  There was the “Copper Chopper” that was being raffled off.  This was a custom designed bike made out of copper and copper plating.  You can see it on the “Photos” page at the top of this page.  After sitting down and having something lite to eat we headed back to the staging area.  By now the bikes had group by leaps and bounds.  The parade was supposed to start at 2:00 pm but as we well know nothing ever starts on time.  Approximately 2:10 pm. the bikes started to move.  At 2:45 we finally made our way toward downtown Phoenix and the Capital Building.  We had a complete police escort.  All the cross streets and Highways were closed off to allow us unrestricted driving.  I only saw one accident where two bikes got to close to each other and went down. The temperature was in the 80’s which caused a lot of Harley’s to over heat and break down.  Driving at such slow speeds the Harley’s could not take the heat.  One by one they had to pull over to cool down.  After a 16 mile trip into downtown Phoenix, and close to a 45 minute ride we made it to our destination.

Once we made it downtown we were able to park on one of the many closed streets they had for motorcycle parking only.  We walked around the area for awhile and looked at the various booth’s and the wares they were selling.  Some of us decided to meet back up at the bikes @ 4:30 so we could start heading back to Tucson.  But before we did that we had to stop for dinner.  We drove down I-10 to Ray Road where we pulled into one of the strip malls and decided to eat at the “Native New Yorker.”  Bill Calkins had said it was a great place and wondered if they had “Beef on Kummelweck.”  This is basically thinly sliced beef on a German Kaiser roll, called a kummelweck, which is topped with kosher salt and caraway seeds.  Those who live in Western New York are all to familiar with this sandwich.  The sandwich comes with au jus, steak fries or curly fries, along with some freshly grated, burn the eyes, clear the sinus’, horseradish.  Dave Lehman said there is a “Native New Yorker” on Cortaro Farms road across from the Az. Pavilion next to Nana’s if you want to try this out.  It was a really good sandwich.

After getting our fill we stopped at Circle “K” and filled up the bikes and off we were for home.  As we came into the Tucson area everyone started peeling off at their exits.  We did a total of 250 miles door to door that day.  It was a great day for riding motorcycles.  But then again almost everyday is a great day to ride motorcycles in Tucson.

Here are some group photos of BKAZIX members.  You find the remaining photos in the Photos Gallery at the top of the page.

Centennial Ride Video

This is a short video but the guy was standing on a transformer box right next to us.  You can see many of us in the video.

This is just one of many videos on Youtube. You can look at the side boxes and see the “Copper Chopper.”