For Bikers

[Busher]

I know the M8 got a well earned terrible rep largely caused by a bad oil pump.... and a misunderstanding of how much crankcase pressure the M8 makes vs the Twin Cam. I own one of the first.

But an oil pump upgrade and external crankcase vent (Trask) has made the engine Bullet Proof.

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

on the twin cams Hydro tensioners fix that problem for the most part. The big problem IMO is when HD stopped using the tapered bearing on the crank. I believe that was 03?

You'll see WAY more tensioner and chain issues than you will crank issues. There's nothing you can do to eliminate plastic chain tensioner failures. They wear, and they become brittle. You can use extremely good oil. You can use extremely efficient oil coolers to keep the oil temperature down. But eventually, the plastic tensioner will wear, and it will become brittle, and fall apart.

You can install the S&S gear drive kit, IF you don't have too much runout on the crank. That eliminates the tensioner failure.

[knorB]

You'll see WAY more tensioner and chain issues than you will crank issues. There's nothing you can do to eliminate plastic chain tensioner failures. They wear, and they become brittle. You can use extremely good oil. You can use extremely efficient oil coolers to keep the oil temperature down. But eventually, the plastic tensioner will wear, and it will become brittle, and fall apart.

You can install the S&S gear drive kit, IF you don't have too much runout on the crank. That eliminates the tensioner failure.

I'm running the screaming eagle kit with the upgraded oil pump. So far so good on a punched out 88.

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

I'm running the screaming eagle kit with the upgraded oil pump. So far so good on a punched out 88.

The plastic coated tensioners have a finite life span. I don't know that any oil pump will resolve those issues. It's quite literally a limitation of the materials used in their construction. Normal use/riding with good maintenance allows most to get 20,000 miles or more from them. They're not terrible to change. If they're swapped out at 15,000 to 20,000 miles, most will never experience any failure.

[knorB]

The plastic coated tensioners have a finite life span. I don't know that any oil pump will resolve those issues. It's quite literally a limitation of the materials used in their construction. Normal use/riding with good maintenance allows most to get 20,000 miles or more from them. They're not terrible to change. If they're swapped out at 15,000 to 20,000 miles, most will never experience any failure.

It's a definitely a consumable in my opinion. It's easy to pop the cover off and swap so no biggy.  I have gone to using redline products also.