American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 250 May 2020 | Page 36

Twin Power - Twin Cam Tensioner Cam chain tensioners (inner and outer) Replacement tensioner shoes and installation tools PARTS AND ACCESSORIES Described by a dealer recently at the 2020 Tucker Dealer Expo at Fort Worth, Texas, as the "thinking man's service parts," the Twin Power range has impeccable credentials. Having originally been introduced by NEMPCO in 1982, Tucker brought the program back under the expert guidance of V-twin industry veteran James Simonelli in 2016. That comeback saw the publication of the first Twin Power catalog since before the 1992 acquisition of NEMPCO (and with it Biker's Choice, Twin Power and other brands), and this year sees a second new iteration produced with the range now benefitting from several more years of Simonelli's expert curating. Often associated with harder to source essentials - replacement parts that have relatively few OE (if any) alternates - seen here are options for updating the cam chain tensioners on Twin Cams. Available for FLH and FLT '99-'06, FXST and FLST '00- '06 and FXD '99-'05 as inners and outers, they use a proven Twin Power show material for longer life, reduced friction and higher temperature resistance. Also seen here are a replacement tensioner shoe installation tool ('99-'06 Big Twins, except '06 Dyna), replacement tensioner shoes, an ABS plastic stock cam chain guide replacement - everything needed to replace and maintain often overlooked but 'mission critical' componentry. The timing chain synchronizes the rotation of the crankshaft and camshaft(s) ensuring proper timing and allows the engine's valves to open and close during each cylinder's firing. When Harley adopted the concept on their Twin Cams in 1999 that opened it, its customer and their dealers up to a world of hurt. The problems center on the tendency for the plastic spring loaded cam chain follower to fail and shred plastic material - which fouls the rotary gear oil pump and can cut off oil flow to the engine. The problem is that there is no reliable cardinal service interval rule about when to replace the follower, except perhaps before every ride! Many experience failures at many different mileages - it is hard to predict as there is no real external noise change or other tells. On the 2007 and later motors, hydraulic cam chain followers were used to get rid of the stiff spring that put too much pressure on the followers that rubbed on the cam chain. But even that fix has not proven to be problem-free. Unless a gear drive cam conversion has been done, for the sake of not much money, savvy techs will replace the shoes every time they are in there, or at worst not leave it much longer than 25,000 miles. Cam chain Cam chain guide TUCKER V-TWIN Fort Worth, Texas, USA Tel: [phone] www.tucker.com/v-twin www.twinpower-usa.com 'SoundBomb' Compact Horn Cover Last year we featured a new CANsmart accessory controller for Harley-Davidson applications from Exeter, Rhode Island based Denali Electronics. Described at the time as "ground-breaking," the Denali CAN bus controller is said to provide plug & play connection and intelligent control of aftermarket and genuine H-D accessories "right from the bike's original switches or the Denali Accessory Manager Software." New for 2020 from Denali 36 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - MAY 2020 (and also available through Twisted Distributing), the 'SoundBomb' compact horn cover is described as an inexpensive aesthetic upgrade for the popular 'SoundBomb' compact air horn - the decorative cover attaches with the supplied metal bracket and is a "great dress-up item for cruisers, retro and standard Harley models such as selected Electra Glides, Road Glides, Street Glides and Harley Trikes. DENALI ELECTRONICS Exeter, Rhode Island, USA Tel: [phone] [email protected] www.denalielectronics.com www.twisteddistributing.com www.AMDchampionship.com