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[phato1]

Some of us have been wondering about the durability of HD's latest SE Tappet(lifter) P/N 18572-13. Which the motor company began using in the 110 engine in 2013?? maybe it was 2014...

Anyway, I had these Tappets installed after I experienced some issues with the "c" lifters in my 11.5 SE Ultra. What follows are several photographs of them after 20,000 mile of use. In these photos you will notice that there are witness marks on all of the rollers, but there seems to NO material transfer occurring - evidenced by a lack of any measurable wear or grooving in the rollers. The actual roller assembly feels as smooth as it did new - but please note that rolling them with your finger is NOT the same as trying to roll them while they are under the pressure of the engine valvetrain during combustion. My little two car garage doesn't have any equipment that would allow that testing.

These Tappets were giving me some clues that they were starting to wear - I noticed they were starting to "bleed down" a little and took a few seconds to "pump up" and quiet down when the bike was started.

Personally I don't think I will let the new ones stay in the engine for more than the 20K miles these were in there for but I feel fairly confident they are much better than the previous "c" tappets that HD was putting in these engines.

The bike is noticeably quieter with the new one installed and an extra flat added to the preload - 25 versus the 24 that S&S has in their instruction for the Quikie Pushrods that are in the bike.

[phato1]

Front Intake

[phato1]

Front exhaust

[phato1]

Rear Intake

[phato1]

Rear exhaust

[windjammer]

Did you replace the cam when you installed the new lifters?

[phato1]

Did you replace the cam when you installed the new lifters?

No, I personally didn't think it was necessary to go that far this time around.

When the original "c" style tappets went bad - at around 7,500 miles    - The Tappets were MUCH worse with some wear grooves that could be felt with a fingernail and/or feeler gauge, there was also material transfer that was evidenced by some spalling/galling on the rollers. During that incident the cams did show some signs of surface wear - meaning the surfaces were slightly discolored. When I looked at the cams through the empty lifter bores this time I saw no such evidence of unusual wear.

That and the CAMS in the bike are only 10,00 miles old -- it's a long story    - I think I've got a bike that was assembled on a Monday......

[trippy]

Bearing in mind the amount of spring pressure from the std SE springs they fit in the 110, I would say that your wear is quite good, however, I do not trust any (inc SE) lifters from HD, personally I go for the S+S lifters every time.

[phato1]

Some may disagree but I also think the wear is acceptable. Especially, like you stated, due to the high spring pressures from the top end. I don't think any Tappet is going to stand up over the long haul under the operating conditions they have to exist under - high spring pressures, aggressive cam timing(steep ramps) of the stock 255 cams, and the valve train angles ( in that I mean the angle of the pushrods puts a bit of side loading on the tappets and rocker arms - according to my rudimentary understanding of geometry).

The bike is still covered by an ESP until April of 2018, and I probably will extend the ESP, therefore I'm trying to stay with HD parts to avoid any repair coverage concerns with the ESP company. I figure they can't give me to much grief if the components in the bike are HD. If not for that concern I would put the S&S tappets in the bike.