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[Spiderman]

Big Moose Harley-Davidson of Portland Maine claims that the OEM cam chain tensioners on an 03 model H-D are good for 40k and when worn should be replaced with the same P/N   

Comments


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[murphy]

40 is pushing it, and if you plan on keeping the bike I'd replace the whole shebang with gear drives so you never have to do it again... it's a little more at first but you save in the long run.

[Spiderman]

Personally I've never heard of anyone getting more than 30+k out of them AND most people replace them with the late 03 and up hydraulic versions. HGear drive ? Maybe, maybe not. Lots of folks on this site running big inch hi-po motors with the chain units. One thing I know for sure is you're not going to get a Factory Authorized dealership to install gear drives on a warranty issue.

B B

[murphy]

You still have a warranty on your 03?

[Spiderman]

You still have a warranty on your 03?

Nope, don't have an 03 anymore. What I posted is verbatim of what Big Moose said to my brother while he was trying to negotiate the purchase of an 03 SERK with 17,000 miles on the odometer. It ended up being a deal breaker. Big Moose would not come down on the price the cost of replacing the cam chain tensioners so my brother walked out the door. He had pre-approved credit and was ready to buy and they let him walk. I'll add that you won't find me doing business with Big Moose anymore after this. Just too bottom line squeeze the life out of every customer attitude of late. Also, since Maverick left the shop's gone to hell. There's 6 pages of complaints about their service Dept on an on-line site devoted to pissed off customers. Oh yeah, one final thing. The Sales Mgr does not have a clue what words like SERK, SERG, SEEG, SEUC, Jester, Pumpkin, Switchblade and so on and so on mean although he claims to be a "CVO Expert"  Yup and I'm rich and handsome too   

B B

[grc]

Big Moose Harley-Davidson of Portland Maine claims that the OEM cam chain tensioners on an 03 model H-D are good for 40k and when worn should be replaced with the same P/N   

Comments


B B

Big Moose full of moose chit.

While true that some spring loaded tensioner's have lasted that long, it is also painfully true that many have failed catastrophically at 20k or 30k.  Considering how much engine damage can occur when those suckers fail, there is no way I would just take their word for it.  I recommend removing the cam chest cover and inspecting them at 20k, and depending on what you find either replacing them or making a note to check them again in another 10 or 20k.  This stuff is way too variable to make blanket statements like the one they gave you.

If the originals actually do last that long, there is no guarantee the replacements will do the same.  Sadly, Harley has no bulletproof parts, and the quality levels of their parts vary greatly.  So if you just replace the tensioners with more of the same, I'd still do a visual inspection every 20k even if the originals lasted 40 or 50k.  In other words, there is no Harley solution that I would blindly trust. 


Jerry 

[Heatwave]

Big Moose Harley-Davidson of Portland Maine claims that the OEM cam chain tensioners on an 03 model H-D are good for 40k and when worn should be replaced with the same P/N   

Comments


B B

I had to have the entire engine refurbished on my 2003 Fatboy after the cam tenisoner failed at 29,000. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone getting more than 35,000 out of the stock tensioner shoes. I think it would be a serious risk to buy or own any bike from 2003-2005 that still had the stock tensioner shoes with over 25k on the engine without upgrading the cam tensioner to the new HD Hydraulic tensioner.

[sadunbar]

I think B-M HD was spewing BS...   

[Spiderman]

When I checked the bike out for my brother, I told the salesman that I'd owned 2 03 SERKs and a good friend (Bubba_T) also had owed two and I knew a number of other people personally with them and none of them got much beyond 30k if that AND, I also mentioned that when these parts go they take out the cams and a bunch of other things so you've got one very expensive fix on your hands. I said "you can sell this bike to my brother, gain a new customer; one that wants to buy from the 800 page P&A Catalogue IF you deal with him straight up on this issue of cam chain tensioners. They chose to BS him and let him walk.
At the crux of this story is the fact that with the family business having been passed down to the generation my age, it is going to hell. The father Cal Reynold's is a true Maine character. You mention his name and you'll get a lot of opinions - - both good and bad. He's done his share of makin a buck in way's less than straight up but the truth is both my brother and I have bought a lot of motorcycles from him- - I bought my 1st back in 71 and my brother bought his 1st in 72. Mostly lost count how many in between.  Since Cal has turned the business over to his son Steve, I've not been able to make a single deal. Whereas Cal would barter back and forth with you if you were $1,000-$1,500 off on the deal, Steve just lets you walk away. He had in Maverick, probably the best single individual I've ever been around in an H-D dealership and let him go. Seems like most dealerships, the WALMART business model is what he follows. Get rid of anybody worth a chit and hire some low paid flunky, don't let him work enough hours that he gets any benefits and squeeze your customers for every last nickle. I used to think that this was not the norm, but it seems that it IS the norm and the MoCo itself promotes this philosophy. I'd rather buy a bike from a dealer and have a bit of fallback, but that is something that just doesn't exist anymore.
I hear that the people who bought the dealership in Lewiston when the Schott Family lost it for illegally shipping bikes to Europe are doing a decent job of treating customers well, making deals and providing good service. I don't know that first hand, just that most of the folks I do know that were long time Reyonold's family customers have gone to LA Harley as it's called (Lewiston/Auburn) There's a dealership in Augusta but it's owned by the Reynold's family so I suspect their squeeze you til you cry philosophy holds true there as well. Bottom line here is I'm going to say that my advice would be to steer clear of buying a motorcycle from Big Moose H-D ESPECIALLY a used one. They are simply not the dealership they were once. Not even remotely close. 

B B

[ultrafxr]

That is a shame BB.  I have a friend in the Coast Guard who just this past weekend relocated up to Portland, to finish out his last two years before retiring with 30.  I'll be sure to let him know the situation with Big Moose.

Jerry

[HD Street Performance]

I have seen them go 10k and up to 80K before being at the end of usable life, which is about 50% worn. No hard fast rules or known contributors but IMO I would guess oil temperatures trending hotter does not help them one bit.

[Shovelhead]

Personally I've never heard of anyone getting more than 30+k out of them AND most people replace them with the late 03 and up hydraulic versions. HGear drive ? Maybe, maybe not. Lots of folks on this site running big inch hi-po motors with the chain units. One thing I know for sure is you're not going to get a Factory Authorized dealership to install gear drives on a warranty issue.

B B

....these days, I wouldn't let a "Factory Authorized dealership" wash mine, just sayin' !

[screem]

Got 40,000 out of my tensenoirs, the looked fine......I only pulled it apart and changed em out because of the doom and gloom I read on here.  Put stock shoes back in it. changed inner cam bearing at the same time. I wouldn't let my local stealer touch my bike!!! Ft Myers /Naples HD is horrible for service and even worse as far as sales goes. They try to sell above list and then tack on a ton of fee's for the "privilege" of doing business with them, not one real motorcyclist among the sales force....just salesmen.....next they will be selling Kia's or stereo's

[Spiderman]

That is a shame BB.  I have a friend in the Coast Guard who just this past weekend relocated up to Portland, to finish out his last two years before retiring with 30.  I'll be sure to let him know the situation with Big Moose.

Jerry

Yes it is a shame Jerry. Not to long ago I was actually promoting Big Moose H-D because of the kind mannner in which Cal Reynold's and his GM Maverick greeted me after a number of year's abscence having moved to Dago. My brother and I were talking about this yesterday on our trip to L/A H-D. We figured out that our 1st purchase from the Reynold's family was actually from Steve's grandfather Jack; a 1970 Honda 175XL. From that point forward we bought motorcycles, ATV's, generators you name it from the Reynold's family. Reynold's Motorsports encompases a variety of dealerships that sell Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Bombardier, Artic Cat and a few other brands I can't think of at the moment. In 1996, Street Cycles in Falmouth Maine held the H-D dealership for the greater Portland area. The owner of Street Cycles would not get on-board with H-D Incs demands that he build a new million dollar showroom to comply with the MoCo's new regs for dealership layout. So, Calvin Reynold's wrote Duane Snow a check for One Million Dollars (USD) and then closed down his Subaru dealership and remodeled it for the new Big Moose H-D. According to Cal, he spent another million on the remodel and tooling up to service H-D's and a 3rd million in inventory. So when he opened his doors he was $3million in the red. In spite of that, Big Moose H-D under Cal Reyonold's was a dealership that you could deal with. I even bought a crate Evo from them after having moved to Dago because with the discount they gave me even including shipping it was cheaper than what I could get at the time in Dago. I later established a 15% standing discount with San Diego H-D that lasted for about 8 years before the owner's Son in law whom I've ranted about elsewhere took over the business and began running it as does Steve Reynold's Big Moose. I am thinking the both attended the same MoCo sponsored owner/GM seminars. So as of Friday afternoon, a business relationship that lasted for nearly 43 years came to a close because Steve Reynold's would rather let my brother walk away then find a way to come together on the price point difference. His Dad would not have done that. He would have put some more cash on the table for my brother's trade or come down a bit on the price of the SERK and perhaps tossed in the King Windshield my brother wanted or maybe offered a 10% discount on stuff from the P&A Catalogue for one year. The deal would have gotten done I assure you. And I said as much in an e-mail I sent Steve Reynold's yesterday. I also mentioned this cam chain tensioner issue. I have no doubt a few folks have gotten 40k or maybe even a lot more. There's always the exception to the norm, but prior to the board being taken over by 110 complaints, the issue of cam chain tensioners in the older twin cams was one of the hottest topics on the board. And if I went back over that thread and added up the numbers I believe I'd come up with an average mileage before failure of around 23k. And that's what I told my  brother to base his negotiation for the 03 SERK on.
S'anyway, Big Moose H-D won't go out of business anymore than San Diego H-D will or the dozens of dealerships listed on this site as being "bad" dealerships. Between the PT Barnum philosophy of business and the fact that there's a new generation of riders who wouldn't know a cam chain tensioner from the final drive belt these WALMART type H-D dealerships thrive. I need to buy another H-D so I've got one in SoCal and one here in Maine. I'd planned on leaving LD here and late next year going shopping for either an 09 SERG or an 03 SERK. I had hoped I'd be able to cut a better deal in Maine than in CA but it would seem I am way off base on that. I've several good friends in Dago that have bought 2011's from El Cajon H-D and I've yet to see anyone beat their prices. Ok, I'm rambling and way off topic, but you know it makes me wonder if H-D is headed for another downturn as they had in the mid 70's. And that's another thread

B B

[HOGMIKE]

Big Moose Harley-Davidson of Portland Maine claims that the OEM cam chain tensioners on an 03 model H-D are good for 40k and when worn should be replaced with the same P/N   

Comments


B B

I think I stopped in last year.
Is this the dealership that they all speak French and sell snowmobiles?
Any "guarantees" should be backed up in writing.
JMHO