Power Boost needed for 48 Chief

[pninaud]

Howdy Indian Riders,
My twin brother and I ride in Texas, and the roads have a lot of distance between turns and the pickups go 75-mph. I ride a 1960 Harley DuoGlide and my brother is on his 1948 Chief. The DuoGlide does ok in traffic but the Chief could use a bit more power to keep up with the traffic flow. With a 25-tooth sprocket the chief does a comfortable 55-60 mph cruising, but it needs to get up to speed faster, and cruise at about 65 mph.

The motor is a stock 74” and rebuilt about 5000 miles ago and on .030 pistons. New rings and a valve job are in the works, and we are thinking of upgrading to the Ollie cam lobes with slightly more lift than stock, and lots more duration (approx. duration 268*; Lift = IN .378 and EX .412) rather than the more radical Bonneville cams and lifters. Stan Jessup sells them for $200 installed on the cams. Can anyone recommend this upgrade? Will we notice the difference in performance? Any pros or cons to using these?
Any other suggestions, for getting the 48 chief to cope better with modern traffic speeds?

Also, does anyone know how to fix a wobbly clutch worm? When the bike idles, you can see the clutch arm wobble. It is due to a worn worm gear in the outer primary? Throw-out bearing?

Can anyone recommend the KING clutch for easier shifting and saving wear and tear on the tranny gears?

Thank you very much for any suggestions!
Patrice Ninaud

[jww]

Might bump up one or two on the sprocket, I'm running a 27. Worm gear could be a number of things, gear itself or primary mating. Be careful if you change to another worm gear, don't understand but have found they are not all interchangable...gear to cover. I'm running Bonneville cams and followers, 60 mph is comfortable, 65 for long run is pushing it in my opinion. Running King clutches, better than stock but still must run RPM's real low and rock it a little to eliminate grinding when putting in gear, also helps to go into second first, then move forward to first gear. Kings eliminate grabbing. Four speed tranny would be the ticket! Just can seem to justify paying the price
Hope this helps a little
johnny

[PAM]

Hey buddy transplant a pan motor into your obsolite ingin
and all will be fine.Realisticaly the speeds are to high for that antiquated slug.
regards

[pninaud]

Thanks for the advice

Hi Johnny and PAM,
Thanks for the advice! Riding in Texas is harder on the old bikes than it was in Washington state. In Washington, there are so many mountians roads, and the distance between small towns is shorter, that you could put along on an old scoot at slower speeds and not worry about getting run over.

I really like my 60 DuoGlide and love how comfortable and fast it is compared to the 48 Chief. But the chief is a prettier bike, lighter, handles better, and is cooler, at least in my humble opinion!
I hope my 1953 Chief will be the best of both the PanHead and the 48 Chief.

We are concerned that a 26 tooth sprocket on the 48 chief will interfere with the chain guard and lug the motor, so well see.

Cheers, Patrice

[AdminGuy]

I've heard nothing but positive reports about Oley cams (hopped street cam) , w/ smooth idle. You can't go wrong w/ kevlar clutch plates(King), abuse, heat , etc. I havn't ridden a four speed chief ---YET! A modern solution that works. I personally would just stick to secondary hwys, Or ride down the shoulder. --I've never had a close call, or been side swiped when doing this. I look forward to the scout introduction, 4-speed. A clear case of -ya git wut ya pay fur. A well engineered product. I guess my concern would be with oil circulation if riding around at 75 for an extended period. Install the four speed and a sprocket! I'm real curious.
-See Jeff Ringle on his Chief in receint AM Iron zine. He's thinner and younger than I had imagined. Hee-hee. Good coverage. Thanks Buzz.

Stan Jessup is a great guy, very friendly, very helpful, good peanuts. I think he has a web site? What is that Stan?

Slinging mud is fun. But it's more fun when you have a little of everything in the barn. Here's one for you. When I was last out on the little T100R I dropped into see some friends at the local H-D dealership. I parked front and center at the front door for a joke. What was truely funny was that the bike attacted a crowd of potential H-D riders when I was inside. They thought it was really cool! After deep sighs of grief, and much looking at the ground and shakeing of heads, a few threats of -can we melt it down for scrap. With great histerical laughter I finally moved on, and it always starts first kick when warm. I can't wait to back fire the sport scout out front. Some traditions are just so much dang fun.