S&S Product Review submitted by RoadKing.

After an OEM tappet roller bearing failure - I had quite a mess to clean up. With bearing fragments throughout the cam compartment, into the oil pump and oil lines to the oil filter. Using various solvents and magnets to get all the fragments out and cleaned up it became apparent that I was going to need new parts.

Time for research - I did everything I could think of to find out which replacement parts were going to do the best job for my needs. I wanted over build, since I don't like surprises, I wanted reliability and confidence. After weeks of reading specifications, other peoples reviews and looking into every product line I could find - I realized it was right in front of me as it has been for as long as I can remember... S&S performance parts. Every review I read about their parts was a good one. So I also chose them.

S&S High Performance Tappet Set- Redesigned and Improved




I found out, that tappet failure was fairly common place with an EVO Engine. I read all about others that experienced the same failure as I did. So when it came time to replace the "weak link" I found the strongest parts available. The S&S roller tappets use a stronger design than the OEM tappets. These parts are made for "High Performance - Racing" applications so my everyday street bike should be "over built" for my application and now I can have the same, if not more, confidence and reliability then I had in it before this happened.

I made a call to S&S, and spoke to one of their tech reps. He was more than helpful, he was like an old friend when it came to the advice he gave me. Straight talk and great info - He helped to figure out what would be the best replacement parts and his insight was impressive. They've helped quite a few people with the same problem as I had and he was able to give me some tips on what to look for. He explained to me that S&S had just come out with a brand new cam called the "508". This is a bolt in cam, and can be used to replace a stock cam with no other modifications needed. The new grind gives the engine a "little extra" torque and horse power in the low to mid range right where I needed it.

508 Cam Box Dated and Packaged the day before my tappet bearing failure... Higher Powers AT Work?





He also explained that the oil pump usually was another casualty of this failure, so I went with the S&S billet replacement oil pump kit.





Tappet guide blocks can get ruined from hardened steel bearing fragments getting into them so I went with the billet tappet guides.



Replacing the stock push rods with adjustable ones makes repairs and maintenance much easier and less time consuming - I chose the Quickee Push Rods.



With a new cam that adds some power I was going to need more air, the new S&S Stealth Air Cleaner Kit with Chrome Air Stream Cover would do the trick and look super cool at the same time.

S&S Stealth Air Cleaner Kit with Chrome Air Stream Cover

Of course once I get all this apart I'm going to need new gaskets to put it all back together - S&S has a line called "Viola V-Twin Quality Service Parts" I was able to get the new cam bearing, every gasket and every O-ring that was needed to complete this project. These replacement parts are excellent quality and perfect matches to every stock part that I replaced. The cam bearing was the upgraded heavy duty "Torrington" style.









With the help of S&S I was able to deal with one company to do everything I needed and that in it self was a great big convenience and huge time saver. Parts were delivered in a timely fashion and packaged complete with easy to follow instructions. I used my HD service manual to dismantle the bike and S&S instructions to put it back together.

The first thing I noticed after unpacking my new parts was the quality and craftsmanship S&S puts into its products. Flawless surfaces and machine work makes the new parts a giant leap from the OEM of 1994, when my bike was manufactured. I quickly realized I had made the right decision going with S&S.

Assembly was fairly easy and straight forward. I started with the new oil pump, it has various ports for a multitude of applications and set ups. Every thing I needed was enclosed - with the easy to follow instructions I was able to configure the pump to match my OEM exactly and it easily bolted right into place. As a matter of fact, all the parts fit perfectly, except one, that being the rear tappet guide block was slightly off in one spot and didn't sit properly. It was an easy fix, I was able to take a flat file and file off the problem for a perfect fit. The tappets and adjustable push rods mated perfectly and the factory rockers matched up. Push rod adjustment was easy and fast. I used every gasket and every O-ring in the kit from Viola V-twin, they did a great job of making it complete.

New Stealth Air Cleaner Kit with Air Stream Chrome Cover


S&S Cycle - about as cool as it gets


Once all the parts were in and the bike was assembled... came the moment of truth... will it run? Well HECK YEAH!! It started on the first try!! AND It looks Great!! Thank You S&S!!