they (harley davidson) now have a kit to change the spring loaded tensioner into the newer version with the hydralic tensioner, any one heard how well it works out?

I assume you're referring to the upgrade kit which also improves the oil scavenging. If so, I had that done last year.

https://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/gma_ ... fault=none

As for seat-of-the-pants performance, I don't notice a thing. However, that's not why I did it. A friend of mine has a customized engine in a dresser similar to my Dyna. One very hot day he checked his oil and found frothing. Now, I had always been taught that this condition could be based on leaks and low volume, but these newer engines don't get that complaint much.

I have most of my serious modifications done during winter storage. In my area we can get free storage, a discount on parts and labor and a detailing if we use their facility. It keeps the mechanics working in the winter.

My shop had one and only one of these upgrades on the shelf, so I had my mechanic install it over the winter. I figure the 400 bucks might save me a customized engine worth a few thousand.

yes, that is the kit i was referring to. at this point i am looking for longevity not so much the preformance angle.
i like the idea of the gear drive, i am just researching what i am (if any thing) i am going to do to my 05 fxst.
doing the wrench turning myself, i can change out a lot of spring type tensioners for the 400$ the kit costs.
let alone the 800$ i was quoted on a gear drive.

So does my friend with the dresser.

He told me that he converted to the gear drive after a re-build. However, he's an iron butt in the true sense of the word. He converted to the Harley upgrade, and then proceeded to put on +60K miles. He found wear on some rivets.

Nothing broke loose or was internally damaged, just excessive wear. To be fair, most guys don't push an engine that far and that quickly over a short time. But seeing this, he switched out to the gear style.

I'm not worried. My Dyna is never going to see that extensive use. Most of my daily commutes are on a Sportster 48, and I do not envision long trips for the the next +3 years.

if one of the "old style" tensioners plastic pads is wearing away and is in need of attention, what would tip off the operartor that something needed to be done? (particular noises, ect.) when the plastic pad on the tensioner wears away, what is happening to the little pieces, (plugging up oil pathways, kind of anyways bad)?
what happens if one is allowed to run to fail?

i wonder if there's really a problem with the older setup or just a lot of overblown hype?

The decision for me was the fact that even MoCo says that the output is better than what came on my '04 in stock condition. As stated, the upgrade is only 400 bucks. A new crate motor or a rebuild is several thousand.

Additionally, I plan to use the bike lightly over the next few years. But plans change. I like the bike, and I might consider converting it to a trike when my wife retires. It makes sense to take good care of it now.

output is better, what does "output" mean? (hope not dumb question, power?)
unless there is more to the kit than i think there is, it's just a different way to tension the cam drive chain

Primarily the most important number relates to scavenging. Oil is not only "slippery water" but a coolant in and of itself. It needs to circulate, and it needs to be everywhere--especially at the top end.

(I was taught that the most overall wear on a motor comes not from use on the highway, but on start up. All of those parts start to spin after the oil has slowly drained off when the bike was parked. In fact, when I was into Mustang 5.0 style cars I saw an accessory that filled with a few drops of oil while the engine was running, and then released this oil into the top-end on start up.)

The figure assigned for the upgrade is 16%. I know from the pains in my wallet that getting a Harley to improve in any capacity from 5 to 10 percent is huge. For example, price an engine with a 10% BHP increase, or go buy 10% more chrome.

This upgrade costs only 400 dollars. Personally I find more people buy "go fast" parts than they buy improved brakes, better shock absorbers, oil coolers and decent front ends. The single biggest expense on my bike is the CVO front end--it costs more than all of my engine components combined.

The real iron butt here is Badinfluence63. He wears out components during a vacation, not upon return. If he was to buy Black Betty from me he would certainly bounce my rear progressive shocks, punch my brakes and ask about this upgrade first and foremost.

I need to do the same on my RK, its a 2000 , and from what I've read and heard they changed over in 06 . I was also told that if it fails it'll tear the motor up pretty bad, I saw a post on another site where you can take the cover off and inspect, it didn't look like to much of a job..

no, the inspection doesn't really look like there is that tough.
there is another cam chain and another cam chain tensioner behind the obvious one.
i guess that it is the one that is harder to inspect.
i guess i am going to find out what special tools are required to do this service.