Tec Camshaft

I know the subject of the TEC Parts camshaft for the earlier Street Twin, Street Cup, T100 and T120 etc, has come up before but as I'm about to press the 'Buy now' button on one for my 2017 ST I thought I'd ask those who've fitted them about long-term reliability.

Anyone had any problems at all? Would you recommend the TEC camshaft?

Originally I wanted George Milburn at TEC, or one of his minions, to fit it but they're too busy at present to take on work for customers. That left me with my Triumph main dealer, Youles in Manchester. George told me they'd sold cams to Youles, so I know they had experience of fitting them. I made the enquiry. It seems they've done two and have had no come-back. They'll fit it for £250. So unless anyone has any horror stories of blown engines I'll be going for it.

 

Over the winter I installed a TEC de-restrict camshaft and TEC X-pipe in my 2018 T100 Bonneville. The following is what I wrote on another forum about the installation:

"It seemed that others might be interested in my experience in installing the TecBikeParts De-restrict camshaft on my 2018 T100 Bonneville.

The cam itself is a very nicely machined steel billet part, and the cam lobes are much "fatter" than the stock camshaft. I measured the base circle diameter as .002-.004" smaller than the stock camshaft (resulting in a slightly increased valve clearance, but still within specification).

The TecBike video by George Milburn was most useful in helping to do things in an orderly way. The only thing glossed over was the disconnection of the wiring harness under the upper frame tube. It turns out that there are only four connectors to disconnect after the gas tank is removed; however, all of them have latches that must be lifted to allow separation of the connectors. The hardest one was the #2 fuel injector, as the latch is quite inaccessible. I broke part of that latch trying to disconnect the injector plug. (If anyone has a suggestion to make this easier, I'd like to know.) The injector fuel line is also a struggle to remove from the injector rail. At the suggestion of Triumph Albuquerque's technicians, I disconnected the fuel line at the tank end, as it has a banjo bolt fitting easily removed with an 18 mm socket.

Tools similar to the ones shown in the video were made: the timing pin from an 8 mm bolt, turned down to 6.5 mm at the end, and the cam timing tool was made from 1/4" by 2" aluminum bar stock.

By following the video, backed up by the Haynes manual, everything went well. Mr. Milburn painted a white spot on the chain and the cam sprocket to help with reassembly. Although it was not mentioned in the video, I copied this, and it helped! Especially useful was Mr. Milburn's suggestion that a bit of Super Glue be used to hold the alternator wires grommet to the alternator cover (I used a Super Glue gel). I did, however use a bit of black Permatex sealant to replicate the factory installation. No leaks!

As noted in the video, there was a brief clatter in the engine upon start, till the oil pressure came up and the timing chain tensioner tightened up the timing chain. Otherwise, it ran (up to 4000 rpm) with a nice bark.

If anyone is contemplating changing the cam in the T100 engine, it is a straightforward process. An experienced Triumph mechanic could do it much faster than I did. The quality, design, and workmanship of the motorcycle is most impressive.

If anyone is contemplating installing the TecBike camshaft, I would be happy to loan my tools. Just let me know and I'll ship them to you."

I now have about 800 miles on the Triumph since I installed the camshaft. I can honestly say that it has transformed the motorcycle. Before, the acceleration dropped off dramatically above 3800 rpm. Now the torque peaks at 3800 and falls only marginally right up to 6500. I have not felt the need to go past 6500 yet. I did a acceleration test from 3000 rpm to 4000 rpm in 5th gear (before the cam was fully broken in). The change was remarkable, even at that low rpm. A 13+% improvement in time from 3000 to 4000 rpm in 5th. So far, no problems whatsoever. It appears that Triumph has used approximately the same camshaft improvement in the 2020/2021 classic twins (they are now claiming 65HP). It appears that no ECU remap is necessary.
Craig Taylor

 

Thanks Craig, that's very useful. There are a couple of things you didn't mention that I'd like to know. Firstly, the 2 O-rings on the cam chain tensioner should be replaced and there are 2 bolts that should also be replaced as Triumph say they are one-use only. Did you do this?
What are the 2 bolts called (besides 'bolts')? Do you happen to have the part numbers for the bolts and O-rings? I want to know this so I can be specific when I check that the Triumph technician (or mechanic, as we used to call them) knows what he's doing. I am sure he will, however the chap I spoke to on the phone, when I enquired about the job, didn't mention these extra bits when he totalled up the cost. I want to be sure they have them to hand when they start.

Secondly, I asked whether the job entails an oil change because I may have the bike serviced very soon (before the cam job) and don't want to pay for a second change in two months time. He said the camshaft swop was at the top of the engine (yes I know where the camshaft is) so no oil change is necessary. However George Milburn shows the right side engine cover has to be removed and if this is done with bike upright (which I imagine will be the case in the Triumph workshop) then a ton of oil will leak out. George said he changed the oil. So Craig, what did you do?

 

I put in a thruxton R. If you do the job on the side stand, no oil will be lost

 

I did replace the bolts but not the o rings, just asked my dealer for them. Obviously a new gasket for the stator cover too

 

Hello, Beerkat,

The part numbers are:
Alternator Cover Gasket: T1268765
Cam "Screws": T3053005
"O" Ring 1: T3600199
"O" Ring 2: T3601276

I did replace the Alternator Cover Gasket. The cam cover gasket can be reused. I did replace the Cam "Screws" and the "O" Rings.
I also drained the oil so that I could change the cam with the bike on the center stand. Not having a lift, it made the job easier than having it leaning onto the kick stand, in addition to being more stable. A US gallon of Castrol I isn't cheap, though! I cheated a bit by not changing the filter.

Craig

 

If you clean the sump and carefully collect the nearly new oil into a clean bowl, is there a reason it cannot be re-used?

 

I had my local (non-Triumph) bike shop fit the TEC camshaft to my Street Cup. No problems. Just finished running it on due to lock down but even at lower revs it transforms the engine. A real joy to ride.

 

Thanks people, especially Craig, that's exactly what I needed to know. Youles can't do the job before August, so plenty of time to order the cam from TEC. Cheers.

 

In theory that sounds perfectly feasible, although I'm not sure a Triumph technician would go to the trouble (maybe if you ask nicely). I'm going to hold off with the annual service until the cam job in August, then the oil will be changed anyway.

 

Does anyone have any info on what the gains are with the TEC cam fitted to a T120? I can find some data in respect of the T100 but not the T120.

 

You could try emailing George Milburn at TEC Parts. He's always come back with an answer fairly promptly.

 

Have you seen the dyno graphs on their website?

 

beerkat,
I know Triumph have a specific name for those one use bolts but more generally would they be the one use "stretch bolts"?

 

Had a more in-depth chat about this camshaft swop with the chaps at Triumph. They have no issues with doing the work but would ask me to sign a disclaimer if my bike was still inside it's warranty. That's fair enough, but mine's well past that, so no need.
The bloke doing the mechanical bit knew about the one-use parts but it was lucky I'd brought up the subject because the parts-man didn't. They wouldn't have been there. I gave him the part numbers and they're now on order. Together with the alternator cover gasket (right side engine cover) it comes to a touch under £30.
The oil change issue is also sorted. The bike will be on it's side stand, so not much oil will dribble out. They'll check it afterwards and top it up.

Consequently I've booked the bike in for it's annual service next week. It's taking me on a 4 day tour of Yorkshire, Northumberland and Cumbria the following week. Route planned. B&B's sorted. My brother and I did the Malle Rally in the company of around 60 bikes last September, Land's End to J.O'Groats over 6 days (9 when you include my trip down and part of the return journey) and 2021 miles. A fantastic experience and highly recommended. We almost went for it again this year (starts June 20th) but we remembered how gruelling some of it was, so we're doing our own abbreviated version.

 

The TEC cam has arrived. I sent my brother a pic (like you do) but he had no idea what it was! So for those of you who haven't seen one, here it is.

The bike's booked into Youles in Manchester, for Wednesday 11th August.

 

Tis a thing of beauty.

 

Took the bike to Youles yesterday and picked it up this morning. I noticed the difference as soon as I rode out of their carpark. The power delivery felt smoother and picked up more quickly, with better acceleration. Not that it ever felt lacking before but this is an improvement. I came home through Manchester, so never got a chance to open the taps but there is definitely more grunt in the low to mid range. George Milburn suggests a running-in period but the Youles technicians (who were keen to talk about the swop) said stay away from the rev-limiter for a while and you'll be fine. So I'm erring on the side of caution to be on the safe side but if I forget it doesn't sound like there should be a problem.
They had done another TEC camshaft swop the day before. The technician told me that afterwards the bike wouldn't run smoothly and kept cutting out. It was fitted with a power booster thing, which he disconnected and instantly the bike sorted itself out. I have the booster on mine but it now also disconnected. Next time I bump into George Milburn I'll mention it.

Early days but all good news so far.

If anyone wants more details of the camshaft swop then just ask.

 

Hi Beerkat

I'm considering getting Youles in Blackburn to fit this to my 2018 Street Cup. How's yours behaving since the work, any issues with the cam or Youles' workmanship?

 

Everything is still A-Ok with no probs. It's made a significant difference and now I don't have to envy my brother on his T120.
The Manchester Youles guys have done a good job. I've used them for over 3 years now and always rated the place. They even adjusted and greased the chain. They also pointed out that the steering head bearings were a little notchy and showed me by pivoting the bike on it's side stand and lifting the front wheel off the ground. I could feel a couple of 'clicks' as the bars moved from side to side. I won't be performing that little trick any time soon (would be impressive in the pub carpark though ) but at some point I'll get it sorted. So I've no reason not to recommend Youles (at least in Manchester).