Seen plenty of posts on 103, 107, etc upgrades...but has anyone with a 96ci/'07+ just kept their stock cylinders/pistons, but gone with headwork AND cams? If so, was it worth it, or is the cash outlay such that you might as well spring for the big bore? What kind of numbers are you seeing?

 

What you are describing is the best bang for your buck. If you have your heads reworked and and cams, you will make more power than increasing your cubic inches.

 

Thanks for the feedback, Bluessman.

By the way, if anyone has any suggestions on a good place to have headwork done and good cam choices for a stock 96 with headwork, do tell.

 

Why, exactly, would you say something like this??

mud

 

If you added compresssion to those heads and cams with 96" it would go real well.
a 103" with same set up would go even better.

 

There is no substitute for C.I.D. more cubes = more power. It depends on what you are willing to give up, thin cyl. walls = more heat. Highlift cams= more topend less lowend power. Heavy porting will lose lowend power. It's all about having a matched combination. A well tuned engine will smoke a missmatched engine. It's where do you want your powerband.

 

davemackie.com
he has proven to be the best of the best. You can do exactly what u are describing through dave mackie. I know because this is exactly what I plan on doing to my bike.

 

What cams do you guys recommend to use on a 96? Andrews? Stick with SE? The other engine mods are V&H Big Radius pipes, Ness Big Sucker and a PCIII. Do I need to have the heads worked on to make a cam upgrade worth it? I'll probably swapout to the V&H 2 into 1 Big Radius pipes also.

Thanks.

 

Can't speak directly to Harley's but we do this all the time with motocross engines (4 stroke). Port the heads, change the cams and sometimes valves and springs. You will gain some horsepower but not as much as you would on a bore (no replacement for displacement). The bike runs better, the power bands tend to be wider and the response is snappier in most cases.

Also concur with all of Paul S's post. Best to have someone you know and who knows you do your port work and match cams, etc.

Rick's .02

 

It depends, if your plan on keeping your bike for a while, a gear driven cam is best. If you know your going to eventually get rid of your bike, a chain driven cam would be the better, cheaper way to choose a cam. Andrews has both kinds of cam. The gear driven cam is usually about 400 dollers more.