I don't know a hell of alot about engines and wrenching and what not,...but a friend told me I could get a deeper note, and louder pipes if I changed the cam(s). Anybody changed cam in thiers? How much will it cost? pros/ cons?

My bike is injected, and I cant seem to get the sound I'm looking for. To me,..carb'ed bikes sound better,....got that lope to 'em.


2005 RKC twin cam 88B

 

I'm not sure louder is a good description. The cams can change the sound if the overlap is substantially different from stock.

If you have been following this forum you know a lot of guys are changing out bad timing chains/tensioners. Your time will come, and that is an excellent opportunity to swap cams as well. You can get a pair of gear driven cams and all nec. parts for just over $500.00. Install extra. Hope this helps you.

 

That "lope" you are talking about is usually the result of the person setting the idle speed too low. It should be no lower than 1000 rpm.... 1100 is preferable.

The cam will also have some effect, as was already mentioned, depending on the grind. Don't concentrate on how the bike sounds, rather try to concentrate on performance. If you go with a cam that will cause a strong loping sound, then it usually has a lot of duration and overlap and will therefore perform poorly on the street. Those types of cams are for high rpm operation only. A good street cam has low duration and early closing intake valves with less overlap.

Changing the exhaust will have the most effect on the tone of the exhaust. The larger the diameter of the muffler, the deeper the note. Just make sure the head pipes are no larger than 1.75 inches. I run a 2-1 V&H ProPipe and an EV27 cam (EVO engine) and it has a nice, deep, potato-potato sound. Many folks have told me that it sounds more like a Harley than their bikes with the 2-2 pipes. That's probably because 2-1 pipes help the engine breathe better.

 

As stated above. Also it will sound and perform alot better with the correct set up.

 

Stock cams are such a compromise and are way to emisions constrained, virtually no valve overlap. A cam will have a distint effect on overall sound. Another reason for the carb vers EFI sound is idle speed. Carb guys tend to set there idle a little to low. If you have a SERT you can bump it down a little. Even AFR changes the sound some. A little valve overlap and an AFR around 13-1 will make and EFI motor sound pretty nice.

 

I idle my bike as little as possible and could realy give a **** if the engine loped at idle. I would prefer to run it wide open!!!

 

Yes, the AFR will affect the sound. An overly rich mixture will give it more of a dull, hollow sound, but you should still try to keep the AFR in the optimum range or performance and engine life will suffer. Too low an idle speed will shorten engine life, too. Overall, cams have the most influence.

 

When I changed my cams to SE 204's my SE slip ons took a whole new sound. They were louder all the time but at about 70 they sounded like jackhammers. They also had 50K miles on them so that may have been part of it. That lope, like has been said is from setting the idle too low. On a carbed model it's pretty easy but they should all idle about 1000 rpm regardless. Cams will change the sound of any exhaust because of the new valve timing. The Twin Cam engine just doesn't sound like the classic HD motors you are talking about.