Good stuff but pricey for the average shovel guy but not a lot places carry them , another is Zippers out of Maryland they grind there own and those boys do like to play out on the edge but again $$$$

Back when I could buy wholesale I tested cams in my own bikes in different configurations and rode them hard looking for the sweet spot , had a crate with at a couple least a dozen cast offs from the big supplier that were less than impressive . For shovels and reasonable money been using the Vthunders , you have to do the heads & valve spring's but they give the best usability and bang for the buck in shovelheads for the average street rider .

That's where I try to stay with most guys , a hard truth you learn when doing work for others in particular us old bike knuckle draggers is what their saying and what they really want are two very different things and then you are an ******* and screwed them over by giving them exactly what they asked for . I stay with known stuff I know without question gives noticeable and predicable results .

Most shovel riders live right at the edge of where most popular name cams are just beginning to perform meaning under well under 4000 rpm and with the general less that well kept nature of the rest of the machine getting into that range the bike becomes Elvis doing a shake rattle & roll so you'll be riding just like a rice rocket , constant shifting and on that throttle to get the bike to wake up . I target the lower rpm ranges and use the shovels heavy torque curve to get the Wow factor to jump out were we live on the old girls . My bullshit factor from unhappy people dropped dramatically after that .

 

I finally got into the bottom end late last week. Even after I pulled the jugs, I was still not firmly decided to split the cases, but after I found .050" side play at the bottom of the rods and what initially felt like a suspicion of end play in same, then looked inside the cases with a light and found silicone oozed inward from the splitline, there was no more question.
Did I mention that the cam cover gasket had a heavy coat of silicone? And the lower end oil feed hole was partially blocked?
The oil pump gaskets had received the silicone treatment as well. The scavenge side of the pump has some serious scoring, probably from more of the same small chunks of ferrous metal found in the cam chest. Still haven't found where they came from. Didn't see anything in the breather gear or in the bottom of the case. The lifter rollers are marginal, but not trashed. The bottom of the lifter blocks have some scarring, but I see no indication that the cam was hitting them, it's only an A grind.
Even so,with the low profile aluminum spring collars, and the relatively mild cam, the collars shouldn't have been hitting the valve seals, but they were.
Anyone have an A grind laying around they could measure for me?
This engine had 1/2" diameter aluminum pushrods, which are heavily worn from rubbing and/or hitting the pushrod covers, both at the top, and bottom of the inner tube. I know that's not uncommon with a high lift cam, but I've never seen it so bad with a mild cam. Any recommendations for a thinner pushrod set?

The front exhaust pushrod on my Evo used to wear a little on the cover until I switched from the 561 cam to the 585. The 585 has a smaller base circle, whether that had anything to do with the change or not, I don't know.

Haven't had time to pull the wheels apart yet. A good friend got married last weekend, and I was tied up all day Saturday, as well as Thursday and Friday evenings, with all that nonsense. To top it all off, my wife returned my rented tux to the store Sunday morning, while I was still recovering from the reception. Sunday evening, I realized my wallet (which is normally in a small belt pack with a Kel-tec .380) was still in the back pocket of the pants. A call to the store at opening time today (no answering machine) revealed that the tux had been picked up earlier this morning, and was on it's way to either Ft Lauderdale, Winter Haven, or as it finally turned out, Atlanta, to be cleaned. I know damn well they inspect these things for damage, how the hell did they miss my wallet? Unfortunately, I had just about everything imaginable in there, D/L, SS card, two high limit credit cards,(canceled now) debit card (also canceled) health insurance card, concealed carry permit, voters reg card, pilots license, A&P mechanics license, wallet size version of my FFL, library card, cash, and more. There is still a possibility it may come back, but I have a strong suspicion that it didn't leave the store with the tux. No way of proving it, though.

Oh yes, when the rod bearings were thoroughly washed out, there was definite end shake.

 

This is not my freakin' week. I took the Wide Glide out tonight to blow off some steam, got about 15 miles out in the middle of nowhere, turned around, wound out 1st, went for second, and there was nothing there. Freakin' belt broke. F@ck me again...