I have an 07 Nightster with Stage 1, V&H shorties and a Cobra FI2000 fuel processor among other non performance aftermarket parts. I love the bike. Very quick and nimble. I would like a bit more umphh. Better Cams? Not that I need it, but I want it. I don't want to get a different bike. The Nightster is what brought me to getting a bike. The shop I bought my bike off of I trust very much, however, I get varying opinions between shops. My shop says I would need to do new valve springs, pushrods... with better (mild)cams(about 1200 worth of work). A couple other local shops say I can add mild cams without doing all of that. What's the right answer? What is the short and long term effect on the engine by going with either of these options. I understand the gains. If any of you have done this can you please share your thoughts.

 

Cams are useless without head work.

 

From what I know about performance engine building (I have done a few) cams will not give your engine performance that it doesn't already have. Put simply the cams control where the power is. High lift long duration cams are made for getting the RPMs up and flowing as much air as the engine displacement can take.

You will not notice a power jump by putting in a bigger cam. You will more than likely think that your stock set up was faster, because the stock set up will have a bit more power low in the RPM range and that is what gets you going at the stop light.

I would suggest port and polishing the heads and fitting the heads with oversized valves and then if maybe putting in a slightly larger cam to get the full effect of the increased head volume. This is the first step in increasing the performance of any naturally aspirated motor.

I repeat! Do not just put a cam in! A cam is only as good as your heads! You will be very disapointed with the result!

 

Thanks for the info. I appreciate what both of you have provided me. I'm still new to bikes and what the right answers are in many cases. Ride safe.

 

No problem! Remember too, power trips with motors can turn into huge money pits very quickly. Especially if you aren't going to do the work yourself. I would want around 2-3 grand to do it right, and that would be doing everything my self except the head port and polish.