Thinking about starting some upgrades a little at a time. Cam only does not seem to make a big difference, anyone done only head work and what kind of improvements did you see?


TIA

 

If you want my honest opinion, don't bother. If you want to do head work, you should change the cams so that you benefit from the head work. If you are planning to go with more displacement in the future, don't do either until you are ready to go ahead with the full build. Unlike chrome, you can't just keep adding things you want, it has to be planned and executed properly to get the full potential without wasting a ton of cash. IMHO, just put the money away until you can do the whole thing at once.

 

If you are going to do the works, but one bit at a time, it would probably give you the most at each stage to first open up the exhaust and intake, do the heads next, increase the displacement, and do the cams last. The reason for leaving the cams to last is that the exact grind that is best will depend on the rest of the mods.

 

Anything beyond aircleaner and exhaust upgrade should be done at once. Choosing parts that are matched and proven to work together will give the best bang for the buck. Adding performance headwork to stock cams will only make the cams seem smaller and will likely degrade baseline performance.

Nothing like spending $500 - $1000 on headwork, just to get blown away off the line or pulled up a hill by a stock bike.

Just my opinion

 

You won't see a significant difference in performance with polishing and porting the heads. Cams will give you the biggest increase in performance for the dollar, and you need to figure out what your ultimate goal is before you start. If you are riding a bagger, you are probably wanting more torque in the lower rpm ranges. THere is no replacement for displacement either! It is a smart move.....or used to be anyway, to bump displacement from 88 to 95 along with the cam change and do the heads last. Might still hold true for the new 96" engines.

Plan your work and work your plan!

P.

 

04Harleyboy said it well, but if you had to choose only one upgrade, and you have the dough to do the heads up right, do the heads first. They will make way more power than cams alone, and if you do them right, they'll handle all of the upgrades you can throw at it. Heads over cams = yes, but i'd suggest saving enough to add cams at the same time. Good head work can run 1200.00 to 1500.00. Cams are far less, and both work best when paired together and matched for the right useage.

 

I just got an estimate from Head Quarters for a 103" and a 107" kit for my 07 SG. The 103" with reworked stock heads and bored stock cylinders, cams, pushrods, etc came in at just over $2200. The 107" came in at just over $2600. It's higher because you cannot bore the stock cylinders that big and have to buy new ones. Neither of these require the cases to be opened or the engine to be removed from the bike. I would also have to add a SERT and heavier clutch (about $550) as I already have exhaust and an SE A/C (not installed). About $1000 for the HD dealerto install everything and tune. If you are handy, have a service manual and the tools, you could put it together yourself. Either kitshould make over 115 TQ and 105 HP and that's enough for me. www.head-quarters.com Check them out. They are really patient on the phone and will answer all your questions. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Thanks for all your replys.

I have been looking at HeadQuaters and Zippers, for the packages. Can I use a PCIII for one of these custom builds?

 

There are several shops boring stock cylinders to 107" now. GMR being one of them. I heard AMS was doing it also.

 

I have read that Hillside Cycles is doing it. The AMS package takes an 88 to a 96". Kdietz just built his with the AMS kit.

I think I'd stick w/95" or 103" when boring stock jugs. If ya want 98 / 107, then go for the RevPerf nikasil jugs (the ones HQ & GMR use).

...but that's just me.