I'm throwing some $ and time at my 2004 1200R and now need to select cams. I'm trying to decide between the Andrews N2, N4 and maybe the N8.

Here's what I'm doing: 42mm Mikuni, freer flowing air filter, drilled baffles on the stock mufflers (may go to a 2:1 system), head work, higher compression (10.5) pistons, compression releases, Dyna Tech ignition module. I've done all this myself except the head work and fitting the pistons.

I don't want to lose the clean, dependable idle nor the ability to putter along in traffic when I have to.

What are your thoughts? Thanx!

Well Ive already been down the path your looking at. The cams in your 1200r are very similiar to the N2. The N4 moves the powerband up basically. So does the N8 but a little bit more agressively. To be quite honest I would highly consider the SE .551 cams. Killer torque curve across the board with great peak hp numbers. Its a STRONG PULLING cam right off idle. A noticeable difference over the N series cams(which I was dissapointed in)from Andrews. If you want to really get the move on, look at the Redshift 567v2 or 585v2 grinds. You can realistically get 125whp with these if you set your bike up right.

As for the carb, the Mikuni HSR42 is a perfect choice,crisp throttle response, air filter look at the hurricane unit from Nallin racing,go with a quality 2-1 exhaust or a good slip on, dont waste your time drilling holes in the pipes. With 10.5:1 pistons compression releases really arent needed on the Sporty. My wife runs em, no probs on the starter(plus the bike already cam with a high CR stock from the factory). The Daytona twin tec ignition is a great choice that she also runs. May also want to think about doing hydrosolid tappets(which will pick you up a few more hp)and roller rockers if you can fit em in your budget. Your valvetrain will be bullitproof.

For starters, IMO the 42 mikuni was an unecessary mod as was the Dyna tech ignition. The stock CV is more than capable to 100HP and ignition mods are way down on the list. As cams go, I always ask what the goal is. As mods go I ask the same question. Changing cams or doing mods for change sake isn't always the best decision. If you want all around performance throughout the power band, the stock HD cams can't be beat. If however, you want more bottom end punch, go one way. If you want more zip on the top end, you'll have to go the other. Either way, it's gonna cost you in mpg. It's all about planning.

Don't rely on My opinion only. It's just my 2 cents worth. Some others will soon post and give you even more input. .

For starters, IMO the 42 mikuni was an unecessary mod as was the Dyna tech ignition. The stock CV is more than capable to 100HP and ignition mods are way down on the list. As cams go, I always ask what the goal is. Yes the stock CV40 carb is plenty fine to 100hp. But the Mikuni will make a noticeable difference in throttle response and will improve hp at the top end of the powerband. The ignition on the other hand is better than anything thats offered from the SE catalogue. It has a great feature that allows your RPM to be fully adjustable(which I found came in handy on initial motor break-in period)along with the spark advance. The SE module allows the RPM band to be increased to 7000rpm, but also retards the spark curve. For people who may be running a larger bore(1250cc,1450cc etc)XL, being able to adjust the spark advance to compensate for the flame travel will be a plus and will allow the end user to pick up some extra ponies no doubt. Does it make the item a high priority? That all depends on what the end user is trying to accomplish. I picked up a few extra ponies on my SO's ride switching out the ignition, so to us it was a good item to help extract every last drop of performance out of her build.

Performance aside (which I really can't comment on yet), I found benefits to both the carb and the ignition changes. The carb does give a better feel, a quicker response to twisting the throttle, and --- if anything -- the idle is smoother (this may be a tuning issue). Likewise on the igntion module -- the idle is smoother. I noted that I was able to (indeed, had to) unscrew the idle stop screw quite a bit to lower the idle speed to where it was before the new ign. module. I think this means that the stock advance curve wasn't optimal, at least in the idle and low speed range.

So I've been happy with both changes. It may be that the stock CV carb will support ~100 hp., but there are things to consider beyond horsepower.

See here about the 551's. Without the proper head work and that lift you may be in for a similar problem.

http://www.xlforum.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1408

I am with leef. I changed from the c.v. which ran really well to a S&S and my bike picked up the oomph at the higher end of the range. I never felt like the fuel was a problem after the change the only problem I had then was keeping my eyes from tearing up and my cheecks from flapping way over 100 mph. Talk to Nallins and Zippers. They probably have known of customers with the same setup as you and can tell you exactly what to expect. They have been both doing this for a long time. The experts should not steer you wront in your choice. The nice part of the Red Shift is they reuse your stock cams which have had the gears carefully matched. No cam will be quieter.

Barry, Im not sure why your bring that post up on the SE .551 The guy nuked his train because he missed a shift a few times, which shows ABUSE on his part. That would have happened with ANY cam in reality. He shouldnt have been revving to 7000 to begin with without changing out a spring combo in his top end that is designed for that to begin with.

If you look at the specs for the SE .551 you will see its designed for torque down low and through the midrange in the powerband. Its a short duration, low overlap cam with a moderate lift. And is a direct bolt-in application and works excellent with a stock valvetrain, but in using a stock valvetrain, you should also be aware that it is not meant for high rpm revs.

If Turbota had an adjustable ignition installed, he should have had the RPM cutoff around 5800-6000 TOPS with the stock valve setup. But in reality it was poor planning on his part. Verdict says: USER ERROR.

Because he used all SE recommended parts and still smoked something.

How do you say it's user abuse? He put in a SE module and SE BOLT IN CAMS and it still ruined something. I do not call that user abuse. The SE cams do not recommend clearancing or new springs. If 7000rpm's is bad then SE should not have a 7K limit module.

He asked for opinions and I gave him mine.

I'm sure Turbota will chime in on this.

Yes, it IS user abuse. Did he change out his valve springs and retainers? No. You dont rev. a stock sporty valvetrain to 7000rpm. Just because he put in a "recommended" SE ingnition and cam shaft doesnt mean his bike is ready to Rev. to over 6000rpm's. Any compentent tech would have told him that from the beginning.

The 04' and later stock beehive spring kit is in reality good for about 5800 rpms reliably and will work with a lift of about .550(The SE .551 will work fine with them).But SE makes a beehive spring kit that allows the bike to revved reliably to 7000rpms and increases the lift to about .575. The part # is 18013-03. Personally I dont like the SE spring kit or the 7mm valves they use. I personally replaced them with a heavy duty set of SS valves that use 10mm stems and a quality aftermarket set of high lift springs and retainers that are good for .600 lift.

Well, I needed more than the 5,800 rev limit that the stock module has in order to get the engine up to the top of the HP curve with the SE cams (which is approx 6,300).

In a perfect world, I would like to have purchased this SE module with a 6,500 rev limiter. That would be 200 rpm above the WOT shift point ... But, I have a module with a 7,000 limit. I tagged it twice since I missed the 1st to 2nd shift twice. Hell, if the limiter would have been set to 8,000, I would have tagged that too. I suppose you could call that "unintentional abuse" on my part. These SE ignition modules really should be user adjustable if you ask me, but I didn't design them.

I would bet that I would [not] have damaged anything it had been intentionally reved to 7K with a load on the motor .... But missing a shift, the motor revs so fast and so high that the stock valves springs could not remain stable. Basically I reved it to wide open throttle in neutral ... And I would bet that the motor went past 7K. I don't think the rev limiter can stop it dead on 7K if quickly reved to wide open throttle in neutral. I would bet it would go at least a couple hundred revs past the limit before stabilizing at 7K.

Anyway, that's water under the bridge ... The valvetrain going into the heads now will accept up to a .600" cam and will keep the seat pressure on the valves at approx 155 lbs [I]vs the stock 115-120 lbs seat pressure.

Missing a gear at full throttle may/can lead to lots of failures! That ain't going to happen again!

Ron,

155lbs? Thats way light for a .600 lift spring. Should be around the 200lb. mark. I believe mine are around 230lbs.

Also if your going to have those heads sent out, make sure they get rid of the beehive springs all together and the stock 7mm valves themselves should be replace with 10mm stems and the guides to match. Will make for a bullitproof top end, and seeing as you seem to like to romp on your bike, it would be a smart idea. Check the pic of my 1200r heads on the other page.

Also when putting your motor back together you should check cam gear lash, and cam gear end play. After looking over your install post, its apparent that these tolerances were not checked on your original install. Good chance it could be part of the reason why your cams are "noisy".

Your heads look good. I am getting Nallin to do the Stage 2 conversion. Maybe I was wrong in stating the springs will have a 155 lbs seat pressure.

Anyway, it's getting the standard Nallin Stage 2 work. I believe the springs are a 3 piece.

Actually, I think that beehive design stock spring is not too bad. I know GM now uses this design in there LS1 and LS6 Corvette aluminum engines. Comp Cams also sells a replacement of the beehive springs for the LS1/LS6 ... It's also a beehive design.

My heads are a Stage 3 setup done by Brian Nallin at Revolution Performance. I believe that Nallin racing uses 10mm stems on their stage 2, but I would call to make sure they do, if they dont make sure you ask for it.