I'm in the process of doing my winter work on my bike. It's a 1972 FL Shriners bike with ElectraGlide tanks and fenders. Last winters project was getting it running. Install afore mentioned tank and fenders. Installing fresh wiring harness. Locating at my old friend's house the trim parts to reinstall and installing same. Rebuilding the S&S E series carb. That's pretty much it and rode it during the spring and summer working the bugs out of it. Looking for a little more low and mid-range grunt while still maintaining the same stock appearance. When my friend still owned the MC he wanted to get my advice on how to go about restoring it. I told him the normal standard stuff, get a factory shop manual and set up his work area. Before he had it rebuilt it was knocking pretty bad. The shop that did the work for him replaced the crank pin and rods, lower bearings, worn cam with an Address A grind and new advance weights and springs, new pistons and rings. The bore is still stock at 3.4375. Looking at a set of S&S heads that I can get at a real good price. The stock heads have got a few chips on the intake ports. Heli coils in the spark plug threads that will have to be contended with. They are in bad shape

I'm looking for thoughts and advice on how I can get the most bang for my buck and still bump up the low and mid-range without sacrificing reliability and streetablity. I've got a Sifton 101 Crusier cam to replace the A grind cam with. The 101 was formally the Sifton 55Q that was designed for the Cal. State Police for low end torque when pulling from behind bill boards to catch speeders. It's also Panhead technology so it's kinda dated. Thought about the Leiweber L3S cam but the lobes are almost square on that cam and from what I've read it tends to be a hard starting cam. Also read that it's noisy. I know welding and porting the stock shovelhead ports is best for streetable performance but to get that done right will cost more than getting the S&S Superstock heads I'm looking at. Thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

Don't waste your time or money on the S&S heads. Sounds like they need some work to boot... Just get a good valve job and maybe shave the heads a little too bring the comp up a tad. My builder just recently talked me into an Andrews 2 cam for my 77 FXE 74"er. I was very surprised at how it performed. The Andrews 2 cam is really a great street cam with a 35* intake close and .490" lift it performed very well without having to push the motor build....

 

Don't waste your time or money on the S&S heads. Sounds like they need some work to boot... Just get a good valve job and maybe shave the heads a little too bring the comp up a tad. My builder just recently talked me into an Andrews 2 cam for my 77 FXE 74"er. I was very surprised at how it performed. The Andrews 2 cam is really a great street cam with a 35* intake close and .490" lift it performed very well without having to push the motor build.... Oh yea I also have a S&S E on it...

 

Best bang for the buck for a heavy bike in the range you are wanting is Vthunder series by Comp cams and a good set of hydraulic lifters. The SHV-4011 is a stump puller for a shovel, quiet and very user friendly but does need high lift valve springs. Will give you a fair bump up on the low end and mid range. SHV-4001 is a drop in no head work needed. I've had very good results using these cams in shovels for years. Ignore the website prices they can be had under $150

Bumping the compression a bit will help but that's pistons not shaving the heads, you don't want to go down that road with a shovel, valve kissing a piston or a rocker arm cracking the rocker box is a possibility and damn few builders out there anymore know how to build one like that.

Don't look for make you wide eyed gains with anything short of bigger inches, just the nature of a shovel fat bike.

http://www.compperformancegroupstore...ode=SVLHEADCAM

 

Best bang for the Buck is .... 2 Bikes...

On the Cam being "dated".... so is yer Shovelhead!!!
Why would what worked then, quit working now??

Maybe there is a "Stage2 Kit " out there someplace!!!!!

 

I appreciate the link. That 4011 sounds like a good cam. If I end up with those S&S heads there will be no lift problems and if I stroke it down the road they'll pretty much cover any cam I want to run. If I ever do stroke it I'm going with the TorqueMonster wheels fromT&O. The problem with the S&S heads is they are for a stock bore and not 3 5/8". Good for now but if I want to increase displacement with different jugs and wheels later I will have to modify as I go. Thanks again for link and input.

 

I have a Sifton 133 cam, Competition Cams adjustable pushrods, and Jim's big-axle hydraulic lifters. Very reliable combination so far.
I like the Custom Chrome separate oil feed lines to the rocker boxes also.
http://thumbs4.ebaystatic.com/d/l225...rhazjhetyQ.jpg

 

Got my bike sparked off last weekend. Ended up putting the Sifton 101 cam in her. Went ahead and bought the new, in the box S&S heads at real good price. Replaced the rocker arms with S&S roller rockers that are 1.5 ratio instead of the 1.43 stock ones that were also worn beyond refinishing. Also put S&S lifters in it and a DynaTech dual fire ignition. Tried to get a V-Thunder 4011 cam but was getting jerked around on the delivery date so I went with the cam I had in the shop. Put a little over 200 miles on her so far and I'm very satisfied with the way she runs. I was able to get a good seal on the intake manifold with the new heads so she not coughing while cruising and accelerating. Not really turned her on yet because I want to make sure the valve guides don't get galled up. I disassembled the heads and put assembly lube on the valve stems and they are definitally a slip fit and I don't want to press my luck. Rode her about 75 miles today and had to accelerate pretty hard into traffic and was impressed. Riding at interstate speeds, 75-80 mph for a short stretch and she seams to run a little smoother with less vibration. All and all I'm happy with the way she runs for the time being. Ready to put some serious miles on her this spring and summer. Thanks for the input and advice. Ride safe.

 

Yea getting into the range of 3500-4000 does smooth out these shovels... Glad to hear all is good... Ride safe man....