Doing an 883/1200 on the boys 2000.I got a set of 10:1 forged HD pistons.Going to use a stock set of 1200 heads that I have.(for now).I'm not sure what cams to use.What do you guys think?I ran a set of Andrews n4 in a bike I had but that was 10.5:1 with head work.We might do head work later but for now going with the stock heads.I know alot of you run SE cams.I never did.Need some opinions .Thanks

 

You can use the N4's, but in general, cams aren't going to buy you much in the way of performance without head work.

 

10:1 helps ya use a SE boltin .497 pretty good, it'll meet the limits of the 86-2003 valve spring of .500 with no worries of wearing out your valve springs like you would if you used a cam (typoed LOL) that has a lift higher than .500, if you used a cam (typoed again LOL!!) that has a lift higher than .500 your really increasing the odds your going to spit out a keeper.
i had them .497 in my buell 1200 motor i used to have they were awesome on that motor even as a stock buell 1200 but after i got headwork i was flying around like the dukes of hazzard.

 

+1, its best to do the head work while you have it open. Plus they can give you the best compression numbers working the heads at the same time. Best to only have to set the squish once too.

 

You can get various flavors of Screamin' Eagle cams for the Sportster engines, ranging from mild to wild.

They range from the lower lift/flowing .497 cams (.497 lift intake/exhaust), to the .536 lift, the .551 lift (also known as the "E" cams), and the .575 lift model.

The .497 and .536 lift Screamin' Eagle cams can be used with the stock pushrods. lifters and rockers without a problem. The higher lift/flowing .551 and .575 cams are 'bolt in' for 2004+ engines, but if used on 2003 and earlier engines you will need different springs and 00+ pinion gear.

I'm running the Screamin' Eagle "E" cam (.551 lift) in my 2005 1200C. This cam has the same grind as the cam used in the Buell XB model, and is known as a High Torque grind. Here is some information on the .551 "E" cam from the NRHS Webpage;

The new SE "E" grind is a terrific high-torque grind, relatively narrow with high lift and exceptional valvetrain dynamics. Note that this grind is a bolt-in for 2004 models but in 2003 and earlier models, better springs are required. Also note that it has a .050 smaller base circle than the 2003 and earlier grinds, consider this when calculating ideal pushrod length. This is the same cam grind (but not the same set of cams) that comes in new Buell XB models.

Power gains from these of any other cams will be modest at best without additional headwork. My Harley dealership friend does performance dyno tunes and has told me that the .551 lift "E" cams will give you an additional 8 to 10 horsepower to the rear wheel using stock heads, etc. Power increases to the rear wheel using stock heads and the .497 or .536 lift version would be slightly less.

Of course you can pull much higher horsepower gains with highly modified heads...

NRHS has dyno charts showing around 105 horsepower to the rear wheel in a 1250 engine using Screamin' Eagle .536 cams and highly modified Stage 3 heads.

Guess the bottom line is that cams themselves will give you a horsepower increase, but that horsepower increase will be much more if you polish and port the heads at the same time.

 

Can't go wrong with the Andrews N4 cams.......good all around cam.

 

I wouldn't change them at all without headwork, N4 or Se bolt in's basically steal 5HP from the bottom end and add it to the top end. But I guess that really depends on how you ride, bottom end performance or top end performance.

 

Made more power at 400$ price n took no mager motor Surgery. Try a set of100$ roller tip rocker out of the box the bearing retainers look un secure n the loose play is scare y lookn but im on stock cams .cost n return will blow ur mind.i think ur race to cams is not gonna benefit u .ur bike might fall on i ts face.other wise.

 

10 year old thread lol

 

Buy a used set of W grind cams from 04-06 that have the notch and thread for nosecone ignition. You can get them for $50.00 and they will give a nice increase in bottom end over the D grinds. Check out Pinwell on eBay. Those 10:1 pistons you bought are hopefully not conversion pistons. They won't work with 1200 heads. You need flat tops.