[DirtyD]

Okay, I want more, but dont want to mess with the big bore kits. Has anybody just done cam and head work? Where and how? I know Thunder will port and polish, but what about cams for the stock displacement 1600?

 

[DreamStreak]

What have you done so far? You can call a company called "Webcams". They have a few grinds for these engines and might be able to give you a decent grind that will work without raising the compression. The additional bore size doesn't make that much difference, but the added compression allows for a more aggressive cam to be used without suffering as much loss of low end torque.

 

[j-ball]

DirtyD...I'd first do the big 3 upgrade...pipes, intake, and pcIII. Once tuned properly, it feels like you are riding a different bike. The stock intake is very restrictive and the factory fuel setting is fairly lean thanks to the epa...

 

[DirtyD]

Got the pipes and PCIII, intake will be after the Holidays (promised the wife no more mods till then). I am sure the factory air set up sucks from what I saw after pulling the tank and poking around, but is the intake going to make that much difference? I am getting pulled hard by my buddy's 88ci Harley with pipes, cams and hypercharger.... That shouldnt be happening!

 

[streak07]

Try the intake first before you spend big bucks and pull the motor, its a night and day difference. 10-12hp may not seam like a lot but you're starting out at about 60ish rear wheel horsepower. 11hp in a 60hp motor is a bump of 18.3%. a huge difference you can feel.

Our major restriction is the intake tubing, remove it and there's a big difference.

 

[j-ball]

Without an intake or the caddman mod, the motor can't let anymore air in than if you was running w/o the pcIII. The pipes let the engine breath out the air that goes in more easily. Without anymore air, you can only tune it slightly richer than stock setting. Air/fuel ratio must be about the same. More air plus more fuel means bigger combustion (more power). The best tune is on a dyno to actually see what the engine is doing. Like I said earlier, once you do the complete big 3 and get it dyno tuned, you will think you are riding a different bike.

By the way, i'll be down your way in the next day or so if you want to line up and see the difference, lol.

 

[DirtyD]

j-ball, shoot me a text when you are down this way, I wouldnt mind having an idea....

 

[DreamStreak]

Got the pipes and PCIII, intake will be after the Holidays (promised the wife no more mods till then). I am sure the factory air set up sucks from what I saw after pulling the tank and poking around, but is the intake going to make that much difference? I am getting pulled hard by my buddy's 88ci Harley with pipes, cams and hypercharger.... That shouldnt be happening!

When I first bought my bike, my bud had a 88ci fatboy. As they sat stock, the meanie would barely pull ahead of him. He did the air kit, pipes, and rejet of the carb at the same time I did the big 3. That weekend, we went to a bike show on the other side of town and decided to line 'em up to see the difference. I kicked his @ss no problem...it was a huge difference. After that he upgraded the cams and after changing cams the bikes were almost identical in acceleration, but after about 70mph, he would slowly pull away from me.

 

[uechi kid]

I thought I read somewhere that when you buy a big bore kit from thunder for the Meanie they suggest you keep using the stock cams because they already have more lift.
I'd do a stage one upgrade first.

 

[troop]

I thought I read somewhere that when you buy a big bore kit from thunder for the Meanie they suggest you keep using the stock cams because they already have more lift.
I'd do a stage one upgrade first.

Probably the stock 1500 cams...

 

[billybobby]

I thought I read somewhere that when you buy a big bore kit from thunder for the Meanie they suggest you keep using the stock cams because they already have more lift.

That sounds like Muzzy's bad advice. I think DreamStreak went thru this. Thunder sells the WebCam grind as part of their big bore "kit". The 1600 MeanStreak cam is the same cam a 1600 Classic or Nomad has. It has no place in a "performance" motor. Like Troop referred to, the 1500 MeanStreak cam would make a nice "drop in" for a 1600. It has more duration, shorter lobe seperation, should gain 5+ hp and make a nicer, more free revving motor while being compatable with stock compression.

 

[DirtyD]

So for a relatively "cheap" upgrade, after the intake, I should look for a set of the 1500 cams?

 

[billybobby]

So for a relatively "cheap" upgrade, after the intake, I should look for a set of the 1500 cams?

I'd go with 1500 MeanStreak cams in the 1600. The cams MUST be for a 1500 MeanStreak, not "any" 1500. I think a 1600 with intake, PCIII (or other) and 1500 cams would be a nice upgrade and an "un-fussy" package. The 1500's are a much nicer more free revving motor.

 

[DreamStreak]

I thought I read somewhere that when you buy a big bore kit from thunder for the Meanie they suggest you keep using the stock cams because they already have more lift.
I'd do a stage one upgrade first.

That was Muzzy's kit and I did that already. It isn't a bad set up, but you end up with killer low end torque and not enough upper rpm power. Changing the cams made the peak torque go up about 800rpm's and gave a much nicer/flatter torque curve over the entire rpm band. Also, lift doesn't mean much when talking about how a cam will perform. Valve timing is the most important spec and duration (time in crankshaft degrees that a valve stays open) is the next most important. Long story short, you can have 2 cams with the same lift, duration, and lobe separation and they will act differently from how smooth or rough it idles to making different peak power numbers at different rpm, etc.