The head I have has already been ported and polished, so I don't think I need a spare head (at least I don't think so!).
The camshafts that I got were $98 including shipping. Set of rockers was $70 including shipping.
To Camshaft or Not to Camshaft....The problem with more extreme cams are that they alter the characteristics of what is a very nice road motor. For me the beneficial mods are big bore kit, bigger valves to cater for the additional gas flow and gas flowing of the head. The question then for me is not whether to put in hotter cams but whether to put on bigger carbs. Keeping the smaller carbs gives a motor with much better torque characteristics but which is little faster at the top end (but does that matter?), putting on bigger carbs gives the best of all worlds. Early CB750 carbs are supposedly ideal but Mikuni VM carbs are also excellent but I feel the VM30 often quoted is way oversized. Getting a right and left carb is also a fairly costly business over and above the cost of the available LH carb or at least here in the UK. The best mod for me was to eliminate the major fault in the original design and put in a 5-speed Nova box, the standard box is awful.
I tried the VM26's several years ago, and they didn't work. Even had custom-machined mounts made for them. Problem is that those carbs are not meant to be bolted directly to the head (there needs to be more room for the gas to 'atomise'), and you can't move them further away from the head without them interfering with the petcock or the stock tank. Now, if I were to have gone with an aftermarket tank of some kind, or if I wanted to move the petcock, they might have worked. But my mechanics tried to get them to work every which way but Sunday, and they just didn't click. The Amal 626's that I currently have on my bike have been working great for about 8 years now, and I couldn't be happier with them. So they aren't going anywhere.
I spoke with the Megacycle guys at length about what I had already done to the engine (358 kit, valve springs, titanium keepers, ported and polish the head, Amal carbs etc etc), the profiles they offered, my intended purpose (strictly road) and what was their recommendation. They suggested the 'scrambler' profile, so I'll likely go down that road. This is looking like it's going to be a winter project, so we'll see how it goes! You're right, the 5-speed NOVA box is a real treat, and I'm glad I made the move. True, you do lose the kickstart assembly, but so far it hasn't been a bother. If anything, it's allowed my right foot to move around a bit more! Vince, thanks for the info on the Amal carbs, I'll follow up on that for my bikes. A couple of places, at least in the UK, also do big valve kits; did you ever look at that? Keep in touch on the cams.
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