Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Performance Mods Zmilins build *finally started*

Carlos says "The 813 cams will add 5-6 HP , 2-3 TQ to the wheel"

is it worth?

I heard today that as soon as my igniter gets back from TriumphTwinPower that my stuff will ship.

and

still waiting... patiently... waiting... waiting... waiting... OMG... HURRY UP!

"Assuming" you get her all put back together by then, we'll have to do a comparison with Woody (904, yada, yada, 70+ HP) on the SWTF jaunt.
That is also "assuming" you, I, we make the trip.
Good luck on your build-up.

Your 904 will still kick my butt. The only reason Id get ahead of you is cause I tend to be heavy on the throttle anyway (riding with the Montana boys in Canada will do that to you).
When I get the 994 and headwork thats another story then.

carbs, came and igniter will ship on Friday

Allright! now I'm lookim forward to Nelson.

I had my local dealer install the TPUSA cams and ignitor on my 2007 BA last spring. I went from 50 HP with pipes and airbox mods to 60 HP with the cam and igniter installed.

The dyno graph looks basically the same up until about 5,000 - 5,500 rpm, where the stock cam flatten out and the TPUSA cam keeps going all the way to 60 HP. The higher rev limit is important since you are only making the extra power above 5,000 rpm, so the more room you have on the tach to enjoy those extra hosrese is important. Definitely a big improvement over stock.

A couple months later, my ignitor started crapping out and I replace it with a Pro-comm on map 6. So far it still feels pretty strong, but perhaps the re-programed ignitor was slightly better. To bad they use reprogrammed stock units which are affected by engine heat on our machines.

Got the goods... too bad there was extra stuff in there and they may not be all MY goods. :bang head:

Igniter is mine... Its the same one that came off my bike.
Cams are probably mine as my name is printed on the side of the box.
Carbs could be mine but I need to make sure they are jetted right before I bolt em up.
The pistons, rings, gaskets and clutch springs are definitely not mine.

Check your VISA statement.

I did... they are not my pistons

GOOD NEWS!!!

The pistons were for the 865 HC (high compression) kit TPUSA makes.
They made it in the box by mistake at the last minute so all is good.
I got the carbs on... a bit of a pain in the arse but once I got it figured out its not that big a deal.

I got the cams in and am half way through the valve shim measurements. Time for dinner now and a rest. Ill get the rest in tomorrow and will be able to get some shims AND if its not raining maybe fire her up and take the maiden voyage.

Heres a pic of what showed up today

Well... things may have gone wrong this evening. I don't want to admit it but its a very high possibility that I may have bent a couple valves.
When I removed the cams I aligned the marks so I could pop them back in the same way. At least that was the plan.
The bike hadn't moved in weeks except for side to side while it was on the jack.
I got my cams ready to go and noticed the "TOP" on drive gear was not on top so I spun the rear wheel to get it on top. Marks aligned, cams went in and I started checking valve clearances. Well... I got to a point where I couldn't spin it by the rear wheel anymore so I let the bike off the jack, put it in gear and rocked it a few times. Each time hearing the tap of what I now think was the piston on the valve. Back it up, put it in gear and push it again. I was thinking it was just being stubborn until that sinking feeling came over me and I had realized what I had done.
After a raging river if expletives flowed out of my mouth and I took a break, I went back down, spun it 180 degrees, reinstalled cams, got free movement all the way and measured.
Wouldn't you know it... the last set of valves I measured were waaaay out compared to the rest. Most were between .299 and .381. Two exhaust valves were 1.499 and .889.
Either that cam got ground hard on that one set of valves or I bent them and they are not closing completely.

So now... I guess I cross my fingers, get the proper shims and do a compression check.

Oh boy...
As expected exhaust valves are bent and since I was this deep into it I decided to keep the high compression pistons. I wish I had the funds for the 994 right now but I don't.
So all my grand ideas of step by step build and reports on performance gains has pretty much gone out the window.

Im packing up my head and sending it to TPUSA later today for a Stage 1 job plus exhaust valve repair. In a stage 1 the exhaust valves stay the OE size. This will provide me some gains but I won't be taking full advantage of the work until next year when I get that 994 in there. The head is off and the bike is down no matter what so I may as well get it done now.

When all is said and done I will have FCR39s, 813 cams, headwork and higher compression pistons.

I still feel like someone kicked me in the gut and can't believe my stupid mistake! Goes to show... patience would have saved me a lot of time and money. Im sure Ill be smiling ear to ear when all is done though.

Thanks for the update Z. Feel for yah on the bent valves. How long before the head is back?

Heres some pics for ya...

Current state of affairs


I should NOT see light ... but I do...


Getting ready for shipping to TPUSA...


Just a side by side of old vs new

That sucks Z. My bike is still going back together little by little, whenever I can find time to work on it. I took the stator cover off and turned the crank by hand, this way I can make sure all the marks line up. I turned it about four revolutions, so far so good. Hopefully I won't have any surprises waiting for me when I fire it up. Silver lining is that you get to do the head work now, even though it was money you probably weren't planning to spend. Good luck going forward.

That looks all too familiar, except the engine is black instead of silver.

looking at your picture of the high comp piston -
I would like to suggest that while you are at this point (waiting on the head) before installing the pistons you might want to break the sharp edges of the domes and valve cut outs, this will help prevent hot spots later on.

I appreciate the tip but I have to think that TPUSA has done their homework on these. Last thing I need is to fubar something else.

+1 what Mag10 said. Just get an "x-acto" knife and run it along the edges of the dome and valve pockets, its part of the "engine build" not part of the "piston manufacturing". Don't cut into it, just scrape it, IE: keep the blade perpendicular to the edge. If you have your ignition advanced, and the higher comp. ratio, pre-ignition (pinging) could be a problem, especially if you get some bad gas.

Sorry to hear Z! I'm not a very patient person myself so I feel your pain. I've done a lot stupid things rushing stuff cause I'm pumped about it. Good news is you'll have an awesome running motor soon.

Oh that sucks Z,really sucks.those beefy,shiney new pistons do look good tho,look at the bright side tho,yer getting your head done.

I wish I had done the 865 high compression kit when I had the cam replaced but I was trying to keep th total cost down. So I think it will all work out for you despite having to spend more money thay you originally planned. Once you get it all back together I think it's gonna be a pretty strong motor. If you later decide to go big bore, it will be stronger still.

I'm still real happy with the 813 cams, exactly what the 865 motors need to produce good power.

Got news today that my cylinder head will be on its way back to me on Tuesday... this makes Z a happy man! Ill be putting together my motor at the end of the week and hopefully breaking it in over the weekend.

Hopefully next weekend will be as great (weather wise) as this one is. Had a great ride today and looking forward to another tomorrow!
Good luck Z and hope to see you & Karen out riding somewhere soon !

Head arrived today...
33mm intake (+2), 26mm exhaust (OE size as recommended by TPUSA for my ultimate goal).


Port matched intakes


More air in


More used air out

Jugs are on. TPUSA High Compression pistons are in.
Lesson learned here... make sure your rods are in the highest possible position.


Head is on.


Cam chain is on, crank and cam drive gear are aligned, everything rotates freely with no interference from pesky valves this time


Carbs (FCR 39mm) are on, filters are on, engine mounts on, oil lines are connected, and everything is toured to spec.
These carbs are not easy to get on. The OEM cables needed to be bent for clearance as they are much higher now. Its not shaping back like it should so Ill investigate more later and maybe need to order new cables.
Tip for getting them on....
Mount the intake manifolds to the head first.
Get the carbs in place and everything connected.
Then get the rubber boots on starting with the interior bolts (snug), rotating the rubber boot and get those bolts in tight, then go back and tighten the other bolt. I use low clearance bits and 1/4 open end for this.


The motor spins freely and its time to do valve calculations so I can get down to the shop tomorrow morning and get some shims.
I used the shims I had previously calculated (except for the bent valve locations) and they are now too tight. Im going to need to go back, pull the cams and use the thinnest shims I have on hand in hopes of getting some clearance. If not its going to be a back and forth kind of day tomorrow between home and the Triumph shop.

Looking great Z. Love the pics. Did you have any issues with the cam chain tensioner?

Did the intake manifolds come with the carbs? If you use them can you still use the air box with the FCRs or do you need to switch to pods?

Lookin' REALLY good there, Z!

And, I especially love the look of those carbs!

(...can't wait to hear how you like the finished product...ya think you'll have that baby on the road in a few days?)

Just great, Z! As usual your attention to detail is impeccable. Thanks for taking us with you on this rather ambitious undertaking. Can hardly wait to hear about how she purrs after the build!