Andrews offers a two- or four-gear set for gear-driven cams.

S&S offers Super E and G Shorty Carburetor Kits. These kits are recommended for racing, and are not street-legal in California.

ast issue Wayne Hanson of Speed’s Performance mapped out a Stage I performance kit guaranteed to put smiles on faces. With years in the business, Wayne’s found how to deliver the most bang for the buck. “And the vast majority of customers,” he says, “want low-end power, the kind of grunt felt every time the throttle gets cracked.” Stage I got the ball rolling. Wayne dealt with changes to the air filter, exhaust system and crankcase ventilation, and on an otherwise-stock Twin Cam 88 the result was an honest 70 horsepower (59 is stock), and a torque number bumped up to 80 lbs./ft. (from the OE 70). Wayne takes things one step further for Stage II. All bolt-on, he switches cams, carburetor, bumps the compression and adjusts the ignition. Bottom line here? A consistent 80-plus horsepower to the rear wheel, with about 85 to 87 lbs./ft. torque. “And depending on what you start with,” Wayne says, “it can be even more. We just completed a Stage II kit that made 86 horsepower and 91 lbs./ft. torque. That customer loves us!”
     First, cams. What Wayne’s recommending here are streetable cams compatible with that Stage I package. The grind he’s found most acceptable for most riders is a set of .510-lift gear driven cams with a 240/240 duration and a 100- to 102-degree centerline. “It’s an aggressive set,” he says, “but still very streetable. It’s a good accelerating cam set.” Realize, though, that the cam grind recommended here assumes a stock displacement engine; that same set of cams in a high-compression 95-inch motor will likely cause pinging. We should talk a bit about the benefit of switching to gear-drive, too. Wayne’s found the stock chain-drive, especially the tensioners, to be a weak link. “It’s not uncommon,” he says, “to see tensioners with just 30,000 miles on them and they’re half shot.” When you’re changing cams anyway it makes sense to include a gear drive.
     A larger, and adjustable, carburetor is the next piece of this Stage II package, and this is where a lot of guys go wrong. Lots bigger isn’t lots better. For a stock-displacement motorcycle Wayne recommends nothing much larger than 42mm, stressing the importance of all-around adjustability in the carb’s design. When you’re able to fine-tune the idle mixture, the low speed, the accelerator pump, the mid-range and the main jet that carburetor can really be dialed in. You’ll get snappy performance, excellent rideability and even improved fuel mileage. And 42mm is plenty big enough for an 88-inch engine.
     And don’t overlook the ignition. Being able to adjust the initial timing and the advance curve can result in real performance gains, and there are a number of replacement ignition modules that allow this. Some are screw-driver adjustable, others offer the advantage of custom laptop programming. Either way, there’s seat-of-the-pants snap here. An adjustable ignition is a must.
     Finally, the ideal Stage II set-up would include a moderate compression bump, upping the ratio to approximately 9.6 or 9.7:1. This is just enough to enhance acceleration but not cause any overheating problems. Milling approximately .050 off the stock heads will do the trick.
     Follow this formula, Wayne’s found, and you’ll have a winner every time. More than that, you’ll have a happy customer who tells all his riding buddies. And don’t hesitate to drop by Speed’s Performance when Wayne Hanson and his crew are in your area. Next issue: Stage III, the Speed’s Performance recipe for an all-out 95 incher.

S&S Gear Drive Camshaft Kits eliminate timing chain lash and increase valve timing accuracy in 1999-2004 twin cam engines.