Topic: Megacycle no longer selling billet cams for old Hondas

[scondon]

   Title says it all. I called megacycle to order up a 125/75 cam and was informed that they no longer supply the billet cams for SOHC Honda. You can still supply a stock cam and they will hardweld the profile you want, just can't order off the shelf anymore. Pooh! anyone sitting on a 125/75 they want to get rid of

    Company is across the bay from me but still cheaper for me to go through Dynoman to get one welded up, and that's quite a detour.

[sparty]

Damn Megacycle.  Does Dynoman have any in stock?  Give Buzz a call.

I guess that means WebCam will sell more cams. 

Art

[scondon]

Damn Megacycle.  Does Dynoman have any in stock?  Give Buzz a call.

I guess that means WebCam will sell more cams. 

Art

   Sent Buzz an email   When I talked to the woman at Megacycle she said that the billet supplier now only sells in lots of 500 and that was too many for the amount of cams that they sell for the 750's. Sounds like it was more a problem with their supplier rather than a decision to stop producing as Megacycle is aware of the regrowth in the CB popularity.

   The cost of the hardweld is more than the billet. However, the woman I spoke with says that the stock Honda cam is of better material than the billets and therefore less likely to break at the sprocket or elsewhere. She assured me that the hardweld was of good quality and that if an engine were to run dry of oil that the rocker chrome and tower bearings might get trashed but that the cam would likely be salvagable or reused.

    I have no knowledge or opinion either way, just passing on info

[goon 1492]

that's pretty interesting to know about the old cams, good info to remember as things get more scarce

[scondon]

  Just got an email from Buzz. Seems that Webcam is out of billets for another month, so once the shelf supplies are used up it will be slim pickings for a while until they get more. Buzz says his "Dynoman" cams are the old RC profiles that Dynoman now has the masters/rights? to. Profiles are RC-295 and RC-315. Anyone run one of these back in the day who would like to comment on it?

  I gotta make a choice whether to spend $360 on a hardweld Megacycle 125/75 or get a Webcam 63b-c or Dynoman cam for $140 less.

[dakeddie]

Sean, you might want to ask around at you local cam grinders.  It turns out there is a local shop to me called Shadbolt Cams and they have a file on the megacycle profiles.  I could've dropped off my old cam and got a megacycle whatever for just a little more than the Webcam from Dynoman.

[Sam Green Racing]

I'm not 100% sure but I think Jay from APE mentioned this a while back, sad days ahead

Sam.

[Big Jay]

First off, welded cams are superior to billets. Especially in rocker arm applications. In the GS Suzukis when we do big lifts drag race applications that require a lot of spring pressure, we only do welded. Billets won't stand up.

So if you have a welded cam done, you are not having to settle for less, you are just paying more money.
As for the welding, I can only vouch for Web and Megacycle.

The billet manufacturer won't start production without a lot of pre orders. I used to get KZ Kawasaki billets from them, and sometimes they would be on back order for 8 or 9 months, waiting for others to get enough orders in that they would do a production run.

Jay

[scondon]

 Thanks for chiming in Big Jay. I'll be sending a crank your way shortly and will be calling to get info on turnaround estimate. I've settled on the 125/75 hard weld and am currently calling around to find someone local that has a trade account with Megacycle since it would cost a bit more for me to order direct. I'll ask whoever answers the phone at APE what you guys would charge to handle the order

[754]

I think APE had Honda 750 cams at lower prices than you guys are mentioning.

Think about this, if the raw cams were 20 ea x 500, that is  10 K, before you even grind them, let alone have any money returning.. this  should not be hard to understand.

If in fact they are doing the old RC profiles, and you ran with anything near the combination I used, I doubt you would ever worry about Megacycle again.

Check APE,s price .. it the only manufacter, I see coming on here to give us advice..

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Do I smell a group buy here? 125/75. I'm good for 1 depending on the discount.

Can we get info to compare the RC profiles to 125/75? If we have to have them "made" by hard weld then why can't they be made to order?!

[754]

RC 295   Intake 51-71... Exh 71-51 Intake lift .345 Ex .345

RC 315   Intake 55-85... Exh 85-55 Intake lift .375 Ex .375

Running clearance, 295  .014 cold, 315  .012 cold

[lordmoonpie]

I'd head the view that welded regrinds are better than billet but havne't got a good metallurgical source to prove that hearsay. Problme with Megacycle welds on original cams is that they take so long to turn around. Eleven months for mine....

[KB02]

Is it all profiles for the SOHC their supplier dropped? That stinks. I was planning on getting one, too, but no the 125-75. I was looking at the 125-05 (mild, but still better than stock).

Hey Mike, another e-mail about Cam's may be coming your way.   

[MRieck]

Is it all profiles for the SOHC their supplier dropped? That stinks. I was planning on getting one, too, but no the 125-75. I was looking at the 125-05 (mild, but still better than stock).

Hey Mike, another e-mail about Cam's may be coming your way.   

I'm sure Megacycle has some billets in stock....just not the more popular ones like the 125-65 or 75. If I remember correctly the 125-05 can be a regrind too Bob.

[MRieck]

RC 295   Intake 51-71... Exh 71-51 Intake lift .345 Ex .345

RC 315   Intake 55-85... Exh 85-55 Intake lift .375 Ex .375

Running clearance, 295  .014 cold, 315  .012 cold

You have to subtract .014 off the lifts of 295 and .012 off the 315 secondary to that valve lash. Duration falls too.

[754]

That would depend though, if lift is measured off the cam or at the valve.

There should be quite a few used cams around, they sure made a lot of them..

[Big Jay]

Is it all profiles for the SOHC their supplier dropped?   

The raw billets are a finished cam with unfinished lobes. So for each make, the billet maker only makes one part number.

We sell only Webs  We are not a Megacycle distributor. http://cbrzone.com/cams.html

Jay

[scondon]

 Just called down and got the info Big Jay. Looks like one of the Webcams you offer is the 63b grind which is my choice after the 125/75. By the time I get my crank in the mail I'll have figured out which cam I'll go with. Can you tell me what the other Webcam grind you offer is? (Sorry I forgot to ask while on the phone )

  Nice price on the Webcam, BTW

[KB02]

Is it all profiles for the SOHC their supplier dropped? That stinks. I was planning on getting one, too, but no the 125-75. I was looking at the 125-05 (mild, but still better than stock).

Hey Mike, another e-mail about Cam's may be coming your way.   

Just got off the phone with Megacycle. It is all profiles that were dropped in the billet. She sounded as if she was very practiced at the explaination for why they were dropped, though. 

[Big Jay]

Web has a production run of  billets on the way. They will have cams for a long time to come.

[KB02]

Woo Hoo!!

[754]

Just a thought..
In these days of electronic tachs, maybe it would cut costs if there was no tach drive gear being cut on the blanks.

[Big Jay]

Just a thought..
In these days of electronic tachs, maybe it would cut costs if there was no tach drive gear being cut on the blanks.

Doubt it. The CNC probably does that in 10 seconds.

Jay

[RRRToolSolutions]

I know this is not related, but I just wonder who has ran the 125-65 versus the 125-75 in exactly the same set-up.

When deciding which components to buy/match/use, I asked my head porter for recommendations. Since I'd established that I wanted a "great" street bike. Not a 1/4 mile burner, but one I could pull off of corners with and still have pull at 8,000 rpm (stock rods at the time). What came out was a 125-65 because it would pull strong from 3,000 rpm up to well past the redline with his porting work. He hit the nail on the head.

I do have to wonder though how much I'd have lost on the bottom and gained on the top with the selection of the 125-75. His point to me was that I'd spend less than 2% of my time up at the redline and above, but 98% of my time everywhere below that.

I'd still like to know.

Gordon

[scondon]

  I'll let you know in a few months Gordon. Replacing my "65" with a "75" using same carbs and only 14cc bump(850 instead of 836). Once I get that together I'm going to put the "65" cam in my other bike and take out the "63a". Both bikes will have damn near the same set-up for a decent side by side comparison(Once I get another rack of CR's ).

[754]

Jay,
if you know of a machine that will index and cut the tooth, over 20 times in 10 seconds, can you share the make and model?

..off to count the teeth..



I counted.. looks like 13 teeth.. I was thinking that they machine journals, sprocket shoulder, tach gear, before they sell the blanks to the grinders.. and if it made a significant difference in price it may make it more viable..  but it sounds like supply is in place again..

[sparty]

I know this is not related, but I just wonder who has ran the 125-65 versus the 125-75 in exactly the same set-up.

When deciding which components to buy/match/use, I asked my head porter for recommendations. Since I'd established that I wanted a "great" street bike. Not a 1/4 mile burner, but one I could pull off of corners with and still have pull at 8,000 rpm (stock rods at the time). What came out was a 125-65 because it would pull strong from 3,000 rpm up to well past the redline with his porting work. He hit the nail on the head.

I do have to wonder though how much I'd have lost on the bottom and gained on the top with the selection of the 125-75. His point to me was that I'd spend less than 2% of my time up at the redline and above, but 98% of my time everywhere below that.

I'd still like to know.

Gordon

Gordon,

As you know, I am running the 125-75 cam.  From what I can tell, the 75 is still very streetable.  The power is great in the mid-range - where you will be riding most of the time.  But, the 75 has the added bonus of getting better up top.  I pondered the 65, but the 75 seemed like the better choice at the time.  I am happy to say, it was.  Besides, these engines love to sing fast.

Art

[KB02]

For my personal riding style, I prefer better power on the bottom end (I'm used to thew torque of a V-Twin).