Andrews Cams

Here is a pic of my andrews exhaust cam sitting beside a stock cam.

These are 3X cams.(i got a magnifing glass to make sure)
I so not have shim under bucket.

I finally got them installed and buttoned the engine up. I need to install the exhaust and do some electrical work but that is in another discussion. Roy

That one was a bit fuzzy.

Back in the day we had customers spit the shims with 3Xs and shim on top If you have the valve cover off, watch the shim as you turn the motor over. It will probably raise up out of the tappet opposite of the cam lobe. This is because the lobe id pushing the shim down into the groove on top of the tappet.

Should be used with shim under. set up.

APE Jay wrote:

Back in the day we had customers spit the shims with 3Xs and shim on top If you have the valve cover off, watch the shim as you turn the motor over. It will probably raise up out of the tappet opposite of the cam lobe. This is because the lobe id pushing the shim down into the groove on top of the tappet.

Should be used with shim under. set up.

Yes, I saw that happen on more than one occasion. There's a fix for top shim buckets to allow them to be run with cams like that.

The groove in the bucket can be filled up and then machined down flush with the surface. That works very well and keeps the handy shim on top setup.I don't know who does that anymore though.

Here's something else to keep in mind if you go shim under with those cams.

Aftermarket buckets are much thicker than OEM Kaw buckets. You may run into an issue where you cannot get valve clearance after you install the aftermarket buckets. So, while the head is off for the S.O.B. retainer installation, it's advised to check things out closely.

What you can do without any special tools is install the valves on one side of the motor at a time with light springs and use the S.O.B retainers.

Support the head up off it's surface and allow room for the valves to open.

Install the thinnest shims you have. Install S.O.B. buckets and then install the cam for that side of the head. Check your valve clearances and see what you have to work with.

Repeat for the other side of the head. DO NOT INSTALL BOTH CAMS AT THE SAME TIME.

If you run into a problem where you're going to be down in the 220 shim range or below, the valves can usually be tipped to provide additional clearance. If you tip them, leave at least .5mm of stem above the keepers when they are installed and pulled tight with a retainer.

You have to watch that you don't get the bucket contacting the retainer instead of the shim. Some magic marker helps to see what's happening.

Also install the retainer on the valve with keepers. Put in a 200 shim and see if it's at least flush with the top of the retainer. Retainers can be shortened somewhat to make things work.

I have a dial indicator setup that I use to set all the valve installed heights to within .002" of each other. When the head goes together the shim sizes are all really close. It really depends on how the cam base circles are running to spec. I have had things work where every valve is within 2 shim sizes.

Larry C

WoW, I've run this setup for four years before i parked the bike.
Learn something every day. Roy

roy-b-boy-b wrote:

WoW, I've run this setup for four years before i parked the bike.
Learn something every day. Roy

we all do roy.......right hoghater?.....roy good luck on your build....keith

larrycavan wrote:

APE Jay wrote:

Back in the day we had customers spit the shims with 3Xs and shim on top If you have the valve cover off, watch the shim as you turn the motor over. It will probably raise up out of the tappet opposite of the cam lobe. This is because the lobe id pushing the shim down into the groove on top of the tappet.

Should be used with shim under. set up.

Yes, I saw that happen on more than one occasion. There's a fix for top shim buckets to allow them to be run with cams like that.

The groove in the bucket can be filled up and then machined down flush with the surface. That works very well and keeps the handy shim on top setup.I don't know who does that anymore though.


Larry C

We used to silver solder the grooves in the buckets then remachine them to get rid of the groove. It was very tricky to do and not distort the bucket skirt.

When i gought this bike i didn't even know what cams were in it. It was a drag bike from the St. Louis area that i traded for.
The bike leaked oil in the base gasket area and i carred it to get it rebuilt and the mechanic asked me what i wanted. I told him i would like big cams and big pistons but couldn't afford it.
He called a week later and told me there was good news and bad news. The good news was the engine had big pistons and big cams. The bad news was the PO didn't gap the rings properly and ate the cylinder wall up. He could not ID the pistons so i bought new.
He had one of those big legal pads with a page and a half of parts the engine needed. The tranny needed a lot of work too.
I had a blast with the bike. I could give the younger guy on their crotch rockets fits.
I had a friend that wanted to drag race me on his V65 and i went to his house and we had a good visit and when i left i left a forever black mark. The next time i saw him he told me that when we raced there was one thing i had to do. I asked "what" and he said we had to swap bikes as his wouldn't do what mine did. Roy

I can see that Roy. Those old bikes can still be made to run pretty hard.

You know what? 30 years from now I doubt you'll see the 08 or 09 street rockets still around and being pumped. They're throw away bikes for the most part.

i just scanned the andrews cam spec's if any body needs them
sorry i could not get them on here it siad it was to big if anybody wants these spec's e-mail me at tryerson@nait.ca and i'll get them to you as fast as i can

The lift on the 3X cams is not all that bad but the duration combined with the lift is quite radical. The TDC on them is pretty heavy too. Usually it is not the lift below .435 that will spit a shim but when you add the wide lobe to the lift, that's when things start to happen.

q