Aftermarket Cams

[trimoto225dxl]

Does anybody out there have one? I have heard good and bad things about them. There has been some stuff said about them being weaker that stock, reducing engine life etc. Being that they are one of the only performance parts aviable for the 225dx I want to figure out if they are worth it. Also do they cause any reliability issues in your trikes? I intrested in anything and everything about them.

-mike

[Studytime]

Well, to start the discussion Honda engineered your bike to be reliable. Any time you start to modify it for performance and take a turn away from how it was originally setup you do stand to loss a certain amount of reliability.

A longer duration cam will move your peak hp up in the RPM range. If you spend more time at higher RPMs, then you'll be susceptible to increased ring wear. How much additional ring wear? Well, that depends on how often you rev (and how extrem) your engine.

You should also expect a decrease in operation efficiency with the cam's profile responsible for how much decrease you will experience.

We have increased valvetrain knowlege and technology that was not available in the '70s and '80s, so you can stand to gain more power from today's latest grinds.

Also, you'll want to have the full array of "bolt-on" mods before you start to go into your engine. An aftermarket exhaust, high flow capacity intake, and perhaps larger carburetor are items to consider first to maximize your power increase from the new cam.

Additionally, you'll want to run higher compression to get the most out of your engine. What compression are you running? If your compression is low, or your engine is worn and weak, then a bore and new dome piston may be just as rewarding as a cam swap.

A cam swap does stand to gain you some power, but this power comes with costs. Some of the costs are mentioned above. Also, you should expect to loose some torque off idle until midrange. This will happen as a result of a power increase. To increase power, peak torque has to occur at a higher engine speed. Since torque is a function of displacement, your peak torque will not increase largely. You'll simply move the torque peak UP the power curve resulting in less available torque at lower engine speeds.

What cam are you looking at and what specs does it have? The largest cam available will in most cases be the wrong one. If you use your bike for pleasure riding and trials then a step (maybe two) above the stock cam would be plenty.

Only performance parts available you say? Well, you're not going to need much else really. If you can't get a dome, you can always deck your head. A ported head would finish off the internals of your engine. The "bolt-ons" that I mentioned above would complete the whole package. You're not going to be able to do a whole lot more than that.

Hope this helps as we start your discussion. Good luck.

Studytime

[NOS_350X]

Well, to start the discussion Honda engineered your bike to be reliable.

Its not a honda. :)

Any modification to the engine to give it more power is going to make it more unreliable. The more power out of it puts more strain on the rest of the engine, and drivetrain. You have to decide if its going to be reliable enough for you.

[Studytime]

Its not a honda. :)

Any modification to the engine to give it more power is going to make it more unreliable. The more power out of it puts more strain on the rest of the engine, and drivetrain. You have to decide if its going to be reliable enough for you.


ooops! I keep thinking this is a Honda only website. Honda DID NOT engineer his bike. Good catch.

Studytime

[trimoto225dxl]

on the carb, right now I have a mikuni VM24 and the actual displacement is 223cc's. How large should I go with the carb? Also are there adapters for the flange mount that i have for a spigot one? Lastly depending on the size carb you recomend what neighborhood should the jet sizes be?

thanks

mike