1500 meanstreak cam in 1600 motor?

gssbmm · 05-17-2015, 09:09 PM

Has anyone put meanstreak cam in your 1600 motor? I am putting a 1600 motor in my carb nomad. is it worth the time? Any downsides? I am looking for good power but keeping reliability so looking to stay with all kawi parts.

dshelly · 05-17-2015, 09:17 PM

Unless you are willing to have the heads ported too, it's not going to make much difference.

gssbmm · 05-17-2015, 10:06 PM

May just save the money for good tuning then.

**MAS Tequila** · 05-18-2015, 06:13 AM

If you put the 1500 meanie heads on you'll get more grunt.

The 1500 meanie has bigger valves.

Or try to find a pair of 'A' heads, they were the best flowing of them all.

MT

**ringadingh** · 05-18-2015, 09:43 AM

You should also use the Meanstreak throttle body as well since it has a larger bore.

gssbmm · 05-18-2015, 10:10 AM

so you would go with meanie cams and A heads? would you need A rockers as well? any mods you would need to make the swap or all bolt on?

**MAS Tequila** · 05-18-2015, 05:32 PM

No, the cams in the 'A' heads are just as good if not better than the meanie cams.

If you find a set of 'A' heads just clean them up and use them complete.

The earlier 88 heads from the mid 80's would be my choice.

MT

QUOTE=gssbmm;626326]so you would go with meanie cams and A heads? would you need A rockers as well? any mods you would need to make the swap or all bolt on?[/QUOTE]

1500ccs · 05-20-2015, 05:10 PM

Didnt the A heads have the exhaust ports in the opposite direction of what we see in the 1600 and also didnt they use like 36mm twin carbs. Has anyone done this swap?

Also the meanie cams were hotter than the A cams ..

Tearitupfixitrepeat · 05-21-2015, 07:55 AM

1500 MS Cams are the hottest PERIOD.

id-man · 05-21-2015, 09:49 AM

Not to hijack this thread but I find this conversation fascinating as I will need to tear up my engine one of these days to replace some 2nd gear parts - if there was ever going to be an ideal time to beef up the motor that would be it, and this sounds like a much easier way than replacing pistons.
I never heard of "A" heads before or "88 heads from the 80's", do any of these items bolt up to a 2004 fuel injected 1500 motor using the existing throttle bodies and headers - and where would someone begin to search for them?

1500ccs · 05-21-2015, 12:47 PM

Yeah this is an interesting topic and not a lot of material on motor upgrades other than going to thunder mfg or other aftermarket guys.

I was intrigued by the comment that the A heads would work buts its seems difficult. They should bolt on but you may have to use two of the same head for front and back to keep the exhaust ports on the same side and keep the valvetrain on all the same sides - sorry i am just thinking out loud. Not sure if it would work. The throtte bodies are compleltely different - easier to change if you already have a carbed setup. Not sure if you need the ecu to match

A decent recipe for a hop up is to bolt on 1500 ms heads and cams to get the hotter cam and increased air flow because of the bigger valves. Remeber ms gearing is geared for that setup but the nad gearing would work too. Some folks have reported that the 1500 ms cams as bolt ons didnt work too well and that 1600 ms cams actually offer the best of both worlds.

There is also a cool thread on the ms forums where the guys stroked his ms motor using parts from the 1500 and 1600s. Probably too extreme for a mod but bike would be fun. There is a youtube video too on some of the process

05-17-2015, 09:09 PM	#1
gssbmm Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 107	1500 meanstreak cam in 1600 motor? Has anyone put meanstreak cam in your 1600 motor? I am putting a 1600 motor in my carb nomad. is it worth the time? Any downsides? I am looking for good power but keeping reliability so looking to stay with all kawi parts. Login or Register to Remove Ads
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05-17-2015, 09:17 PM	#2
dshelly Sr. Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Belgrade, MT Posts: 2,824	Unless you are willing to have the heads ported too, it's not going to make much difference. __________________ Dave "(dshelly)" Shellenberger 2014 Harley Ultra Classic 2007 1600 Nomad (Black) Shellenberger Machine Belgrade, MT Various Bagger Member (Harley Chapter) VBA # 2395
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05-18-2015, 06:13 AM	#4
MAS Tequila Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Psychiatric Ward FL Posts: 3,429	If you put the 1500 meanie heads on you'll get more grunt. The 1500 meanie has bigger valves. Or try to find a pair of 'A' heads, they were the best flowing of them all. MT __________________ MT 2016 FLHP Psychiatric Ward FL VBA 936
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05-18-2015, 09:43 AM	#5
ringadingh Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Newmarket Ontario Canada Posts: 35,387	You should also use the Meanstreak throttle body as well since it has a larger bore. __________________ 2002 Nomad aka Bountyhunter VBA #27 VROC #18951 Login or Register to Remove Ads
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05-18-2015, 05:32 PM	#7
MAS Tequila Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Psychiatric Ward FL Posts: 3,429	No, the cams in the 'A' heads are just as good if not better than the meanie cams. If you find a set of 'A' heads just clean them up and use them complete. The earlier 88 heads from the mid 80's would be my choice. MT QUOTE=gssbmm;626326]so you would go with meanie cams and A heads? would you need A rockers as well? any mods you would need to make the swap or all bolt on?[/QUOTE] __________________ MT 2016 FLHP Psychiatric Ward FL VBA 936
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05-17-2015, 10:06 PM	#3
gssbmm Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 107	May just save the money for good tuning then.
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05-18-2015, 10:10 AM	#6
gssbmm Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 107	so you would go with meanie cams and A heads? would you need A rockers as well? any mods you would need to make the swap or all bolt on?
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05-20-2015, 05:10 PM	#8
1500ccs Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 87	Didnt the A heads have the exhaust ports in the opposite direction of what we see in the 1600 and also didnt they use like 36mm twin carbs. Has anyone done this swap? Also the meanie cams were hotter than the A cams ..
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05-21-2015, 07:55 AM	#9
Tearitupfixitrepeat Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Posts: 87	1500 MS Cams are the hottest PERIOD.
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05-21-2015, 09:49 AM	#10
id-man Advanced Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Cape Cod Massachusetts Posts: 822	Not to hijack this thread but I find this conversation fascinating as I will need to tear up my engine one of these days to replace some 2nd gear parts - if there was ever going to be an ideal time to beef up the motor that would be it, and this sounds like a much easier way than replacing pistons. I never heard of "A" heads before or "88 heads from the 80's", do any of these items bolt up to a 2004 fuel injected 1500 motor using the existing throttle bodies and headers - and where would someone begin to search for them? __________________ 2004 Nomad 1500FI - weeeeeeeeee!
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05-21-2015, 12:47 PM	#11
1500ccs Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 87	Yeah this is an interesting topic and not a lot of material on motor upgrades other than going to thunder mfg or other aftermarket guys. I was intrigued by the comment that the A heads would work buts its seems difficult. They should bolt on but you may have to use two of the same head for front and back to keep the exhaust ports on the same side and keep the valvetrain on all the same sides - sorry i am just thinking out loud. Not sure if it would work. The throtte bodies are compleltely different - easier to change if you already have a carbed setup. Not sure if you need the ecu to match A decent recipe for a hop up is to bolt on 1500 ms heads and cams to get the hotter cam and increased air flow because of the bigger valves. Remeber ms gearing is geared for that setup but the nad gearing would work too. Some folks have reported that the 1500 ms cams as bolt ons didnt work too well and that 1600 ms cams actually offer the best of both worlds. There is also a cool thread on the ms forums where the guys stroked his ms motor using parts from the 1500 and 1600s. Probably too extreme for a mod but bike would be fun. There is a youtube video too on some of the process
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