Hot Cam in a GS850?

[Rob S.]

That cam set may make it less fun to ride, however.

That's what the dealer was telling me. "You'll get more power up top, but you'll pay for it down low. The bore increase may somewhat offset that."

Nudge the throttle, nothing. Nudge it some more, nothing. Nudge it again...hold on! I rather enjoyed it.

[GregT]

That's what the dealer was telling me. "You'll get more power up top, but you'll pay for it down low. The bore increase may somewhat offset that."

Nudge the throttle, nothing. Nudge it some more, nothing. Nudge it again...hold on! I rather enjoyed it.

Yes, I like a bike with a big response on the cams.....but that isn't a nice tourer. Which the 850 is designed for.

I've found it interesting reading this thread as in my memory most of the queries around the 850 on here have been related to changing the gearing.
The common complaint has been too high revs at highway speeds.

You can hop up anything. As Rob has said, people race lawnmowers and HD's. Doesn't mean it's worthwhile. Can be fun though.

[RustyTank]

Rob's just being Rob, which means silly. Nothing you are thinking about, if properly done, will ruin that motor. That cam set may make it less fun to ride, however.

GS1150Pilot, less fun to ride do to reasons already explained, or do you have something to add?

[Steve]

A rough recap of "all those reasons":
- Yes, it's possible to install a hotter cam.
- Because the 850 has one of the lowest power-to-weight ratios of all the GSes, it might be enough to notice.
- The 850 has a wonderfully-wide power band which suits its intended purpose.
- Installing hotter cams will change that power curve.
- The shaft drive will likely handle the additional power, as long as you don't just dump the clutch.
- The same basic driveshaft is used in the 1000 and 1100.
- To really take advantage of the hotter cams, you might want to also change the carbs and exhaust, but that will further change the power curve.
- If you just want more power, swapping in a 1000 or 1100 engine might cost less, but you would probably want to 'freshen it up' with new gaskets, etc.
- Dropping new cams in your 850 will only require a valve cover gasket and some valve shims.

Yeah, it's possible. Whether it's practical is something you will have to decide.

.

[GS1150Pilot]

GS1150Pilot, less fun to ride do to reasons already explained, or do you have something to add?

Dropping hot cams in a motor without building the rest of it to suit (higher compression, possibly porting the head, not to mention the headache of rejetting to suit) will rob the bike of the powerband that has made it endure as one of the great all round Suzuki classics. It will do little to improve what makes that bike great, and the shift of the powerband is likely to make it less enjoyable, since it is not a race bike.

[TeamDar]

Most cam manufacturers have a wide variety of profiles to choose from. Of course if you choose one of the more aggressive grinds then you will see a difference in the rpm range that the engine makes its power. There are “drop in cams” that are made to work well without having to change valve springs, increase compression, or modify the pistons for valve clearance. These cams usually have a modest increase in lift and duration. They are ground at mid range lobe centers like 105 if you install them without slotting the cam chain sprockets to degree the cams to your liking. The Web 118 grind description is as follows:

“High performance street profile for stock engines. Very broad power range. Stock base circle.” This is not some pro stock race cam that idles at 3000 rpm’s and doesn’t make power until 8000 rpm’s. Just changing the cam timing with stock cams makes a difference that you can feel. 104-106 lobe centers gives you more midrange power with a slight loss of high rpm maximum power. Dar

[Brendan W]

UJM Jenga......... I wonder?

[GS1150Pilot]

ujm jenga......... I wonder?

bingo .....

[wymple]

Unless you spend a lot of time wringing it out, torque is far more fun than HP.

[RustyTank]

I appreciate everyone's two cents. This was a fun discussion, great to get everyone's take on it. For what it's worth, I've decided not to do it

[RustyTank]

A rough recap of "all those reasons":
- Yes, it's possible to install a hotter cam.
- Because the 850 has one of the lowest power-to-weight ratios of all the GSes, it might be enough to notice.
- The 850 has a wonderfully-wide power band which suits its intended purpose.
- Installing hotter cams will change that power curve.
- The shaft drive will likely handle the additional power, as long as you don't just dump the clutch.
- The same basic driveshaft is used in the 1000 and 1100.
- To really take advantage of the hotter cams, you might want to also change the carbs and exhaust, but that will further change the power curve.
- If you just want more power, swapping in a 1000 or 1100 engine might cost less, but you would probably want to 'freshen it up' with new gaskets, etc.
- Dropping new cams in your 850 will only require a valve cover gasket and some valve shims.

Yeah, it's possible. Whether it's practical is something you will have to decide.

.

Thanks for the list Steve.

[RustyTank]

Sometimes the benefit being just having done it and learned something by doing. It's hard to put a price tag on experience.

This is partly where I was coming from Brendan. After looking at it from several angles I've decided that, as much as I'd like to give it a shot, right now may not be the best time for me to take something like that on. Best for me to keep it simple for now

[slayer61]

Quoted for truth and a laugh!

........ But there will always be guys who drag race their lawn mowers and Harley Davidsons.