Virago High Performance Street Cams

First some specifications; lifts are gross valve lift off of the seat. Rocker ratios were 1.347:1 for XV700s to 1100s; durations are taken from the point that the valve exceeds .040" (1mm) lift off of its seat until the point at which it falls below that. The cams whose names start with a C are those we offer. There was a 10L cam pair used on the '82 - '83 920 Virago. These sometimes show up on eBay still in their Yamaha wrappers. They are never cheap. I believe that these were identical to the 42H that they supercede to, except that they were a degree or so retarded - giving them a trifle more top-end.

C05: some cams that don't require spring kits.   At last: more power without having to pull the engine. These cams can be swapped-in in your driveway in under an hour. They have .432" lift and 240 degrees duration. A real punch in the mid-range (think passing power) and finally the ability to rev a little.

These cams are meant to be used in an otherwise stock engine -- although they would benefit from pipes and carbs (and compression). They push the stock springs pretty hard, so try to stay under eight grand. Nothing NEEDS to be changed, but you may want to put some washers under your jet needles. These work in ALL adult-sized Viragos: 700, 750, 920, 1000, 1100, the 920R, the TR1, and the SE. A good cam for the smaller bikes (700, 750) if you're looking to make them into café racers. Pipes a must, carbs recommended. For the bigger bikes, look for a greater willingness to rev -- you'll think your twin has "gone Italian." As with any longish duration cam, a little of the bottom goes away, but gobs of power are to be found from thirty five hundred on up past red line. These cams have over a quarter inch more lift than any stock Virago. See my listing for rockers. If you have the hole-in-the-pad unhardened rockers keep plenty of fresh oil in your motor. Change it frequently. Run an oil that contains zinc. Your beast will finally take the deep breaths that a big twin with big valves should.

Also note well, cam prices are exchange!.   We urge you to send your cams to start with.

Note the prices below now obtain. I am often out of cores and there are suddenly few to be gotten. When cores can be found, they are asking a buck and a quarter or more each. Titanium jumped very high. Use the contact button on the front page to tell me what you want and I'll send you an invoice. Right now, if you want cams outright, I'll have to buy good cams and weld and grind them. If you sent me your cams first and I found them useable, you'd get the exchange price. I realize that this is not often practical. I have had customers buy cam cores off eBay and had the seller send them to me. Queries from the contact button often proceed to dialogues that end in steep package discounts. Note this: as of now all cam sets come with a pair of high quality, high speed SKF 6205 bearings to replace the drive-side bushes.

If you opt for cams outright, you spend an extra $150 each per cam - remember that there are two. If you send in your old cams after the receivng the new,   I will reimburse you $100 - less than the cores cost you, as I must strip complete heads - a lot of work when one considers the rockers and valves. I am very small. I can't always afford to keep cams in stock; I try to keep C01 and C05 kits on hand.