Hitchcocks Cam

[DaveM]

Based on the quality control issues both I, and others, have had I’d like to think the tec cam isn’t made by Kent cams. To be fair to tec, and after being advised by them to ‘rub the marks out using a scotch brite or fine wet and dry paper!’ they did exchange it without any problems.

I guess I wasn't a owner when your experience occurred so not familiar with the story. Certainly the one I fitted a few months ago did not look like that.

 

[Overdrive]

The second cam was perfect, and tec covered the cost of postage etc. Around the same time there were a few others with similar problems, so I put it down to a bad batch. The cam works well and makes a real difference over 4k revs, with no apparent loss of bottom end torque.

 

[Roy Gavin]

Dave, do you think the oem battery cables are up to the job with the new cam in !? i mean i know new more flexible cable these days can be thinner with good resistance, only heard of 1 person actually changing them on a Himmi.

There are reports of folk with the cam and a big bore having problems, but few with only the cam.
My experience was with one of the first Bullet Electras, which still had the old manual valve lifter from the kick start bikes, and if you didn't use it with the electric start the starter solenoid and spragg clutch suffered.
The replacements were better and stood up OK , perhaps RE learnt something from that and the Hima will be OK.
Initially!
It is easy to add to or upgrade the battery earth, and it is thinner than the power lead.
The power is harder to upgrade as it is moulded in to the starter solenoid so the solenoid would need replacing too, but there are plenty around if you feel the need.
It was covered quite well in a recent thread.
I have had to replace every switch and the solenoid on my 65,000km 2017 bike so I would not be inclined to overload the existing marginal switches and wiring, but others seem to have done so without any problems, the choice is yours.

 

[DaveM]

If you look at the pic of my TEC cam installation to the right side end of the cam there is a oilway at approx. 45 degs.
If too much sealant is used that oilway can easily be blocked starving the cam journal of oil. Just be careful with the sealant.

 

[Roy Gavin]

Just about every cam install vid shows about five times as much sealant as required, you only need a fine bead in the centre of the face.
Some Pro mechanics and folk who work on Brit bikes prefer a anaerobic product like Loctite flange sealant as any excess does not set and finds it way onto the sump gauze.
One guy actually found some on the gauze at the 300 mile service on his new bike, so RE must use it somewhere too.

 

[DaveM]

I just put a smear on the gasket face with my finger, you could hardly see it. It has not leaked.

 

[dabs]

Kent cams were certainly involved at some stage. I wouldn't be surprised if they made the TEC cam as well.
In the UK there a lot of cam specialists to call upon, so all good.
The TEC cam is now £170. You won't get a better bang for your bucks.

Yea i see many happy customers with a Tec cam, a few needing sent back for exchange, but i will be opting for the Stage 2 from Hitchcocks, after all the crap i had over a petrol tank i would be seriously pissed off getting a less than perfect specimen from Tec, anyhow a very good engineer friend reckons to opt for the Hitchcocks cam, he's had dealings with Tec Triumph related, not detrimental i may add.

 

[dabs]

There are reports of folk with the cam and a big bore having problems, but few with only the cam.
My experience was with one of the first Bullet Electras, which still had the old manual valve lifter from the kick start bikes, and if you didn't use it with the electric start the starter solenoid and spragg clutch suffered.
The replacements were better and stood up OK , perhaps RE learnt something from that and the Hima will be OK.
Initially!
It is easy to add to or upgrade the battery earth, and it is thinner than the power lead.
The power is harder to upgrade as it is moulded in to the starter solenoid so the solenoid would need replacing too, but there are plenty around if you feel the need.
It was covered quite well in a recent thread.
I have had to replace every switch and the solenoid on my 65,000km 2017 bike so I would not be inclined to overload the existing marginal switches and wiring, but others seem to have done so without any problems, the choice is yours.

Well i like to err on the side of caution and prefer preventive maintenance so it's possible i'll upgrade, the cost is not high, as you mentioned there is a post on here fitting a Shindengen Reg/Rec where the poster substituted the relay, so it's all easily doable, just need to hang on until Sept when Warranty is done. Sometines i feel we need to make a silk purse out of a pigs ear with the Himmi

 

[Dlapierre]

I've had mine Hitchcock cam in since last summer. It has made quite a bit of difference. It idles better. It doesn't lose any bottom end pull. It runs nicely on the highway at around 4200 rpm, which is just about as fast as I want to go anyway (90-95kpm). It was easy to install. Doesn't seem to have affected my mileage unless I push it hard going uphill on bush trails and stuff. I'm quite happy with it.

 

[Roy Gavin]

Kent cams were certainly involved at some stage. I wouldn't be surprised if they made the TEC cam as well.
In the UK there a lot of cam specialists to call upon, so all good.
The TEC cam is now £170. You won't get a better bang for your bucks.

A 14T front sprocket comes close , for a good bit less!

 

[DaveM]

A 14T front sprocket comes close , for a good bit less!

Well yes it might well do depending where and how you ride. I went the other way with my TEC cam and fitted a 16t sprocket. For me a lot better ride.
What I was thinking of was the cost of other performance aids such as FuelX etc. which could never deliver 20% more horses.

 

[TheElevatorMan]

My opinion and keep in mind that I’m not a pro. Only a guy with several years of tuning experience.

Consider that when you put in a cam you should advance timing a bit to get the full benefit. As simple as 2 degrees advance throughout the range can provide a noticeable increase in power as well as provide a cleaner/better burn within the combustion chamber. It’s not too much and will not impact running temperatures if you’re already adding fuel throughout the range. With the slight timing advance you will only experience better running and better performance. Without it expect wasted/unburned fuel at lower revs to be exiting the pipe and quickly degrading your catalytic converter. This is why a PowerTRONIC is superior to the fuel X. Or simply get a pipe without a cat and it will run just like the bikes from the days of old, but you’ll be missing out on a bit more power that the timing advance can provide.

 

[Dool2]

My opinion and keep in mind that I’m not a pro. Only a guy with several years of tuning experience.

Consider that when you put in a cam you should advance timing a bit to get the full benefit. As simple as 2 degrees advance throughout the range can provide a noticeable increase in power as well as provide a cleaner/better burn within the combustion chamber. It’s not too much and will not impact running temperatures if you’re already adding fuel throughout the range. With the slight timing advance you will only experience better running and better performance. Without it expect wasted/unburned fuel at lower revs to be exiting the pipe and quickly degrading your catalytic converter. This is why a PowerTRONIC is superior to the fuel X. Or simply get a pipe without a cat and it will run just like the bikes from the days of old, but you’ll be missing out on a bit more power that the timing advance can provide.

Putting in a Cam is just a small part of larger Picture, on its own it is (IMO) next to useless but to state that is not conducive to sales, If the true cost of what you are about embark on is thrust in your face it is easy to walk away.

Timing and Fuel, of course have to be changed to take advantage of the Cam change, the lack of a Decompressor is another factor that has been raised along with the Battery capacity/ability.

The 3 cams being discussed here ( HMC 2 and Tec 1 ) are from different Factories, They are like Chalk and Cheese, HMC stage 2 has the edge at the moment.
HMC stage 1 and Tec claimed from memory 20% gain and many were disappointed because they " just fitted the Cam" and did not advance Timing or change the Fuel Map.

48% gain in HP and a 7 sec 0 to 100kph did not happen with just a DNA Filter a Free Flowing Exhaust

 

[TheElevatorMan]

Can you better define the edge you mentioned? I have the TEC cam and am curious about what improvements you noticed with the HMC2.
I thought the TEC was made better per other write-ups, but perhaps I was misled. Any insight is appreciated. Sticking with TEC for now, but would love to learn more.

 

[wachuko]

Can you better define the edge you mentioned? I have the TEC cam and am curious about what improvements you noticed with the HMC2.
I thought the TEC was made better per other write-ups, but perhaps I was misled. Any insight is appreciated. Sticking with TEC for now, but would love to learn more.

I have the same question as I try to decide on which one to order ???? Now confused.

I was about to order the TEC cam… Is the Hitchcocks stage 2 a better alternative???

 

[Old Man Himmie]

Putting in a Cam is just a small part of larger Picture, on its own it is (IMO) next to useless but to state that is not conducive to sales, If the true cost of what you are about embark on is thrust in your face it is easy to walk away.

Timing and Fuel, of course have to be changed to take advantage of the Cam change, the lack of a Decompressor is another factor that has been raised along with the Battery capacity/ability.

The 3 cams being discussed here ( HMC 2 and Tec 1 ) are from different Factories, They are like Chalk and Cheese, HMC stage 2 has the edge at the moment.
HMC stage 1 and Tec claimed from memory 20% gain and many were disappointed because they " just fitted the Cam" and did not advance Timing or change the Fuel Map.

48% gain in HP and a 7 sec 0 to 100kph did not happen with just a DNA Filter a Free Flowing Exhaust

Not to muddy things up here but since you probably have the most experience with different cams for the Himalayan how does the H-T B cam compare to the other two popular options for cams? I’m satisfied with my H-T cam but don’t know if I would be happier with one of the others. Quality wise I didn’t see anything wrong with the H-T cam. All the critical surfaces had a nice ground finish. When I ordered my cam it came down to availability and the other two were out of stock at the time.

 

[Dool2]

Not to muddy things up here but since you probably have the most experience with different cams for the Himalayan how does the H-T B cam compare to the other two popular options for cams? I’m satisfied with my H-T cam but don’t know if I would be happier with one of the others. Quality wise I didn’t see anything wrong with the H-T cam. All the critical surfaces had a nice ground finish. When I ordered my cam it came down to availability and the other two were out of stock at the time.

The quality of the HT cam is up there with the best IMO we know of faults and defects affecting the cams on the market, the gains I made with the Tec cam were the best I had made at the time but that was 18months ago I have done a few changes along the way.
HMC stage 1 gives enough for most people.
Tec and HT are similar and give more but require more as well.
Stage 2 is like Next Level, think F1 .https://youtube.com/shorts/yADAsuqAa6Y?feature=share
But the Saga is not over, now High lift Cams are being produced with Decompressors.

The best at the moment is ,,,,,,,at the Moment!

 

[tom_d]

The HT cams, and there have been several different earlier attempts besides their newest one, always seem to have some issue with them that gets glossed over by the owners. When they were first brought to market, there were 3 different grinds which were supposedly going to equal the offering from Hitchcock's original performance cam, one that was compared to Tec Bike part's offering (both were very hard to get ahold of early on), and one which was even more aggressive. Unfortunately for HT and their customers, the cams had not been thoroughly tested before being offered for sale. After the first dyno test fell well below expectations, most all of their customers who preordered asked and received a refund and the cams were removed from their sales page. Unfortunately, the owner of HT had bought many cams on speculation. The better of the cams was put back on sale as a "High Torque" cam since its HP numbers had disappointed and they continued to promote it in forums. It was replaced by the current cam which performed better, but many many customers inquired about why it was so loud. There have been several YouTube videos on the problem and the sound seems intrusive to an enjoyable ride to my ears. My impression was that the builder didn't design in an appropriate clearance ramp and the cam was hammering the lifters harder than it should if it had been designed correctly, I suspect he just doesn't have all of the tools available to the makers of Tec's and Hitchcock's cams. Looking at the designer/builders site, I also couldn't find any evidence that he owns or uses dyno's to test the product. This might seem strange outside of India, but from what I ascertain dyno's are not very common in India.
According to Himalayan Tool's own testing and dyno results, the Tec has constantly provided superior results when trying to extract the most power until the Hitchcock's stage 2 offering arrived which looks to have bested it and now it is the highest HP provider in a highly modified engine in their tests.

 

[Dool2]

Fitted a few have you?

 

[Eatmore Mudd]

The HT cams, and there have been several different earlier attempts besides their newest one, always seem to have some issue with them that gets glossed over by the owners. When they were first brought to market, there were 3 different grinds which were supposedly going to equal the offering from Hitchcock's original performance cam, one that was compared to Tec Bike part's offering (both were very hard to get ahold of early on), and one which was even more aggressive. Unfortunately for HT and their customers, the cams had not been thoroughly tested before being offered for sale. After the first dyno test fell well below expectations, most all of their customers who preordered asked and received a refund and the cams were removed from their sales page. Unfortunately, the owner of HT had bought many cams on speculation. The better of the cams was put back on sale as a "High Torque" cam since its HP numbers had disappointed and they continued to promote it in forums. It was replaced by the current cam which performed better, but many many customers inquired about why it was so loud. There have been several YouTube videos on the problem and the sound seems intrusive to an enjoyable ride to my ears. My impression was that the builder didn't design in an appropriate clearance ramp and the cam was hammering the lifters harder than it should if it had been designed correctly, I suspect he just doesn't have all of the tools available to the makers of Tec's and Hitchcock's cams. Looking at the designer/builders site, I also couldn't find any evidence that he owns or uses dyno's to test the product. This might seem strange outside of India, but from what I ascertain dyno's are not very common in India.
According to Himalayan Tool's own testing and dyno results, the Tec has constantly provided superior results when trying to extract the most power until the Hitchcock's stage 2 offering arrived which looks to have bested it and now it is the highest HP provider in a highly modified engine in their tests.

On Dyno charts, not just the Dyno makers name, we also need to see both torque and horsepower values, the Correction Factor and smoothing settings at the bare minimum. With any of those omitted take it with a sack of salt as all the info is needed for even the roughest of comparisons.