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[Norm]

Hi Adrian you are right I forgot about the flat section the cam spindle locks up against,I was thinking Bet thought there was a flat on the spindle where it goes through the case. I can't imaging how it could ever remove the section the spindle locks againse without serious damage elsewhere, Electras are the same as Bullets, I have never heard of anything like this before. I have on one occasion Loctited a spindle in place and it is holding ok

[Bullet Whisperer]

I have seen enough of the adjustable cam spindles spin in our race bikes' crankcases, that there is now only one adjustable one left in one engine and come the time that works loose, it will go in the bin where the rest of them went. When the whole thing spins, it puts immense strains on the neighbouring timing gears and the other spindle, too. I enlarged the flats on a couple of them, but they still ended up waggling about. The old, fixed type have never caused us any trouble and we just live with any extra noise there might be as a result. Our 350 was going for a win at Cadwell a few years back, but retired on the last lap, due to a sudden loss of power and clattering - an adjustable cam spindle had spun in the crankcase and that was the end of the road for them as far as I was concerned. Regards, Paul.

[Bet]

Got the required parts within one and a half days of ordering (thanks to the hosts), have now got the machining and welding done, all ready to go back together. First question, is it best to notch the piston or alter the valve timing to allow fitment of 'classic' cams? Question 2, has anyone drilled and tapped a peg into the casing to prevent the cam from turning?

[Bet]

That should be 'to prevent the cam SPINDLE from turning'.

[Norm]

Bet, there should be no reason for a cam spindle to want to turn unless it has been bound up on the gear and if that is the problem then that needs to be addressed, not pinning the spindle, if anything spindle spinning saves the cases from being smashed