cam change no compression in front cylinder

[amarsh0811]

ok so I put some Andrews N2 cams in my wifes 2014 1200 sportster with stock push rods. when I try to start it it will fire up but runs rough then dies. I did a compression test on both cylinders and the rear one is at 130psi but the front one has nothing I also did a leak down test on both cylinders I hear air but don't know if I am even doing the test right. do you think I bent some valves or am off a tooth on the cam timing. I am going to take the cams out completely and do another leak down test so I know both vlaves should be completely closed I will post the results of that when I am done cause I know if I hear air then its a valve. any input would be helpful. see picture bellow of the cams as they are installed all the dots line up with the crank shaft mark

[FSG]

Andrews say Cylinder heads for 2004 and later engines are different from earlier Sportsters. For 2004 and later engines, N3
cams will bolt in. ALL OTHER GRINDS will require head modifications for installation.

Did you clay the pistons?

[Hilly13]

Do Andrews mean rocker box or cover clearances by cylinder head modifications?

[FSG]

heads, it has something to do with valve springs, perhaps Aaron (aswracing) will chime in

[Hilly13]

Oh, that does not sound good for the OP

[amarsh0811]

well I took the rocker boxes off then did another leak down test and all I heard was air coming out of both intake valves so I bent a valve thing is Andrews says these are supposed to be bolt in cams guess not or the lifters didn't leak down enough before I turned it over

[FSG]

Andrews says these are supposed to be bolt in cams

That's not what I read.

[amarsh0811]

what do you mean

[amarsh0811]

it says there bolt in right on the spec sheet

[amarsh0811]

it says right on the instructions

checking valve travel and piston clearance is recommended on all BUT v2 and n2 cams

[FSG]

it says there bolt in right on the spec sheet

For what year?

Post up the Spec Sheet you have.

[amarsh0811]

2014 see attached pdf

[amarsh0811]

look at note 15 in particular.

[FSG]

check note 5

[amarsh0811]

guess I should have gotten the n3 grind insteed then and should have read the instructions closer.

[FSG]

I don't know much about Sportsters although I had an 82 Ironhead, hopefully Aaron will see this thread and post.

[aswracing]

TDC lifts on the N2's are only .180/.155. I don't think there's a snowballs chance in hell they'd cause a valve-piston clearance issue, especially with 1200 heads.

I don't know the OP from Adam, so I hate to say anything that could be interpreted as questioning his ability. But if a customer of unknown ability contacted me with this issue, I'd immediately want to know if he had the motor positioned correctly when he put the rocker boxes on. An awful lot of people don't know compression TDC from overlap TDC or how to tell them apart. And then I'd want to know if he allowed the lifters to bleed after snugging down the rocker box, before he turned the motor over. Oh, and I'd also ask him if he noticed that the exhaust pushrods are longer than the intake pushrods and if he's sure he got them in the right places.

We have a tech article on XL cam installation if it's of any interest here: http://www.hammerperf.com/ttxlcaminstall.shtml . The N2's should be entirely covered by the "Basic" installation section. The "Advanced" section gets into a whole bunch of checks and head setup for non bolt-in cams.