S&S Camshaft...

One lobe has a large and a small nick on it.
Does it need to be replaced? The bike is running fine with it the way it is but service manual says to replace it.
Any comments as to what I should do from our experienced guys?
What causes a hardened camshaft surface to get nick'd?

If I decide to go with a higher lift cam, how do I go about measuring the valve to piston clearance?
How do I measure the valve to valve clearence?
Thanks guys!

is it a solid lifter cam or hydro cam

solid lifters. about 3/8" long gash off the side of 1 lobe. I think it's just from wear. I'm gonna check the tappet roller tonight and see if it's mared as well.
I'm gonna replace the cam as opposed to wait till the engine blows up.

check valve spring pressure . make sure the oil you use has zinc in it . most oil had zink removed because of epa standards . and we need zink in our motors as well in high performance car engines as well .if valve springs are worn or valve lash is to wide you will beat the crap out of a cam lobe. p.s. valvoline vr1 racing oil will have zinc in it . for cam break in on solid lifter motors i use lucas tb zinc additive.

cam and lifters should be replaced as a set roller or flat tappet as well !!! if the wear is off to one side of the lobe check cam shaft end play . roller lifter tend to walk the cam forward in the cam chest . make sure end play is correct!

Does it come in 70 weight? I only use 70 wt.

I run 6o in my twin cam . I will be honest with you and say i dont know if they have seventy weight . check the vavoline web site for vr1 racing oil and see . run your 70 weight stop by the shop and ill give you cam assembly additive for your oil that has zinc . and you can add it in . lots of engine builders in my area do just that .

Thanks for the info. Do you know any of our local Harley mechanics?
What does the zinc do?
I'm guessing it's slightly abrasive and helps the parts wear/mate together.

wrong zinc and phosphorus are metal to metal anti wear additives . extrme pressure lubricant additives that were drop down in oils causeing more cam shaft faluires for engine builders. we saw it alot on flat tappet cams and also solid rollercams .spring pressure on solid rollers are alot more than hydro roller cams.

Experts say that the additives in API blends will no longer cut it in a racing or performance engine. There is no denying that API oils for the most part work very well in late model engines where there are roller cams and much less friction than in high powered racing engines, which are in many cases, good old pushrod V8s.

According to Lake Speed, Jr. of Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil, one of the important differences between racing oil and API oil is the limited amount of phosphorous in API blends. The EPA limits the amount of phosphorous and zinc, specifically it’s the phosphorous, not the zinc that is limited. Phosphorous is a component of Zinc dialkyl dithio phosphate (ZDDP, or ZDP) is a family of zinc salts of dithio organophosphates. And they easily dissolve in mineral and synthetic oils that are used as lubricants.

Zinc phosphate is mainly for anti-wear. The zinc and phosphate go hand and hand. So when you limit phosphate you limit zinc as well.

I know harleys are not hot rods but our motors need zinc to survive heat and anti wear agents aid in that.

I just run straight 70 weight in my shovelheads like all the old H-D mechanics tell me too.
I don't get concerned with additives, synthetics, etc.
It seems to me everyone has their own opinions about what's better.

I understand that as well. Zinc was in all our oils as the epa standards were brought in these additives were . Drop down of all our oils . I dont run sythetic at all .and im not telling you to add something that was not standard in oils prior to 1996 . Your shovel oil back in the day had zinc additive in it and know it has less then .8 percent in it . I would hate to see you put new cam and lifter set in there and have it fail .

Thanks for the info Paul.
I do most my own work and I go with what my mechanic tells me since he built and warantied my motor. I haven't had any problems with it at all.
He said to replace the cam before it blows. It's worn and starting to lose the hardened surface. He said to inspect the tappets and cam bearing and bushing also.
The motor is apart 'cause i'm puttin on new STD heads. Real nice ported and flowed heads. I had to see what the cam's lift is that's when I saw the bad cam lobe.

I hear ya brother i just did not want you thinking i was pushing any thing on you bro just sharing info that has helped me over time and not having to replace cams for customers under warr and it was the oil companys fault not mine . And crane sent me a tsb and shed light on what was going on . Because they were having to replace cams for us it was a mess brother just a mess

Thanks again.

HRK, thanks for the good info, however, the Evo lifter/pushrod conversion requires engine case machine work and the parts alone are about $1200. The lifters are at a different angle than that of the shovels. I checked into that. I ain't spending $1500+/- bucks on something that's not broke. Why is the cam failing? I dunno exactly why but I'm sure it's because of something normal, (ie: everything you said) adjustment, riding stlye, over revvvvvvvvving,
metal fatigue.
The 70wt oil I use is for Vtwins, from a cycle shop about $7 per quart. I don't use cheap stuff. Got too much money invested to go that route. 70 wt cycle oil when hot is like water, it's not as think as some people might think. The older motors had larger tolerences than the new motors, therefore the thicker oil, plus shovel motors are about 30 years old, they're worn more and the south florida weather is VERY HOT!, therefore the 70 wt oil to account for extreme heat thinning the oil and the larger tolerences found in the shovels.
Ask any old shovelhead mechanic in south florida and they will tell you to run 70 wt or "she'll blow up on ya".
Thanks for your reccomendations.