Lieske Wins Pro Gas at Bowling Green

I didn't want to let this slide until it was old news, so I don't have a lot of details yet, but.... The Pro Gas winner at the AMRA season opener in Bowling Green Kentucky last weekend was my friend Joe Lieske on his big inch V-Rod nick named "The Disruptor."

Joe and "The Disruptor" in fine form - two years ago!

Despite rain on Friday and unseasonably cold the remainder of the weekend, Joe managed to qualify in the #3 position. Not too shabby since Joe spent the entire last season chasing gremlins and didn't have a single opportunity to take the bike down the track with the big motor in it (though he did make a few passes with a stock Destroyer engine installed just to see if he could stand to go that slow).

Of course after qualifying was over, Joe remembered something he had noticed two years ago, switched his gearing , and ran quicker in eliminations than the #1 qualifying time. From there it was smooth sailing to the win in the finals. Cool.

Congratulations Joe, and here's wishing you a successful 2011 season!

Perspective

As is so often the case this time of year, it seems there is no free time for writing. I have been porting heads like a madman ....well, let me clarify; like a madman in respect to volume - not in respect to quality! On top of that the Donnie Smith Bike Show is this weekend. The show is a pretty big event, to put it mildly. It consists of 160,000 square feet on three levels containing 200 world class show bikes plus nearly 1000 vendors either selling or promoting their wares.

It also happens to be the one venue outside of the Internet where I promote my business each year. Though the show doesn't open to the public until Saturday at 9am, for me it begins on Thursday, because Neil, the show's promoter, is a long time friend. For that reason I help both Thursday and Friday with load in, usually directing bike show participants and vendors to their assigned spaces. Late Friday evening, I will finally get a chance to set up my own display, consisting primarily of examples of heads which I have ported. This year I added a display for a new service that I offer: machining for Automatic Compression Release valves in Twin Cam heads.

Lee's Speed Shop display at the 2010 Donnie Smith Show

So, if it happens that you will be in the St. Paul area this weekend, be sure to stop by the Lee's Speed Shop booth and say hello.

But all of that was just a lead in to what I really wanted to share. I came upon this statement made by a fellow who goes by the screen name of "Sir Brass" in the comment section of one of the blogs that I follow:

"The beauty of the cross is that in offering Himself as a propitiation, Christ satisfies the holiness of God, the justice of God, the love of God, the mercy of God, and the wrath of God. ALL of it, there."

I say, well put Sir Brass! That kind of puts bike shows and such in proper perspective.

The Great Screamin' Eagle 110 Velocity Myth

I am not normally one to call out others for their misstatements unless I feel I am on pretty firm ground. In fact, I much prefer to confine myself to presenting something as absolutely true only when I can back it up from the Bible. Well, I am well enough acquainted with the Bible to state with assurance that scripture does NOT address velocity in a Screamin' Eagle 110 head. In fact, contrary to some contemporary thought, Harleys are not mentioned at all!

But, with that in mind, I have received a couple inquiries lately having to do with the velocity (or more accurately the lack of velocity) in the Screamin' Eagle 110 heads. Doing a quick Internet search turns up a lot of statements on various forums stating unequivocally that the ports in a SE 110 head are too large, resulting in a lack of velocity which kills power. I believe this to be incorrect.

Here is something you hear a lot in the performance world. "CFM sells heads, but velocity is what makes power." "We port heads for maximum velocity, not flow numbers."

So, what is the basis for that statement? The effect which is often referred to as inertia tuning is based on this; a moving column of air (such as in your intake port) has inertia which will continue to fill the cylinder after the piston has reached Bottom Dead Center on the intake stroke. In case you are a little fuzzy on your 4 stroke theory, as the pistons goes down in the cylinder on the intake stroke, it creates a lower than atmospheric pressure area which "draws" the fuel air mixture in past the open intake valve.

One might think that once the piston reaches BDC there would be as much "charge" in the cylinder as there is going to be, however the column of air in the intake system has inertia which causes it to keep adding the fuel air mixture even though the piston has now started to rise in the cylinder. For this reason, performance camshafts do not close the intake valve entirely until well past BDC. For instance, a cam that I have used in SE 110 engines in the past is the Wild Things TC4 which does not close the intake valve until 54 degrees after BDC.

Now, thinking back to your high school physics class (or in my case thinking back to when I could remember that far back), inertia is a function of mass and velocity. The more mass and the more velocity something has, the higher the inertia. For instance, if someone tosses a baseball to you at a speed of 20 mph, it is unlikely to cause you any discomfort to catch it, but have a professional pitcher throw you the same weight ball to you at 98 mph, and ....ouch!

The same holds true in the intake system. There is a certain amount of mass to the fuel air mixture and if you can add velocity to that mass, it will have more inertia, thus filling the cylinder more in those last few moments before the valve closes. Likewise, velocity in a port is a function of two factors; flow (measured in Cubic Feet per Minute) and Cross Sectional Area. If the CFM goes up and the CSA stays the same, then velocity has increased. But, of course if the CSA goes up, and the CFM does not, then velocity decreases.

This, of course, is what the critics of the SE 110 heads are saying: the velocity is too low because the port is too big. But is it? Most good flow bench programs (I use and recommend Port Flow Analyzer from Performance Trends) will have provision to give a port velocity readout based on the port's average Cross Sectional Area. In order for this to be accurate one needs to have measurements of both the length of the port and the volume of the port, both of which are reasonably easy to perform.

At a test pressure of 28", a stock '06 and later Twin Cam intake port has a velocity of 264.2 Feet Per Second at a valve lift of .550". My best porting job on that casting yields 280.7 FPS at the same lift. As with 99.8% of ported heads, that head has a larger port volume than stock. The reason the velocity is higher in the ported head, is because the CFM increase was much greater than the CSA increase. Now, comparing these two heads to one of my ported SE 110 heads, we see that the velocity in the SE head is 278.4 FPS at that same test pressure and lift. Very close to the ported stock head.

It seems that I have managed to show that at least my ported Screamin' Eagle 110 heads do NOT have a velocity problem as some suggest, at least based on actual flow figures and port size measurements. So, if you are really concerned about low velocity in your SE 110 heads, then maybe the solution is to send them to me for porting work. If you are wondering why I don't have velocity measurements listed for unported SE 110 heads, I would answer that I wonder why you would run unported heads if you are concerned with performance?

Even at that, though, how important is velocity in a Harley head? Remember what we discussed about the relationship between mass and inertia? Velocity by itself does nothing if there is not enough mass involved to give you some inertia (a ping pong ball at 98 mph might sting a little, but nothing like that baseball!). The problem with striving for high velocity ports in a Harley, is that the ports are so short, the mass contained therein will never be enough to provide much inertia, and without inertia ....well you may as well be throwing a ping pong ball. I would suggest that many of those promoting high velocity Harley ports are mis-applying knowledge gained from small block Chevys with their loooong ports. That is not to say that inertia plays no part, just that it is not as significant as when dealing with a longer port.

But, now for the coup de grace, Darin Morgan (one of, if not the, premiere cylinder head guru in the world) said this recently in a Speedtalk forum discussion:
"An engines induction system is almost un-tunable until it hits 6500rpm and until it hits 6500 you have to make allowances.. At 6500-6800 rpm you can build wave propagation and inertia in the system to attain higher VEs. Below that, forget it. The entire scope and design of the induction system changes when your building engines below 6500rpm." ...... "Low RPM engines don't obey the same rules. If you try and build them the same way you do a high rpm application you will be leaving a lot of power on the table."

Folks, if you have a Harley, when Darin says low RPM engines, he is talking about yours! So to sum up: Would the ports on a Screamin' Eagle 110 head be better if they were smaller? Sure, if you didn't loose any flow. Is it worth the time and expense to weld them up and rework them? I certainly wouldn't spend my money there. The improvement would, I think, prove to be so small as to be negligible (we are talking about a street motor here, aren't we?). Besides, if you wanted to improve something on the SE110 heads (besides through normal porting work), it would be the goofy way the spark plug protrudes into the chamber which causes issues with the wet flow, .... but that would be a subject for a another post.

A Timely Story

I don't know about you, but when I look at all what is going on in the world, it is tough not to get angry. There are rulers killing their citizens without remorse. There are those who plot the genocide of whole nations. And still other governments keep their citizens on the verge of starvation while they live in luxury. On the home front things are not much better. It seems we have a nation that is intent on committing financial suicide, not to mention the forces who are outraged with the mere suggestion that, as a budget consideration, taxpayer money should no longer be used to pay for the murder of babies. Yep, keeping your temper in check seems to be getting increasingly more difficult to do, and yet we have Jesus command to love your enemies!


One place we can read about this kind of love is in Luke 10

Luke 10:25-29 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?


Here we have two great commands. Love God, and love your neighbor, In fact, elsewhere in the New Testament, Jesus calls these two the greatest commandments. In the parable that follows, we not only learn how to answer that question of who is my neighbor, but a little more about what love consists of.

Luke 10:30-37 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

To better understand the depth of this story, one needs to know a little about the relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans. You see, the Samaritans were descendants of those tribes of Israel who were on the wrong side of the divided kingdom. And not only did they side with the wicked kings of Israel, they intermarried with the local population who God had specifically commanded them NOT to marry. By the time of the New Testament, Samaritans were despised and looked down upon by the Jews to such an extent that the Samaritan woman at the well was shocked that Jesus would even speak to her.

With that in mind, the story of the Samaritan who acted out of love, and acted as a neighbor to someone who probably hated him just for who his ancestors were, should provide an example for us as to who we should love as our neighbor. In other words we should even love someone who hates us.

So what else can we learn from this? Real love, as shown in this parable, is revealed in actions more so than words. Love, as it is shown to us here, is very closely related to what we commonly call charity because those actions are for the benefit of someone who cannot repay us. In that respect it is the same type of love shown to us by Jesus Christ. He died paying the penalty for our sins, and he showed that love to us, who have no possibility of repaying him.

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Christ showed what the Bible calls the greatest possible love when he laid down his life for us. And he did that when we were repulsive sinners. Jesus Christ is the one we are to look to as an example of how to love others. He is the standard, and it seems a standard that is impossible to live up to. And of course it is impossible, at least if a man relies on himself. But with God, all things are possible. So how is it that we can show others the kind of love that God has shown us? It begins when you repent of your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ.

Setting Pinion to Cam Gear Lash

This is one of those tech tips that I have considered writing several times, but each time I considered it, I decided to put it off until I could provide some pictures to go along with it. But, it seems that I never have an engine at that point when I think of doing this post, and never remember to take pictures when I do. So, we're all going to have to tough it out without pictures, as though we were adults.

Noisy motors are something that are a source of annoyance, and sometimes even embarrassment. The following is directly applicable to Big Twin from 1940 to 1999 as well as most S&S motors, and also can be applied to some extent to Flatheads and Sportsters. With the abundance of cams on the market, and the frequency with which they are changed, whether due to wear or for performance, this is always a timely subject.

First things first. Let's debunk an old wives tale having to do with "a matched gear set." While old wives are the best kind to have, particularly if you are an old husband, it has been my experience that they are an unreliable source for Harley technical advise. The "myth" of the matched gear set stems from the fact that the Factory did (maybe still does) sell a cam and pinion gear set. Trouble is, all that means is that the set comes with both gears in the middle of the size range. There are absolutely no guarantees that size combination will be correct for your engine. After all, if the factory could make a gear set that would fit all of their motors correctly, there would be no reason for them to make more than one size pinion gear and one size cam gear.

But they do, and they have since sometime back in the 1970's. The reason is to compensate for manufacturing tolerances in the center to center distance between the pinion shaft and the cam bearing in the crankcase as well as the pinion bushing and cam bushing in the cam cover. What did they do before different gear sizes were available you ask? Well, I guess you just had to live with a little extra noise.

Now, it is important to note that there are two separate types of bad fitment that will lead to noise: too tight and too loose. Too tight is actually a much bigger problem than its opposite. Too tight a fit between the pinion gear and the cam gear will result in a pronounced whine, and whining is never a good thing whether it emanates from your friends or your engine. In the latter case, it can lead to localized overheating and destruction of the gears. In the former cases it can lead to localized overheating of your temper. Neither is a good situation but the situation with your engine is easier to remedy.

Too much lash between the cam and pinion gear, on the other hand is generally harmless. Annoying but harmless. In fact, often times, a set of perfectly innocent lifters will be blamed for the "ticking" noise caused by pinion gear fitment. But lets get to the point of this post. Setting up proper cam to pinion gear fitment.

When installing a cam and pinion gear combination of unknown fitment, I have found that the best way is to test fit the combo, and be prepared to spend some time getting it right. If dealing with a rebuild where bushings have been replaced, it is worth installing the cam gear in the case without a pinion gear. This is particularly important on an early engine which uses a bushing in the crankcase rather than the late style Torrington. Install the cam with some lube on each end, and without a spacer or thrust washer. Once the cover (with gasket) is tightened, the cam should rotate freely with only light finger pressure. If the cam is binding in the two bushings you need to address that first so that you will be able to "feel" the fitment after you add the pinion gear.

Now that you know the cam is not binding, you can install the pinion gear, cam (again without thrust washer or spacer) and cover. Reaching in through the lifter block hole you should be able to slide the cam in and out easily. That is why you left the spacers out; so there would be plenty of end play to give a good feel. If you cannot slide the cam back and forth easily with just finger pressure, then it is too tight and it will whine.

So, what if by some stroke of luck the cam slides easily back and forth at this point? Are you done? Fat chance. This party is just getting started! If the cam does slide easily without bind, you need to check this at different points in its rotation. That means turning the engine over by hand. If the engine is in the chassis, jack the rear wheel up and with the plugs out and the trans in high gear, turn the wheel to rotate the engine. You will want to check the fitment at at least four places in the cam's rotation. If you find a place where the cam does not slide easily, it is too tight. If the cam will slide easily throughout its rotation, you have established that the fitment is not too tight.

The next step is to check to see if it too loose. Again, reach in through the lifter block hole but this time try to move the cam back and forth in its rotation. If you can feel, or hear a slight click as you move the cam back and forth, it is looser than you would like. Proceed as before and check this fitment in multiple locations in the cams rotation. Perfect fitment is when the cam can be easily slid in and out at any point in its rotation and likewise no lash can be felt or heard when attempting to move it back and forth.

Trouble is, you will rarely find a combination that is perfect. The culprit again is manufacturing tolerances. If the the cam gear and the pinion gear were each perfectly concentric and the crankshaft had zero runout, then there would be no need to check the fitment at more than one place in its rotation. But they aren't and so you do.

The next step, as you have likely already guessed, is to try another size pinion gear, but before you do, it might be helpful to make some notes of what you just found with the present combination. Personally, I always check the fitment every 90 degrees (4 places) in the cams rotation. My note might look like this: blue gear very loose 3 of 4/ slightly loose 1 of 4. The logical next step would be to try the next size larger pinion gear.

Conveniently both S&S and Jim's Machining offer a full range of color coded pinion gears. Though there are pins available which enable you to measure the gears, I find that they are really only of much use when dealing with a gear whose color code is no longer legible. Other than that, simply consult the color code chart from the appropriate catalog to guide you in selecting the next gear to try.

From there the process is repeated with your next selection of pinion gear. Use some common sense here. If the fitment was either extremely loose or tight, you might want to skip one color size to speed the process up. Remember, you will seldom get a "perfect" fitment between the gears, but you will always be able to get a "best possible" fitment - even if you wind up trying every pinion gear available. That is where those notes can come in very handy. Don't be surprised if you wind up going back to a size you already checked as the best possible combo.

One thing you want avoid is a situation where the the fitment is tight at any point in its rotation. Say for instance the fitment feels good 3 of 4 spots in the cams rotation, but is tight enough in one spot that you cannot slide it back and forth with just finger pressure; that combination will whine! I once had a cam that felt good in every place in its rotation with the exception of a short span of one or two teeth, where it took a screwdriver to pry the cam back and forth. I decided to try it, and surprisingly, it was a real whiner! The best coarse of action in such a (rare) case is to replace either the cam or cam gear. Hint: If a combination is tight in two spots in the cams rotation,180 degrees apart, the discrepancy is in the pinion gear or crank runout (since the pinion gear rotates twice for each rotation of the cam). Conversely, if there is only one tight spot, the out of round issue lies with the cam gear.

The best possible fit will be the largest pinion gear that has no bind. Don't be surprised if it checks something like this: good 1 of 4/slight lash 2 of 4/lash 1 of 4.

I guess by now it has become clear that it is beyond the reach of most guys installing their own cam to obtain the "best possible" cam to pinion gear fitment, what with 8 different sizes of pinion gear available, and each of them retailing for over $80. If you then multiply that by the four different styles of pinion gear (splined for Knuckles and early Pans, full length tapered for late Pans and early Shovels, stepped tapered for late Shovels and early Evos, and then of coarse late Evos) at least you can see why your local shop doesn't work for free.

So what are you to do? Well, the cam manufacturers know the danger of fitment that is too tight. That means that they provide cam gears that are on the small side of medium so you are much less likely to have a tight fitment than a loose one. A little ticking caused by gear lash won't hurt anyone, but the whining.... that's got to be fixed, unless of course it is coming from your friends, in which case there may be no cure.

The Measure of Faith

Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.


The measure of faith. Interesting term. If I read this correctly, God deals out, or measures out a specific amount of faith to each person. And by that I mean that each person may not receive the same amount of faith.

That faith is a gift of God is shown several places is scripture. For instance:

1 Corinthians 12:8-9 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

We tend to look at faith as something that is ours in that it comes from within us. Sometimes this has the potential of being a source of false pride. In fact, if we add Ephesians 2: 9 to verse 8 it reads "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." It is true. If your faith came from somewhere inside yourself, then you would have something to boast of.

But that God gives this gift of faith in differing amounts is a thought that may be even more foreign to many of us but is made quite clear in the Bible. Have you ever noticed how often Jesus used the phrase "Oh ye of little faith"? Often he was speaking to his apostles and he said it many times.


Luke 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

We read that verse and see great faith, though Jesus calls it as small as a mustard seed. Then there is the story of the centurion:

Luke 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Have you ever looked upon another Christian (perhaps a pastor or a missionary) in awe, thinking they have such great faith? That may explain why we tend to assume that faith is something we generate; seeing someone with more faith shows us our own lack. But maybe the truth is we were not dealt the the same measure of faith.

So if God deals out the faith to us and he gives each person a differing amount does that mean we are "off the hook" so to speak? After all, if God only gave us so much faith, then isn't it natural for us to only act in accordance with that faith. Maybe.... But on the other hand we also see from scripture that the amount of faith we have is not a constant, unchanging amount.

Luke 17:5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

The apostles obviously knew where the faith came from, and who to ask for more. And that it is possible to get more is also shown in scriptures.

2 Thessalonians 1:3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;


"Faith that groweth exceedingly". Wow, I want some of that!


It is pretty clear that faith is extremely important.

1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

Yes, that makes faith extremely important. Scary important in fact. But there is one more verse that gives me a lot of comfort when I contemplate these things.

Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

That means God will not change his mind or take his gifts back. Some Bible versions use the word irrevocable in place of "without repentance". That means that this faith that Romans 12: 3 tells us is a gift, this faith which 1 Peter 1: 5 says God will use to keep you unto salvation, is something he will not change his mind about. Whatever the measure he has dealt you.

However, with that said, shouldn't we all, as the apostles did, ask the LORD to increase our faith?

45 WR: Cams & Flow

Here are a few interesting tidbits about the 45 WR motor which I have been working on, that seemed worth sharing. Recently I put the cylinders on the flow bench; not because I intended to port them, but just to have a record of their flow. The results were surprising, at least to me.

The cylinders were brought to me with the customer's understanding that they were 1948 WR. At first I assumed that to be correct, but upon a lot of online research, I managed to convince myself that they were actually 1940 WLDR Specials. But finally, thanks to Eric, one of regulars on the FlatheadPower Bulletin Board, and his Beauty of Speed web site, I have returned to my original (less informed, but correct) assumption. The cylinders are '48 WR. Clearly a case of confusion brought on by information overload.

In any case, here is a side by side flow bench comparison of a WR cylinder and a stock WL cylinder. I tried to keep the tests as much "apples to apples" as possible, but here comes the disclaimer. After 62 years and very likely a hard life, an exact comparison between how the parts compared when new is well nigh impossible. But that doesn't mean the results should be discounted, just that they should not be taken as absolutes.

Intake Flow @
.100 - WL 48cfm / WR 52cfm
.200 - WL 84cfm / WR 90cfm
.300 - WL 99cfm / WR 105cfm
.350 - WL 103cfm / WR 108cfm
.400 - WL 104cfm / WR 108cfm

Exhaust Flow @
.100 - 42cfm / WR 52cfm
.200 - 82cfm / WR 77cfm
.300 - 104cfm / WR 89cfm
.350 - 111cfm / WR 92cfm
.400 - 116cfm / WR 94cfm

I don't know about you, but that sure wasn't what I was expecting. The WR has a larger valve and a much larger port opening. I tested both with a clay radius inlet guide directly on the plumber fitting so that manifolds would not be a factor. I tested the WR with a K model intake valve which is 1.810" diameter, verses the WL's 1.625. Now I have seen conflicting specs as to the WR intake valve size. One source lists 1.750, another 1.810, and the worn out valves that were in the cylinders when they came to me were 1.710. Perhaps the chamber wall shrouding of the 1.810 valve is affecting the results. The chamber wall definitely shrouds the exhaust valve more on the WR than the WL, which I believe helps explain the poor flow on that side of the equation. Also, both of the valves run out of space between valve and the roof of the chamber at the higher lifts, limiting flow. I expected much more from the WR.

And if that is not depressing enough for the WR aficionado, consider that a WL with a bigger intake valve and good porting will flow 124 cfm on the intake and 133 on the exhaust at .400" lift and one might begin to wonder what in the world is going on. But of course there are many other factors involved in performance, and I will only attempt to address one more of them here today.

Bottom line (in my opinion), is that the superior performance of the WR motors did not rely on the valves and ports as much as one might think. Degreeing the WR cams, on the other hand was quite revealing also, but in a much more positive direction. The cams are the WR flat tappet variety, which I had reground by Leineweber to stock WR specs. Here is what I found:

Intake Opens:
seat - 57 BTDC
.020" lift - 38 BTDC
.050" lift - 26.5 BTDC
.053" lift - 25.5 BTDC

Intake Closes:
seat - 70 ABDC
.020" lift 47 ABDC
.050" lift 36 ABDC
.053" lift 35 ABDC

Exhaust Opens:
seat - 83 BBDC
.020" - 62.5 BBDC
.050" - 51.5 BBDC
.053" - 50 BBDC

Exhaust Closes:
seat - 46 ATDC
.020" - 21 ATDC
.050" - 11 ATDC
.053" - 10 ATDC

This gives a duration (measured at .053) of 240 degrees, intake and exhaust. By way of comparison, a set of stock WL cams which I had reground by Jim to his .360 lift and +10 degrees duration, check out to only 208 degrees at the same .053 checking point. But as informative as that spec is, the real eye opener is only revealed with a plot of the cam lobes. The "hot" reground WL cams held the valves within .010 of full lift for 25 degrees, both intake and exhaust. The stock WR cams held the valves in that same range for 50 degrees! Clearly, it would take a lot of flow increase from the WL cylinder to make up for the amount of air that the WR valve is able to pass with so much more time to accomplish it.

Oh, and if you haven't already figured this out, it takes a gearhead mentality bordering on the insane to spend so much time analyzing a 60 year old racing motor. What is really scary, is that I am not alone; there are others out there.