Speedmaster intake porting. Hopefully I can make something out of this

I think the main reason people balk at paying to port an intake is the idea - right or wrong - that the intake already has ports which are big enough. Then there is also the idea that if you make the ports too big, you lose velocity and end up hurting yourself. That might be another perception that can be blamed on magazines. Finally, I think a lot of people look at dyno tests in magazines where the engine makes 750HP with an unported intake, then they swap to a ported intake and the improvements are negligible. Most guys take a look at that and decide to spend their money on a new carb or a year's supply of mint-flavored condoms.

As for shop rate....I noticed about 10 years ago the birth of the $100/hr shop rate. I'm still mystified over that. I mean, I walk into a lawnmower repair shop in a 1000sq-ft shack with a 2.5HP compressor and there's a sign on the wall that states the shop rate is $100/hr.

10 years ago, the company I work for was costing jobs at $120/hr. This is out of a multi-million dollar facility with millions more in tooling and over 75 degreed engineers, 200 other degreed and union employees, full health benefits, and lots of government red tape to deal with....all producing a product that requires years of technical knowledge and expertise.