According to the book, the head may or may not be removed from the frame without removing the engine...it depends on each individual bike frame...it seems there is some variation on the assembly line.

I will pray for your adventure.

Keep us posted on your progress.

oh, thanks for your prayers but engine rebuild,mods are nothing new in my garage. just new to this bike. basicly aquired this bike recently runs fine, low miles, but has a distinctive tick up top. im 99 percent  sure the exhaust rocker is the culprit why im not sure....possibly a low oil condition who knows.. while im wrenching i have already layed out a killer exhaust system and the stock cvk is slated for replacement via a vm series carb. saddle bags and a windsheild from my parts piles and viola i have next years daily rider. now, i just hope my triumph america dont get all jealous on me...
out there somewhere...
delamite

90% sure, You don't have to remove the head.
My bet is on a /to be politicaly correct/ not realy bright former owner, riding the bike with almost no oil. You have a worn rocker arm /s/ and squared cam shaft lobe/s/. 3 out of 6 Savages, that I had  were like this. In my humble opinion , You will need at least 1 , but may be 2 rocker arms . About the cam shaft- You will have a choice to go with a new one, or to send the old one to be regrownd /you will have the chance to change the valve timing and the lift/, or You can just compromise, go cheap, and take a stack of sand paper sheets and smoothen the squared lobes.

I used Web Cams Inc, in California, to regrind my cam.  I think it was about $125 (3 years ago).  They offered about 10 profiles from which to choose and I had the cam back in my hands in less than 2 weeks from the date I sent it.  I picked one that was just a little up from the middle of the pack.  

I you want more detailed info I can dig out the file for you.

That is exactly what I did with mine.  

I don't know what your budget is like, but you might consider having the cylinder undergo a "silicone-carbide treatment".  My was done by Bore-tech.  It makes the cylinder wall much more slick, and thereby creates less friction and less heat...yielding more power and the cylinder will last 5-10 longer.  An added benefit is that there is no breakin period required.  The power gain is noticeable and the engine runs noticeable smoother as well.
I paid about $100 for a larger bore piston and about $200 for the bore and treatment.  I do not know the condition of your piston/cylinder, or whether they can be left as is and just add the treatment to the cylinder...if so that could save you a couple hundred.  This is a long term engine saving investment...just some food for thought.

I really like the sportster mufflers, good performance/sound and cheap on ebay.  Or a screaming eagle II type mufler for more sound and a little better performance when other mod's have been done.  Or, since you are doing this throughout the winter, you have time to shop ebay for a new supertrapp and a rock bottom price.
My supertrapp is running without the baffle plates as normal.  I have a few of them on but have a partial cone on the end for a reverse cone meg look...so the baffle plates aren't really doing much of anything other than as a base for the reverse cone to bolt on to.

Please keep in touch, I really would like to see and hear of your progress.

If I remember correctly, and it has been 3 years, about the treatments for the cylinder...the nikasil was for aluminum cylinders and the silicone-carbide was for iron/steel liner type cylinders.  The result is the same for both.  
During discussion with the rep at Bore-tech he said that doing the cylinder was all that was needed for a streetbike, going for the piston/cam and associated gear would be needless expense unless you were going racing for real.

When I sent the cylinder in for the work I also sent the new piston with it, that way they could actually measure the piston prior to doing the bore job instead of just assuming the standard size of the piston since there is some variation.

I have had absolutely no issues whatsoever with rings or anything else.  The engine ran BUTTERY-SMOOTH from the first crank.  I could FEEL the difference in the way it ran...just amazing!  

I have two favorite exhausts.   One is the supertrapp (sounds good, no baffle plates) seen  in the most recent photos I have posted, and the other is a R&D muffler I got from Performance Design (at present they are not selling any) that was made for big inch Harley's.  It is of the swirl-design, with lots of small tabs on the inner spiral, and long swooping spiral ports on the outside.  It is said to make good back pressure when going  slow and virtually open-pipe-like with wide open throttle.  I do know that it works well and makes a great sound.  

Leaving the air box in and modifying to accept the battery is the way to go if you want to keep the side panels.  I ended up removing mine and sometimes wish I had not...but...I also wanted to make new plates but have not done that yet...no garage/shop so I am slow to get stuff done.
I need to get a house with a garage so I can work inside during any weather...I am really tired of working around the weather.

By the way, the Webcams Inc can be found at www.webcamshafts.com.

Yea...a...just a little different............