Each to their own indeed; beauty is in the eye of the beholder...
et al.
We are all different and our bikes should reflect that; woe the day where we are all riding identically modified bikes! Leave that to the tassel brigade.
My ethos is to keep any mods reversible; although I can't yet see a time when I would want to sell mine, I know that it would fetch more if it was standard or could be easily returned to standard. Cutting the cam case does not fit with this. To replace the camcase requires a total strip of the engine in order to line-ream the cam bushes from the inside of the crankcase. But does it improve the looks? NIMHO, the lump is already over tall and it only serves to accentuate that disproportion. Why else is it done? Allegedly to facilitate radical rerouting of the oil lines to prevent them chafing... but there are other ways to prevent that, including making them a just a little longer, clamping them to each other (which gives them more rigidity) and taking care to ensure that they aren't stretched over a sharp edge (rather than just bunging them in a bit of PU coated sleeving and hoping for the best as the factory did!). That, and checking your bike over regularly means that it's actually not an issue.
But my real beef is promoting that job as a neccessity, to newbies especially. To quote Maz last Thursday on the 'Essential Mods' thread, "Whilst changing the (oil pump) gear, cut the camcase down and re-route new oil lines 'up and over'."
Bit dictatorial!
It is not essential, it is not neccessarily an improvement, in looks or function; it's certainly not up there with removing side reflectors or fitting a Free Spirits belt-tensioner on Fuellers nor renewing primary chain shoes or oil pump gears on Tubers; it's an irreversible, primarily cosmetic mod. So I'm just pointing out that not everyone does it.
However I think we all agree that the bit of ill-fitting black plastic that pretended to be a sprocket cover from the factory has to go! But to replace it with a
fish slice does not to me seem the way forward One man's meat is another man's
poisson (Did you see what I did there?)