Sure it's worth it... 500-1000 RPM gains aren't unreasonable. BTW, your approach sounds well thought out, so I doubt you'll have any trouble...

Now, if the engine is truly an experiment... you of course can go a bit wilder with the porting and see larger gains (obviously). [8D]

As w8ye says, get some "before" numbers and do let us know how you make out!

-Joe