883 to 1200 upgrade

Hi
New to Harleys. Just bought a 1995 883cc sportster with many miles and thinking about upgrading to a 1200cc. I see kits on EBAY to upgrade which offer new 1200cc cylinder jugs and 10 to 1 compression pistons. Is this all that is needed for an upgrade or are other changes necessary? Does the carburetor need modification to provide more fuel? Any help in making an upgrade decision would be greatly appreciated.

THANKS!!

1. bigger bang bigger smile
2. ART should chime in later I bet
3. carb should be fine, breather a free flow, and pipes some thing with some back pressure, but free flows to wake it up and some jetting 45/180 most likely which Ken should chime in on
4. 10:1 i think I would hunt down some dished 9.5:1 , some .027 head gaskets, some andrews N2 cams.
5. JMFO........have fun

good advice

Dude, there is so much more that you need to do in order for that bike to run how people may be telling you will with just a simple jug and compression conversion. I have just completed my 96 883 - 1200 conversion. I am going to help you so you do not make the mistakes I did.

I would suggest getting the kits that you see on Ebay if you trust it. If not, go to an indy shop and have them order a kit. You have a couple of options.

1. You can use the jugs that you have and bore them out form 3" (883 bore diameter). If you choose this option, you will HAVE TO ISSIST that a torque plate be used during the boring process.
2. Get brand spanken new ones that are have a 3.5" bore diameter. (1200 bore diameter dimension). These usually have been torque plated.

If you decide to go with option 2, you will get all of the gaskets, reverse dome pistons, (usually), pins, gaskets etc. I got original set form V-Twin. Now here is the part to be careful of and is something to consider very closely. Do not let anyone tell you that you do not need to do any headwork!!!! The stock 883 heads only have a combustion chamber of 49cc's. Do not let anyone plain your heads down unless it is absolutely necessary. If it is necessary, make sure you run thicker head gaskets so your CR will go back down. You should open the valves up a little. One piece of advise that I learned from this forum, polishing and porting your heads is a waste of money.

As far as your carb goes, Ken would be able to answer that better than me, but this is what I did. I have a #46 pilot and a 185 main in. I have absolutely no issues with this set up, but please remember, your bike is not mine and may not like the same set up, this will take a little experimenting. Talk to Kenfused for more information.

Do you plan on putting different cams in? If so, this changes the equation a little. Have you already upgraded your air intake? How about your exhaust?

I spent a lot of my summer chasing phantom shiit around because I listened to some bad advise, not from this forum, but from builders that did not care about their customer. I do not want to see that happen to you. The things that you change will depend on you. How do you ride? What are your intentions? Are you looking for an absolute screaming eagle machine, or something that has a little more than wht it has now??

If you have anymore questions, please feel free to pm me and we can get into specifics about your options, or just hang here as i am sure that there will be others to chime in.

I would use your seasoned jugs instead of getting another set, there are a lot of reputable shops that can do the conversion for you...just do your homework...
Here's a quote from Head Quarters site about using stock jugs
"For 883 to 1200 conversions, we prefer to bore a seasoned stock 883 cylinder to the 1200 size rather than selling a new set of 1200 cylinders. The end result is the very same, cylinder sleeve thickness wise, BUT the seasoned stock cylinder will hold it’s shape better after boring and last much longer."

Here's a link to the Sporty section of the HQ site
http://www.head-quarters.com/html/sportster.html
HRK's buddy Bishops Performance is another shop I wouldn't hesitate to use.
Bishop's Performance - Sportster Packages

I am not sure if I agree with that statement from that headquarters place, but whatever. As fare as the same thing aspect of their position, they are right, but look at it this way, boring those stock jugs will cost you about the same if not more than what it would to to just buy new ones. Shop time is expensive. Either way he will get what he is looking for.

Bishops is the place where I went for all for all of my Screaming Eagle stuff. They are way awesome!!!!

Thanks for such good info. with speedy reply. I didn't think it possible to bore stock jugs almost 1/2 inch wider in diameter. Doesn't seem possible that cylinder walls in an 883 are that thick that they can be safely bored that much. Most engine blocks that I have fooled with do not allow that amount of boring.

depends on the bucks you want to drop for the work you get or do and parts, and yes get some head work. but i wouldn't go to high compression, and I'm sure most will agree it will go as fast as you want to spend, but the basics will get you down the road.

Nothing wrong with riding it a few hundred miles before putting out the cash for an engine upgrade......an 883 moves pretty good, especially for a new rider (which I recognise you did not mention). Folks have rode those stock for many years, even around the world.

My basic philosophy is ride it the way it is until you know what you want to improve first. If everything is fine but the power, then you know where to start. But it don't make sense to me to upgrade the engine first if the saddle sucks so bad ya can't do 20 minutes in it. Just my opinion.......

:cheers:

Gettin a new bike is the same as a new wife. You haveta ride it for awhile before you start makin changes.JMOA :roflmao:
And I think we can take Johnny out of the rookie class now - hes' got edumaction!

A lot of people here have contributed to that.

I wouldn't do it unless I absolutely LOVE the bike and want to keep it til death do us part. I'd rather sell a sporty and get a used Dyna than pump money, time and effort into the Sporty. But.. if you love it, go all the way!