Sportster Questions

Greetings,

I have a few questions relating to Sportster performance.

1) What is the stock final drive ratio for a 95 XLH1200. As far as I can tell, the front pulley is 29tooth and the rear is 63 tooth. I haven't actually counted, but I want to reduce this ratio (taller) to reduce engine RPMs a bit for highway driving. I found a 55 tooth rear which would reduce RPMs by 12 percent.

Since this will also reduce torque to the rear, I want to spruce up the engine performance a little. I already have higher flow pipes (SE) and a hypercharger. I am planning a stage 1 carb kit. I have heard that slightly more aggressive cams and lifters would help a lot as well. Any suggestions on those?

I also am considering a trailer. This summer I want to travel to some of my jobs by bike, and I need to haul baggage, including a 70 pound tool box. Will these modifications I am considering have any adverse effect on trailer pulling?

Thanks,
Panth

Don't waste the time or $$$. You'll lose too much on the low-end for normal riding. Simple example is just changing the front belt sprocket from a 29 to a 30 for running the measured mile @ Maxton, NC got 1200's to go as fast as they would go, but then riding the bike around town required slipping the clutch more than you'd like. If you ride on the interstate all the time a 30 will work fine, but going up on the overall gearing more than that will cause more problems than it solves.

There is more power to be found in the heads than anywhere else & cams are ALWAYS a compromise - you must give up one thing to get another. In other words, what you gain on the top end you lose on the bottom. The W grind cams are a very popular choice & you don't give up much on the low end, but if you were to use those with taller gearing, an 883 would dust you from a stoplight.

Professionally worked heads & a properly tuned CV carb will give you more performance you can actually use in day-today riding than any set of cams on the market. However, the Andrews N2's are a popular "bolt-in" set, those favor the low end & work pretty good with stock heads. A bit more "git up & go" from a traffic light, good for passing on a 2-lane road without downshifting, etc.

While you can do a LOT of things with a Sportster & pulling a trailer is one of them (I know a guy who sometimes does), you can't do everything with the same setup.

And hey, Panth, Sportsters vibrate !!! Dropping the highway rpms won't change that either. Hop on one with the 27 front sprocket from an 883 & the vibration you feel @ 60 mph you'll feel @ about 67 mph on one with the 29 front from a 1200.

H-D went to the larger frame & rubber-mounted engine for Sporsters in 2004 to make the vibration you feel less, but it's still there & that's true with any H-D engine, just due to the basic V-Twin design. I've got a '95 model too & thru 2003, the engine is a structural member of the frame, so you are going to feel the vibration, no matter how tall you gear the bike.

Think "system" & what it is you want the bike to do. And the 1st performance upgrade I'd make (beyond standard items like slip-on mufflers, air-cleaner, carb tuning) would be working the cylinder heads.

Hi Art, I figured you would be the one to answer, being the sportster person you are. Yeah, I am trying for the best of both worlds, a fun bike to hit the curves with, as well as something to cruise with.

As far as being smoked off the line, oh well. That is not my thing. As far as I am concerned, this bike has more than I need at the low end (without a trailer, since I don't have that yet). I am not dragging with it, and am willing to give up a little at the low range.

All bikes vibrate, that is true. My son's Yammy Virago 700 vibrates as bad as the Sporty. I can handle it with no problems up till about 65-70MPH, then it gets annoying. I have been researching ideas and opinions on various sites. I have read about things like filling the handlebars with lead shot to dampen handlebar vibration (but adds mass as well). Other sites have mentioned the taller gearing helps at highway speeds as well.

A more ideal solution would be to have two bikes, one for cruising, and one for curve busting, but I have not the budget for that yet. Someday!

OK, next question is how fat is your wallet ? :roflmao:
Again, I'll take head work over cams if there's a goal to be accomplished within a given budget & the head work will often cost less.

With respect to gearing, I'll play with a neat SpeedCalc program - looking @ your bike in high gear @ 60 mph, engine rpm = 2720. Let's change the rear sprocket as you've considered - now you're going 66 mph @ the same rpm. Back to 60 mph with the different rear sprocket & your engine is turning 2450 rpm, which is below where a Sportster engine needs to run on the highway & right smack in the transition phase of the carb which is the most difficult to tune.

Want to run 75 mph instead? OK - with stock gearing the rpm = 3400 & with the different rear sprocket it's only dropped to 3065. And by the way, changing the rear sprocket will also require that you buy a new drive belt because the number of teeth will be different - last I heard those belts were about $275. Don't have to get a new belt for a front sprocket change though - although the change will throw your speedometer off.

A roll of nickels in each side of the handlebar works - there's a product called the "Barsnake", etc., but as you can see, sprocket changes don't make all that much difference in engine rpm @ a given speed. Oh, you can change the ratios a LOT & we sure have, but only for racing in specific classes @ specifc tracks.

I wish I had heard of the roll of nickles trick before I changed the grips out. That is right in the budget!

nickels

yeah after a one way 800 mile trip on a sporty with drag bars. Those nickels came in handy later on the way back. That has been around for a good long time. I could'nt afford anything else and looked at the bight side I always had some cash for gas if ever got stuck somewhere.The bike is long long gone but the carb is on a Dyna I got now. Heck I gotta Sporty "worked carb" on a O2 wide glide(still got a no actice thunderjet housing stuck in the side). The needle, the needle, the needle. Then the heads too!
Me not gonna get jumped off the lline but also I take that bike all over the states and still gets good mileage.
I got a buddy with an 84 sporty 883 worked over to 1200. That thing has been it all, thunderheaders,flowed heads,balanced,ignition goodies,etc and he still wanted to change sprockets. That is when things stopped working well together, had that bike all over the powerband/torque. He's chased that thing for couple years and money,went back to stock sprocket and runs great to this day ,Ya gotta Watch that slippery slope!!! Have fun!

Later
Voo1

I have a 1993 XL 1200 with a 89 inch S&S motor, and its a rocket, but I learned one thing about Torque is the heads need to be ported go to this site here and read about how to increase the torque on your sporty................Nallin Racing and Head Service - Shreveport, LA - Motorcycles - Repair and Service . Cause Iam sporting 105 ft. lbs..........

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