I have a stock 1996 1200 sportster it has around 30,000 miles on it has cv carb and has been upjetted I have talked to some friends about upgrades for more power I was told to go with Andrews n4 cams I have some people telling me to port and polish the heads had one guy tell me he thinks its pointless him also going from belt drive to chain drive and had someone tell me to also upgrade my push rods as well I'm trying to go a semi cheap route has anyone done this if so did u like it or no and what would you do different

 

You should talk to the folks at Hammer performance, they can give you facts rather than opinions.

 

Ok ill try them to I live in v.a. and talked to the guys at departure in Richmond but that was over the summer and can't really remember what exactly they said and kinda wanted someone that already had this done to theirs tell me if they liked it or not and was satisfied with it but ill def call them as well thanks

 

I'd leave the engine alone, save your money, and spend it on good tires, brakes, and suspension. That 1200 will run forever.

Don't waste your money on a chain conversion to look cool either. When my newly purchased 1991 came with a chain, everyone told me to put a belt on, cause belts were cool. Now, 27 years later, I'm the cool cat with a chain drive, go figure.

A 1996 is a great year too.

John

 

I always spend money on good tires n breaks anyways it was lowered already I believe rides good. I ride with a military motorcycle club and I have the oldest bike and only one that's carberated and I lag behind some so I need something to boost the power some and **** looking cool I could care less bout that I just remember when I talked to the guy from departure he said he went from belt to chain drive cause it was better and would help don't know if that's true or not but I'm just trying to get some more get up and go that's all

 

you can easily buy a newer injected sportster for under $3000
sell your for $1500, you'd be into the newer bike for less than any work on yours

 

Do nothing, save your money, ride more, modify less.

At a steady 70mph I doubt you could tell the difference.

Modifications only pay off if you are looking for more acceleration.

You have a 22 yr old bike with 30K so you ride less than 1400mi per year.

 

Wear ear plugs - best tuning aid known to mankind! They cost pennies - try them.

 

Just adding the N4's won't do much if anything. I have them in my scoot. After Stage 1 if you want more power you're going to have to get into head work with cams, bigger displacement, higher compression. All big $$ stuff.

What a/c and exhaust are you running?

 

Hammer can set your up with a cam set and port job that will get you in the mid to high 90's for hp and still be very reliable,,,,heads and cams with a mild compression bump are what you are going to need,,,,,,with 90 hp o a sporty of your generation you should be able to at least keep up with if not walk the dog on most people you come up on. i rode mine with 92 hp for quite a while before i stepped up the game a bit,,,,it will cost a little but if you love the bike it will be worth it in the end,,,,cams, comp head port and mikuni 42 with a good exhaust and you will be good to go!!
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