Replacing pistons
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Stage I
Joined: Nov 2021
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From: MA
Replacing pistons
Hello, I have 93 xlh883 hugger but when it was first purchased from the dealer he had them put in a 1200 kit. But the thing is they just swapped a 1200 motor in, so if for some reason I would need to replace the pistons what would I order?
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,528
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From: Pennsylvania
Congratulations on your first post to HDF, welcome to the forum. Do you have the paperwork for the engine swap? Look at the VIN number on the engine & the frame, should be the same. If they are the same then you have a 1200 kit, if not there should be some sort of paperwork for the title showing separate engine & frame numbers.
You order pistons IAW the size of your cylinders.
You order pistons IAW the size of your cylinders.
Road Captain
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 654
Likes: 734
If a 1200 motor was swapped into it, almost certainly the heads and cylinders are black highlighted. In this case, it uses flat top pistons. I would highly recommend an upgrade to the 2004+ XL1200 flat top pistons should you ever decide to replace them. They are a far superior design as compared to the 1988-2003 version. They are available in oversizes.
If it was converted to a 1200, more than likely the heads and cylinders are still the silver 883 pieces. In this case, you don't really know what pistons you need until you open it up (caveat: you *might* be able to tell using a borescope through the spark plug hole). That's because there are two common ways to do a conversion. Back in the day, when that bike was new, the common way was to hog out the combustion chambers, to make them the same size as the 1200 heads, and use flat top pistons. Almost nobody does it that way anymore, though, because using a reverse dome conversion piston under the stock 883 heads makes a far superior setup. So depending on which way yours was done, if you want to replace the pistons you may need flat tops or you may need reverse dome conversion pistons. Both are available in oversizes.
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