I have an '01 883 custom, and ive got the stage 1 equivalent upgrades done to it. My dads 99 heritage softail benefited quite well from the andrews cams/ crane fireball ignition upgrade, and i was curious if these upgrades could do the same for my sporty. I know from the other posts here that it would be more effective to get either head work done or do the full 1200 conversion, however, i won't have the time nor interest to tear down the motor in the near future.

What i have planned is the crane fireball module (i think the model is 8-1100 but its the one that can use the factory dual fire coil) and the Andrews N2 camshafts. I want better low end than top end, as i don't think i will be screaming at 4-5k rpms all day down the interstate. I did a bit of research and the N2s seem to be the low end cams, and N4s are the top end (for lightly modified/ stock bikes)

Is this reasonable? I plan on spending around 450-500$ here, so i want to be sure this is a good idea.

 

Have you done the Thunderslide kit in the carb yet? That is a must. If I were you before I jumped into cams, I'd do the Thunderslide kit, SE ignition module, and the SE coil and wires. What pipes are you running? Those are huge as well.

 

A Thunderslide in not a must have thing. Any competent scooter mechanic can "massage" your carb to run most combos. I suggest the Dana ignition with a good coil. The Dana ignition can be adjusted for timeing for the front and rear cylinder indipendantly. The N2 cams are a good choice for down low, just remember, a sportster motor likes the rpm's. Good luck with your upgrades and keep us posted on the progress.

 

Ok. I am running an arlin ness big sucker intake, V&H staggered duals, and i have done some tinkering w/ the carb.

The previous owner apparently has bigger jets in the carb than stock. now when the bike is hot, the bike seems to be too rich, no matter what the idle adjustment is. When i rev it, it 'skips' and continues on like normal. the less i have the idle screw out, the better it seems to be. But anyway, i have shortened the spring on the slide piece, and it seems not to have helped. The problem goes away if i hold the slide open, so thats why i tried shortening it(i tied loops together w/ string). Any ideas would be helpful, and i have considered the thunderslide kit, but it dont want to spend the money if i can help it (save for the formentioned parts)

Do you think the N2 will hinder the top end or just not boost much up top?

 

You need to figure out the carb before you go spending any more money.

 

cams are good and all but if you are still pulling in the same amount of air (i.e. not messsed with the carb) then you will not see as good a result as if you upgrade the carb in some way.

 

Have figured out the carb issue. apparently there already is a thunderslide kit installed. But what the guy didnt do was drill out the vacuum ports on the slide. so when i went to accelerate, the slide was sluggish to open, thus the cough. I have 170 main jet and 45 slow jet; the ones that came w/ the kit. So when i get time, ill drill the ports and see if that fixes the issue.