Looking for advise here from owners who made the jump from an 883 to 1200 engine mod.

Did it REALLY make a noticeable difference after the mod? I'm seriously considering doing the basic 1200 mod and changing the cams on my 2005 883, which has stage 1 rejet and Straight Shots. I'm looking for more lower end get-up and smoother ride at highway speeds (as most know, an 883 is working hard at 80MPH+). My engine only has 15K miles...wait until it has more miles?

Appreciate feedback from folks who did the mod to their machines. costs?

 

YES....you will notice ALOT of improvement. Especially if you go with a heavier cam. As far as mileage, doesn't really matter...you're technically rebuilding it anyways when you do the swap.

As far as cost, it depends on how you go about doing it. Check NRHS out...they have pretty average prices on the kits as well as individual parts you'll need for the change over.

 

you have an 05, so don't check out nrhs. They are having oil consumption issues with the rubbermounted sportsters.

I got the basic bread and butter upgrade by my local indie. It included boring out the cylinders, replacing the pistons and rings and gaskets. I noticed a tremendous difference. It was very fast. Even better if you plan on replacing the cams.

unfortunately you will not notice a difference at highway speeds as you will be pulling the same rpms that you did when it was an 883. you'll need some more teeth in your sprocket for that.

rob

 

Upgrading an 883 to a 1200 is in my opnion like adding a swimming pool to your property.. Hence, won't get much return on your money at resale. So an 883 with a 1200 upgrade will still and always be an 883 when it comes to resale or trade-in...

Aside from the cost of the 1200 kit, cams, etc. even if you do your own labor, gearing on the 883 is different then on a true 1200.

Been there done that, and yes you will get a little more zip out of the bike but I later found out it wasn't worth the expense. Esp when I basically lost my 1200 upgrade investment when I tried to sell the bike.

If I were to do it all over again I would sell the 883 outright and "buy a 1200" and know that I'm getting what I actually paid for.

Just my opnion.. take it or leave it...

 

It is worth it and from my experiance I would forget those crappy pipes and spend the extra money on head work before cams.

 

The 1200 is like a shot in the *** over the 883

 

A big jump in power, when I did my '02, I basically turned it into a Buell, used Buell cylenders,pistons, and heads, crane cam(n4) crane single fire ignition, "tweeked" the stock carb, breathing through a Forcewinder, Bassani pro street exhaust. Ran like it's butt was on fire and the head was catching. Had to hold on tight when she got above 3500 rpm's.

 

Thanks for all these. From other posts of similar topic, sounds like it won't be a racer but will be stronger going through the gears. Still won't solve the issue of high revs at highway speeds without gearing changes.

 

Side question: How does doing the 1200 conversion affect mpg?

 

i went from around 62 mpg to about 55-57mpg. not bad