I Love my iron 883! its in stock form right now and, I am planning on doing some modifications to it over the winter. The first and foremost things I want to do to it is Performance mods and put a double seat so i can take my ol lady on it. In terms of performance mods, Im looking to get some very fun, usable power stock form i believe is 44bhp Im looking to get alot more out of it. I just dont know where to start any suggestions?

Thanks

Leo

 

yep, don't double seat, contradicts what the Iron is all about....stay solo man!

 

I'd love to stay solO man but the wife wants to tag along o_0. Any ideas on how to get more juice outta the 883. everyone tells me there is a 1200 kit but is there anything bigger? im sure that can haul us both at a faster pace

 

Talk to Dan at www.nrhsperformance.com. They have a 1250 kit that will really wake up your 883. Now, there are some things you need to know.

Stage one upgrades...air cleaner, pipes, and reprogram of your ECM...will help a ton.

You can also modify your heads and change cams to increase performance of your 883.

You can go with a 1200 or 1250 kit and get a lot more power. However these kits use your stock 883 heads. Going with a 1200 head and the appropriate kits will produce a bit more power. You can then change cams and do head work to the 1200 heads to get even MORE power.

Now if 1250 isn't big enough you can go with even larger kits. However, these upgrades will require you to split open your cases and have them board out to fit the larger pistons. They ARE NOT a bolt in solution. Also you'll need other work done to your bike to deal with that kind of power. If your bike is going to be a daily rider, stick to the 1250 or under kits. Again, Dan is a great resource when it comes to this stuff.

How fast do you want to go? How much do you want to spend? It's really that simple.

Personally, the 1250 kit with Stage II head work, Cams, pipes, ac, and retune will get you a ton of power...more than doubling what you have now. It's not cheap, about $3-4k, but you'll definately notice it.

Some other things to consider. If you're on a budget and need to spread the cost out, go in sections. For instance, pipes and an AC will be bennificial no matter what route you take so you can do those first. If you want to go with a big lift cam that requires head work, do the head work first. Those heads will still work with a stock cam and increase your power but you'll be able to then save up to buy the cams later and still use the heads now.

Now you will need something to adjust your ECM and you have some choices here but most can be seperated into one of two categories, one-time solutions and multi-use solutions. One-time solutions mean that you pay for the fix each and every time you need to appy it. For instance, a dyno tune. A dyno tune, while ideal, is expensive if all you're doing are pipes and ac. If you then put on a 1200 kit...another dyno tune at the same cost as the first one. Then you do cams? Another tune. Then heads? Another tune. The dealer reflashes fall into this same catagory. Everytime you make a change, you have to pay to update the ECM solution.

Multi-use solutions allow you to pay for the solution once and then use it over and over again as you make further changes to the bike. The Power Vision or other devices that allow you to reflash your ECM or the Power Commanders that "piggy back" onto your ECM and are updateable are examples of these multi-use solutions. So be sure to plan wisely and this may save you money in the long run. Once you are finished "upgrading" your engine, you can always get a final dyno tune and maximize your performance.

For two up riding, unless you and your girl are over 400 lbs combined the 883 will get the job done but just barely. A 1200 or 1250 with 1200 heads, pipe, intake, and tune will be just fantastic and have more than enough power. The sporster you see in my signature started life as an 883 then I upgraded it to a 1200 with slight head work and higher compression. It was a night and day difference.

 

Not trying to dissuade you from going to a 1200 or 1250, for sure that would be fun.

But wanted to let you know that if you do a Stage 1 on your 883 it'll liven up pretty good.

I ride two-up with the wife on my 883 all the time. No problem at 70-80 mph on the slab with enough extra to get out of any situations. Plenty of pull on country roads and in the twistys too.

Kevin

 

wow! totally amazing i had no idea they made a 1250 kit, and that i could play with cams and all. very very helpful guys much appreciated. I mean in terms of a budget there really is none the sky is the limit. I just want to complete the necessary aspects during the winter, and then iron out the fine details such as the cams/head work. i mean better breather, pipes, and ecu upgrade will definitely come first followed by the 1250 kit and supporting mods like the heads/cam work. and yes it is my daily so I'd like to maintain some sort of reliability. But who says i cant buy a project sporty and go nuts on that one too

once again thanks folks for all your suggestions and help youve all been very helpful

 

what do you guys think about gearing once the mods are done?

 

As a daily, leave the gears alone. I can't remember if your bike has the same gears as the 1200 or not. I know with my 1999 883 the gears were shorter to help make up for the "lack of torque" the 883 had. This helped in the acceleration department and, believe it or not, the 1200 STILL got better gas milage on the freeway than the 883!

Talk to Dan over at NRHS before you do anything. He has a ton of information on the XL engine (runs them out at the Bonneville salt flats...) and can really help guide you as to what will work best for your situation. He can also help you plan how you want to go about upgrading.

I went cheap and found a used set of heads, pistons, and cylindars off eBay from a 1998 1200S (higher compression heads) and got them for $250 shipped. Sent them off to Dan and he worked the heads to open them up some to reduce compression, went with new .010 Thunderstorm Pistons (which raised the compression back up) and bored the cylinders out a bit to freshen them up and get them perfectly round.



That's what they looked like when I got them back. Got a set of W-grind cams and a 1200 ignition module (my 1999 883 didn't have an ECM for the ignition...and had to rejet the carb). With gaskets I think my whole build cost was under $900. Took my time and did it over a weekend. The parts went together fabulously (as you can see Dan put the pistons in the cylindars before he shipped them so I didn't have to fuss with that...charges a little extra for it but worth it if you ask me) and the work was top notch. The engine ran great and produced a ton of power. Dan worked with me for a month helping me decide where to go with my setup and answered every (dumb) question I had.

I cannot recommend the man and his shop enough. I don't work for him. Don't get kick backs. Just a customer who was really happy with his work and likes to point others in the direction of a very well qualified, honest, and trustworthy shop.

 

that sounds awesome, i'll definitely give him a buzz and ask him what he recommends I do for engine upgrade. I appreciate all the help definitely gonna look into his stuff, and i hope he can work with me because of my distance (Canada) and we'll go from there. I need more power though, im just itching for something more

 

OR... You could buy a Ducati. Any Ducati.

Don't get me wrong, I'm ALL FOR people injecting money back into the economy instead of saving it for themselves.

I just never understood why anyone would spend all that dough to make a harley still not as fast as most stock Ducs, instead of just enjoying the harley for what it is. Plus, 50 mpg average for the entire year isn't bad.

Just my two cents. I don't really like to go that quick though.