Here is a web site that you might be interested in. nightrider.com/biketech
In this web site there is a tab that says sportster on the right hand side. There the will show you proven steps to take that can put you from 75 hp all the way to 103 hp to the rear wheel. WOW man!

 

Yup, you pretty much have it right:

A/C, Exhaust, cams, and ignition is what you can do to gain power without rebuilding. That's pretty much all I know. In that order pretty much how you do it with A/C | Exhausts, cams giving you the biggest gains with the ignition module giving you the smallest gains (3 hp at best from the ignition).

As for the mikuni, it won't really give you any signifcant gains unless you have an over 100 hp engine. However, the advantages is has over the CV carb is throttle response. When you open up the throttle with a mikuni carb acceleration is NOW. With a CV carb you get a small delay.

 

Sounds like you've had a few knowledgeable folks chime in with good advice, but here's what I just did. A stock 1200 is about 65HP depending on your altitude to sea level, and a stage 1 kit will give you the biggest bang per dollar in the 1000.00 price range. A Stage 1 Breather is about 140.00 or so, aftermarket exhaust mufflers vary up to about 200.00 or so, and rejetting your carbs can cost about 30.00 or so for parts, add dealer labour and it'll set you back a grand or so, do it your self and the reward is more bling bling for your bike. Stage 1 upgrades will net you about 75 horseower, and again, hp varying by sea level and year of bike.

There are lots of infomative steps to this procedure here on the site, so search stage 1 upgrades and you'll be swimming in technical info. The pickup is an average 10-12 horsepower, and if you want more, then cams and head porting are the necessary steps taken after stage 1. This will effectively give you a stage 2 upgrade wih about 90-95 horsepower being the net result. Keep in mind that cams, cylinder heads, and porting can set you back a few grand and they will likely require more carb work, bigger and better exhaust systems, and some dyno time to tune it in right. NRHS out of Colorado is the company to search if you want big Sporty Power, but be prepared to shed thousands to get that added power my friend.

I researched all of this over the past 4 months, and could not find enough valid reasoning to make me give up the added 3-4K just to pick up another 12-20 horsepower. Just wasn't worth it at this stage. Stage 3 upgrades will give you between 100 - 110 hp and it justs keeps costing more money to get those few added horsepower. If all you want is some basic performance, some nice sounding pipes, and a little bling, then go the stage 1 route and realize your biggest bang for the dollar. I just got my bike back today and here are the net horsepower results with an EFI 1200 Sporty. A nice p/u of 15 horsepower and 6ft-lbs of torque at 3600' above sea level. I'm very happy with my results, and my new pipes sound just wicked. See my other post in the Sportster forum titled XL50 on Steroids. I will be adding more pics and video tomorrow night.

 

The stock rubbermount heads are capable of 90 rwhp. By the older standards of stage 1 and stage 2, they are stage 1.5 stock. By finding the right setup (cams included) you can get close to 90 rwhp out of this bike by just swapping exhaust, a/c, and cams. The trick is that you need to find a setup that works very well together to get those numbers (not easy). If you want to get anything more than 90 rwhp you will need to do some porting.

 

thanks much all.
think i lean towards the stage one with polish and port and mikuni..
cam i imagine will be the hardest decision. hope the guy doing the polish and port will have some concrete findings to base that decision on.

thanks again all

and MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

Good way to go, but sounds like your budget of 1000.00 is going out the window. Port and polish from a shop with some good know how will set you back about 1400.00+ when the dust settles, and cams will add another 500.00+ depending how radical you want them. I'd suggest SE 535 cams which are 256/266 duration at .050, and this way you'll pick up some ponies without having to rebuild all of your valve train. If you want more radical cams, go with a Red Shift 556. Higher than that and you're going to have to change your fixed pushrods to adjustables, and likely add some roller rockers into the mix. Before you know it, this stage 2 tweak just cost you 5K. Bling Bling Dude!

 

Call GMR Performance. 928-445-3473

 

sportin and tripper thanks. yeah after i looked into it i realize the budget is shot. oh well. guess i'll just have to strech the truth a bit to the ol.