What are the advantages of upping my 883 to 1200 versus just buying a new 1200?

is it risky to have it done?

Will HD dealers do it?

compared performance of 883-1200 to a native 1200?

 

You really need to do a little research... There are tons of posts about the conversion....

 

Search for NRHS Performance or Hammer Performance. 1250 upgrade $$:HP is WAY greater than the HD 1200 kit or engine. There is so much more potential with this upgrade. To maximize benefits, the only thing from a 1200 you'll want are the later model heads.

 

Solid mount or rubber mount? Yes, hd dealers will do it. It's not risky to have done, but hd dealerships are a rip off.

 

The advantages of converting to a 1200 include cost savings (if you do your own wrenchin') and retaining the 883 gearing, which will get you off the line and ahead of a stock 1200 up to about 60mph. The stock 883 heads are fine, as long as reverse dome pistons are used for the conversion and you don't change the cams.

 

If you can get your money back out of your bike, their are some great deals out their now.

 

What year is your 883?

What are you trying to accomplish? Highway cruiser, street racer, bar hopper? factory 1200 HP range or most-you-can-get?

Long term planning, are you going to keep it for quite a few years, or are you going to want to get your money out of it fairly soon?

 

It also depends on what year your bike is. I have an '07 883L. A brand new 1200C is $10,500. It would definitely be cheaper for me to do a 1200/1250 conversion than to sell my bike and get a new 2013 1200C.

If you were looking for a used 1200 of whatever the year your bike is (like mine being an '07) then the choice is tougher. There's always a chance you can find a used one in good condition for a really nice price.

One good thing about doing a high quality 1200 conversion using the HD kit or one of the 1250 kits from either NRHS or Hammer is you'll have a basically new top end. If the rest of the bike is in great shape you'll have a bike that should be good and reliable for years and many 10s of thousands of miles.

 

it's a 2007 883 standard with 2000 miles. i bought it with 187 miles on it in sept 2012 for $4500. I just want more kick and smoother highway rides. but i don't want to compromise the life of the bike. sportys live long from what i understand... mods may ruin that expectancy.

 

Your engine is an anvil. There are things you can do to hurt it - but, your bottom end will support much more pressure than even a hot 1200 will provide.