---

 

                                       

                                                                                           

        First Day !!!    Gotta good deal I think, but I wanted  better looks and better performance. My first upgrade was 1.5 chubby drag bars, Gottem from  JCWhitney.com ..........

                                                                             for 70 Bucks ! ! !

  Sounds simple eh  ? Just unbolt the old bars and bolt on the new ones, thats what I thought but what a pain.  The Drag Handle Bars have small holes to conceal the switch wiring,  " looks cool " but fishing the wiring though these  holes is quite a challenge. I dropped a dog tag style chain through the end of the handle bars at a 45 degree angle and managed to thread it into the holes. I then tapped the wires to the chain and pulled it through.                              

     I also got rid of the 2 up seat and and replaced it a Lepera Bare Bones Silhouette seat from eBay motors new for $120.     

My Sportser 883 to 1200 Conversion

This is a general summary of my Sportster 1200 conversion. If you need  more specific info email me at gregstersparts@yahoo.com. I will be gladly try to answer any questions you may have.

When I first started to think about a 883 to 1200 Conversion,  I was just going to pay to have someone do it.  I consider my self somewhat mechanical but I have never torn down a Motor Cycle Engine before !   After calling around to some motorcycle repair shops, I found that having it professionally done wasn't that expensive ( about $1000 ). This would consist of boring out the cylinders, installing 1200CC Pistons and Re- Jetting the Carb. I then started think,  I could just purchase a sportster 1200 Conversion Kit From eBay!  for  $400 and do the work myself. The kits include new After market Cylinders and Pistons. These kits will work with stock 883 Heads, Valves an Valve Springs. Sounded pretty good to me, I,d save myself $600! But wait ! What if I just buy the 1200 Pistons $150-$200 from EBay or J&P Cycles, then pay a machine shop $100 to bore the Cylinders? I'd save even more money! The latter is the route that I took. With the money I saved I could buy Buell Thunderstorm Heads and Buell High Compression Pistons !!          

    This project took me the better part of the winter. If your are experienced and have the parts on hand, it could be done in a few days.
     I really didn't know what I was doing and ordered parts as needed when I could find good deals on them. I am not cheap, just poor !  I don't think I could have done it without  help from The Sportster Home Page.
This is a completely free site for Sportster Enthusiast that has thousands of articles regarding Sportser Upgrades, Conversions, etc. You can even post a pictures of your sportser in th boutique area.
      The members are also very helpful if you have any questions.            
                Before I started this project I read a lot of articles ion the subject and picked up a Harley Davidson Service Manual which was money well spent. I also picked up a 1500 lb capacity bike lift ( You can pick these up now for about $60). The first thing I did was to strip the bike down so I could access the engine. This consist of draining the oil,removing the Seat, Battery,  Gas Tank ( turn valve to off position) fuel line and vapor hose, Air cleaner, Ignition Switch, Carb, Exhaust, Intake Manifold, Spark Plugs , Spark Plug Wires, and Motor Brackets ( I used small bungie cords to support the ignition switch, Choke Cable etc to the handle bars to keep them out of the way) If you choose to do this , I recommend putting all of you hardware into baggies and marking them. This makes re-assembly Much easier.



Stripping her down, lookin ugly !             I took some pictures to help me remember where everything goes.








I would have taken more pics  had I know at the time I'd be building a website............




                                                                                                     


                                                        


                                                                    After stripping her down, it was time to start taking the engine apart, I highly recommend picking up the service manual before doing this. Not only will this make the process easier, you may avoid doing some major engine damage, eg warped Heads or Cylinders  . I also recommend purchasing as many of your parts as possible before continuing ( So you not waiting on part while you Motorcycle is torn down ). This makes assembly go much smother because the tear down process in still fresh in you memory.

                                       So here I go, the first thing to be removed was the outer rocker covers. 8 Hex Bolts. You may want to pick up an L shaped or ball end wrench for the left rear as there is very little clearance between the cover and the frame. After removing the bolts, remove the Outer Rocker Covers. If the covers are stuck, tap them with a rubber mallet to break the gasket seal. DO NOT PRY ANYTHING WITH A SCREW DRIVER ! At this point your rockers are exposed. I then made sure my was in  fifth gear and spun my rear tire forward until I could see my valves were closed. You can see the valves through the intake port. Closing the valve makes removing the lower rocker boxes possible. I then loosened the  middle rocker bolts according to the service Manuel sequence. I then removed the middle and lower rocker covers ( I left the rocker arms attached to the lower rocker covers.)  The push rods are now exposed and ready to be removed. Before removing them, I punched four holes in a cardboard box to hold them marking  each hole  front  exhaust,  front  intake  etc... Now it's time to remove the heads. Once again I used the service manual for proper bolt sequence so I did not warp the cylinders. After removing the heads the top of the pistons were visible.I then removed the push rod tubes, which are much easier to remove than to install. There is just a hex nut and a small clamp holding each tube into place. With the tubes removed  I could then remove the tappets ( I used a  small telescopic magnet for this ). After removing that tappets I soaked them in oil filled Dixie cups according the  cylinder  they where removed  from ( FI, FE, RI,RE ).
           The next step was to remove the cylinders. I am starting to freak out a bit at this point. Like I said earlier Ive never rebuilt an engine before and the top have of my motor is almost completely disassembled ! I was beginning to wonder if it would ever go back together, and if so would it start ?
    Removing the cylinders was pretty simple, just a matter of gently rocking them back and forth to brake the base gasket loose. The only thing you have to is the studs as you can bent them if you hit them with the cylinder. I removed the four dowels from the top of the cylinder and took the a local machine shop to have them bored to match the Buell Pistons. After removing the cylinders, I stuffed some towels into the crank case and  the tappet holes to prevent any thing from dropping inside. Next I removed the piston by popping off the ring clip that hold them in with a screw driver and sliding out the wrist pin.
         Before going any further I thought I mite as well install the ANDREWS N8 CAMS. I could have done this without removing the heads but I had not received them yet.
    The first step was to remove the timing cover by drilling out the two rivet that hold it on.  With the ignition module exposed, I marked its position with a sharpie so it could be aligned when reinstalled. Next I remove the rotor nut and rotor. Now I  was ready to remove the cam cover . There are 11 cam cover bolts,  not all the same size, so I drew a picture of my cam cover on a card board box and poked holes to mark the position of the bolts. Before I removed the bolts, I placed some towels and a large baking pan underneath the bike to catch any excess oil.
    After removing the bolts it was time to pull off the cam cover. The cam cover must be pulled strait off because there are bushings in the cover that hold the cams into place. I was careful not to pry on it so I would not damage the bushings, instead I tapped it loose with my rubber mallet. After pulling the cover off ( the cover does not come completely because the timing wires are threaded though it. I used a budgie to support it ), the cams are exposed. There are little dots on the cams " Timing  marks" that will align themselves when the engraved mark on the pinion gear is inline with the dot on the # 2 gear. The cams must be removed and installed in a certain sequence.The installation instructions with the Andrews cams makes this pretty clear. I also use lots of assembly lube to hold them in place when installing them. With the cams installed in the cover I spun them to insure my self  there was no binding. I then replace the cover tightening  the hex bolts in a star sequence torquing according the serving manual. I then checked the cams for proper end play with a feeler gauge through the tappet holes. Piece of cake !!!


                                                                                      
                         


The carburetor backplate has been removed now I am ready to
 remove the carburetor ( I should have done it before this point but it worked out anyway).

                                                  

There is nothing holding the carb to the intake at this point but the gasket but it is a very tight fit.
I had to rock the carb up and down really hard to break it loose.

Removing the ignition switch.

       

           About 5 day later I got my cylinders back from the machine shop. Wow ! they  were a lot lighter ! So now it was time to re assemble and I am getting really nervous.

         The next logical step it seemed was to install the pistons partially into the cylinders on the work bench ( kitchen table ! )  instead of trying to slide them over the piston after they were attached the connecting rods. I oiled up the pistons a bit and attached the pistons rings in the proper orientation. I tried to insert the piston into the cylinders from the bottom by hand but I could not get started straight. At one point I thought I had a bad bore !
           
                I went down to my local auto parts store and purchased a cheap ring compressor for about 10 dollars and it worked light a charm. After the piston were inserted into the cylinders far enough to clear the rings it was time to attach the pistons / cylinders to the connecting rods.
  
                                                                                             To Be Continued

                                                                             After 1200 Conversion     Also buffed the primary cover + rocker covers , installed Buell thunderstorm Heads and pistons( eBay motors $500, great deal ), added Andrews N8 cams . Replaced 1 3/4 drag pipes with 2 Inch. I could not afford the Hookers or the bessani's at this point but maybe later. For now I will install Khrome Werks baffles from J&P cycles for $41. The baffles should give me more low and mid rpm performance.

  FINISHED ???    Lowered 1.5 Inches and ditched the Sissy Bar, Starting to look pretty cool I think, and runs like a different motorcycle.    





 Just installed a set of Mini Gauges  from eBay motors for $70. Can ya see them ? I think they look much sleeker than huge factory Speedometer thats mounted dead center of the Handle Bars. My future upgrades as the budget allows are : Wide Tire Kit, Springer Forks,
Fat Bob Tank, Nitrous Oxide And A Parachute. Just kiddin bout the Nitro and the chute!
            
                                                              

                                           

                        

                                                                             
Back To Discount Motorcycle Parts Links
My 1200 Sportster Conversion
My Used sportster Parts
My Buddies and Their  Bikes