I've been researching the most cost-effective power up mods for my Iron 883 lately and have got a plan of action mapped out. If' anyone on here can see a better way of achieving my goals to double horsepower I'd love to hear their comments. Note that this route is designed to allow the bike to never be off the road for any length of time. Note that the bike is mechanically stock right now save drill exhaust baffles. Stock exhaust and A/C, but these are good enough for the 1200 already so they aren't a big limiter at the early stages.

 

Stage 1: DIY Thundermax installation, choose a basic 883 map and gain a handful of horses but basically this is just preparation for all future upgrades and needs to be done first. Cost - $1200 (not been quoted by Rollies yet)

Stage 2: 883-1250 conversion using NRHS kit, one day job in workshop, select a 1200 tune from Thundermax and let it self adjust from there. Same day ride in ride out, gain 20+hp. Cost - $1200-1400.

Stage 3: Budget slip-ons and A/C DIY upgrade, select suitable map from Thundermax menu and let it self tune from there - gain another 5hp? Cost - $400

Stage 4: After run-in period have bike dyno tuned for an hour - gain in engine drivibility and maybe some torque/hp. Cost $150

Stage 5: Stage 2 head work and bolt-in cams (not sure which ones but need to match them with piston design and compression ratio), another hour on dyno, another 15hp. Cost $?????

 

From what I understand this will arrive at anywhere from 75 - 90hp at the rear tyre depending on head work and cam design.

If anyone has suggestions on a Sydney based workshop that can do head porting work and dyno tuning with Thundermax I'd be keen to know.

If anyone has a better way of adding grunt faster and more affordably I'd like to hear it.

If anyone knows where in Australia I can get budget slip on mufflers and a breather kit I'd like to know. Paying $1000 for an exhaust and $300+ for an A/C for a bike is crazy when I can get these for a car for half this!

Sorry put a reply here but deleted it for my own reasons.

hi damon , these are just my opinions !!
if you only want 75-80hp your plan sounds good..if you want more than 80hp your gonna need a good exhaust and air cleaner engine basics are air in / exhaust out.
most people on here prefer the tts tuner then the sest &pc111 over the t-max for performance..i went against the grain with the pc111 and after getting a good dyno done cant fault it!!and the bike flies a good dyno tune will cost you more than $150 i'd budget for $300-$400 for a good tuner , i've had one cheap dyno done and it just ended up costing me more to find a better tuner after not being happy..your 883 heads will need some work bigger valves etc maybe valvesprings to match cams,,
the nrhs 1250 kits are very good value esp if you buy when the aussie $ is up. also efi 883 bikes have the hd "w" cams and can produce up to 85rwhpand good torque right up to 6500rpm +.................. cheers..dc
 

Kingchops might chime in here, but I remember reading he had some issues with tuning the TMax when he went from 883 to 1200.

You might want to think about what compression you want to run, cause that will determine pistons, heads and cams you will use.
The 883 heads are OK and when used with reverse dome pistons can run a healthy compression. But to get em to flow well you need to weld in a fair bit of material and then port them out. Then you can run different pistons to get compression
.
The general consensus is that 883 heads with work won't flow as well as XB Buell or 1200R heads with stage 2 work.

Best thing you could do is work out what you want (hp and comp.) and what will get you there (like stg 2 XB heads, 575 cams, flat top piston etc) and do it all at once.
Other wise you'll be pullin out slugs to to suit new heads etc at a later stage.

But first things first I'd be changin out your air cleaner and pipes for better flowing items, before I did anything else.
NRHS do a reasonably priced, high flow air cleaner and supertrapp or D&D do good 2-1 exhaust.

Just my opinion for what its worth.