Engine Upgrade

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  • AlHD48
    AlHD48
    9 years ago

    Hi All 

    Anyone know whats the biggest engine that you could put in a sportster forty eight that can bolt strait in  ?

    is it cheaper to buy a kit and pay for the labour ? 

     

     

  • fmacdonald
    fmacdonald
    9 years ago
    I believe it is a 1250 eg http://www.nrhsperformance.com

    Have you seen the new Stage 4 1200cc from SE?

    http://www.harley-davidson.com/store/screamin-eagle-stage-iv-street-performance-kit-–-sportster-models--black-highlighted-heads
  • AlHD48
    AlHD48
    9 years ago

    just had a look at the stage 4 kit , only fits 2014 and 2015 for some reason , i have a 2012 48.

    does the 1250 kit make much of a difference since its only 50cc more than a 1200 ?

  • fmacdonald
    fmacdonald
    9 years ago
    Have a read of http://www.nrhsperformance.com and http://www.hammerperf.com as they both publish performance figures.

    I am looking at buying the Stage 2 883-1200 kit from SE just because without the tuner it comes in at about $1000 in Australia.

    Re the Stage 4, Blacktown HD thought I could install it in my 2009 model, but I did not consider it as it is out of my budget
  • Howard
    Howard
    9 years ago
    Hi mate,

    Thinking about upping the motor as well. Check Hammer out.

    A 1250 upgrade is about $1500 (US) with cams etc., the 88 inch about $4000 delivered. 88 then needs more work for instal than 1250 (case bore throttle body etc). Are either worth it, i.e. how much bang do you get for your buck? I've posted this on this forum under new owners. You don't want V&H black short shots cheap?

    Cheers,

    Howard
  • fatbat
    fatbat
    9 years ago
    There is/was a bloke on here that put a 90ci kit on his sporty. I bet it went alright but a stage 1/2 1200 in a light bike goes well enough for most. A stage 1/2 1200 sportster surprises many people in the 0-120 range. The cost of some of these kits, especially the 88 and 90, when combined with the value of your bike puts you right in the market for a big twin. You'd have to love your bike a lot to ignore the economics of doing stuff like this
  • AlHD48
    AlHD48
    9 years ago
    good advice fatbat, i am going to go for a dyno tune first and see how that goes , people say thats good enough.

    maybe might hold off untill then , i do plan to keep this bike for a very very long time
  • brash
    brash
    9 years ago
    I was lucky enough to do a test of most the 2016 HD's, I ride a 48 with usual intake and exhaust but with a Hammer 570 cam, makes 85rwhp.

    It was night and day different to the stock 48, literally felt twice as fast, and honestly felt quicker than the 110ci softtail slim S I rode aswell, only bike that felt faster was the V-rod.

    Don't underestimate a well sorted sporty with the correct mods done, I've got a second bike now, an old evo chopper with half the S&S catalogue thrown at it, and it's still slow lol.
  • AlHD48
    AlHD48
    9 years ago
    Brash thats crazy how much a hammer 570 cam done .

    did you get it dyno tuned not a canned map ?
  • brash
    brash
    9 years ago
    tuned with powervision autotune and then had it slightly massaged by a guru on the dyno, didn't really make much of a difference to be honest.

    cam was $320 off the top of my head including brass gear, installed it myself with some help from my dad. Well worth the $$$, no loss in bottom end power.
  • boggsy
    boggsy
    9 years ago
    Did you use wideband or narrowband o2 sensors when doing the autotune?
  • brash
    brash
    9 years ago
    Just the standard HD narrowband, but when on Dyno they used wideband. The tuner was impressed at how close the VE's were through the autotune.

  • AlHD48
    AlHD48
    9 years ago
    Brash the powervision autotuner how much was it ? where did you get it from ?
  • fmacdonald
    fmacdonald
    9 years ago
    I got mine from http://www.greenscycleworks.com.au and it was very well priced, I think $600 from memory (I have nothing to do with them, just emailed half a dozen places for a price at the time )
  • AlHD48
    AlHD48
    9 years ago
    so this auto tuner , is just as good as a dyno tune

    and it picks up all the adjustments to make automatically .... ? so i knows exhaust , airfilter etc ?
  • brash
    brash
    9 years ago
    As good as a dyno tune is a loaded question, there are some donkey's tuning HD's out there, but also some guru's.

    For your average stage 1 (filter/exhaust) I'd say it's very good. Once you start increasing cubes or big cams a dyno guy will be worth it.

    Get it through Fuel Moto in the states, although the dollar is bad the service you get from these guys is second to none.

    Tell them your mods, they send you a base tune to start with

    run auto tune 3-5 times, if your happy then ride your life away, if not send them the map and they can adjust anything you are not happy with if you are not confident in doing it yourself.

    I had a problem where there timing was slightly too much for our Aussie summers, so under low rpm/heavy load (ie lugging up a hill which is mostly my fault) I'd get some slight pinging.

    a quick email back to them, they sent me back a map with 5 degrees taken out in those load areas, if I wanted to do it myself, it would have also taken 20 seconds as the software is that user friendly. Well worth the $$.

    Also remember the Powervision is more than just a tuner, it's a full set of gauges for every facet of the bike. Plus you can use it on other bikes with a licence renewal.
  • brash
    brash
    9 years ago

    *edit* double post.

  • Howard
    Howard
    9 years ago

    Hi Brash,

    Where (and when) did you get the Hammer cam and bronze gear from, Hammer quoted me about US$475 plus postage? (the 1250 kit was 1200 US). Did you buy direct from them or here in Aus? As you would have seen on this topic thinking of upgrading myself. 88 kit is very expensive, 1250 not cheap and from info here and what a couple of mates have said cams seem the best way, and maybe later an engine upgrade. At the moment all I want is more low-mid range grunt. If anyone wants the quotes from Hammer can post.

    Cheers,

    Howard

     

  • Krash Kinkade
    Krash Kinkade
    8 years ago

    Original question ( bolt straight in ) do you mean , bolt into the stock frame or bolt into stock cases?

    not sure without looking at cam spec but some of the cams don't bolt straight in. also some need more compression to work. i have a stock Carb 2000 ym, 1200cc just L A Cycle set up & tunned motor put it on DJ 250i one run only just to check, if you look back in Dyno post there is the print out, but was about 90HP rear wheel ( or what ever Dyno Jet 250i work it out from. the barrel was just decked to allow piston to come up to cose swish band ( Thunderstorm heads n pistons, 2 ino 1  CV44 Carb ) but there is no magic all a cam change will do is move where HP & TQ come in you have to match compression to cam choice too. a good custom tune by experienced HD tunner hard to beat, don't just look at how much HP & TQ it made that's not the true story, its how quick & smooth it makes it! that's the difference. like i could have 1,000 horses in my back paddock, but if they are only shettland pony's. do you think i could win the Melbourn cup? well same thing, you show me a Dyno print out that has impressive numbers, then your out for a ride or ride to track one wednesday night & get blown off by a stock bike with probably less HP but all the horses full size. hope you can understand. like just putting 1250 kit into a 1200 what will that do? 3 cubic inch more what does that do? change a cam what will that do? what you really need is to see someone that knows HD motors & how to tune and work out what you want what they can give you. good luck at it.

  • Lushy
    Lushy
    8 years ago

    I just tuned my first new sporty stg 4 kit for a shop about a week ago. Had the kit and some good slip on mufflers. 102hp! It was a cracker. Smooth all the way. With some massaging I bet it would do more. Also did a Hammer XR1200/ 1250 kit a while back. It was a mission getting the cams in etc, the extra 50cc is not all it got, comp, squish, head shape,porting etc. Did 110hp and a bunch of torque (can't remember the exact number) It is possible to get good numbers from the 1200, just need fun tickets :-).

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