I know every bikes different depending on its condition however i cannot find anything on this 1100 conversion. I bought the bike 2 weeks ago i brought it to the shop to clean the carb and redo some wiring. I would like to know about the reliability of an 87 883 bored to 1100 and whether or not this is a normal conversion because i cannot find anything on 883 to 1100 only 883/1100 to 1200... Let me know anything you know about the bike specifically, anything is better than nothing

 

as odd of a question as this may seem. who told you it was 1100?

 

that is one of the problems, i was just told that by the guy i bought it from who was told by the guy he bought it from. Anythings possible. Does boring it out to 1100 even exist? Or did it exist back in the day?

 

lol

When I bought my bike, the guy told me the original owner did a 1000cc kit on it. LOL

I was like, 'ok.....'

 

Yea the guy I got mine from said it was bored to. 900 and something... One way to tell lol

 

I could be wrong, but boring 883 cyl's to 1200 (or 1100) may cost more than buying 1200 cylinders outright. Everything else related to increased bore has to be replaced. mainly pistons and rings. That's why a 1200 conversion consists of new cylinders, pistons, rings, etc. Prior to the EVO Sportster, the big Sportster engine was 1100cc and maybe someone did a 1200, not 1100 conversion and just got confused. Are your cylinders painted black? I've never seen 883 cylinders (factory) anything other than silver metal colored where as most 1200 kits use black painted cylinders, which is factory correct for a stock 1200. AFAIK, 1100 Sportsers where iron heads and I don't know that even the pistons could be used in an EVO.

 

In 86 and 87 you could get a sportster in the 1100 cc. In 88 they went to 1200cc.
Done correctly an 1100 will kick ***. The 1100's had good heads. Maybe the guy that built it got some 1100 parts for a good price. Or was done years ago when thats all they could do. You very well could have an 1100.

 

I am looking at a 1987 sportster 1100 and am probably be able to get it for about 2000 needs some work but runs it just needs the throttle cables hooked up. It also needs a fork replaced and the parts needed come with the bike. I am somwhat new to the harley game but I was wondering if the 1100 Evo posseses the legendary reliability of the other evo's? Any input would be appreciated.

 

Mike07 is correct. Are you certain it started as an 883. Did you confirm this by VIN#?

 

Boring the 883 cylinders is cheaper. The later Ironheads were 1000cc, not 1100. The first Evos came in 883 and 1100 sizes, as stated earlier. The factory wasn't sure the cylinder liner was thick enough to bore to 1200cc, so they built 1100cc Sportsters for a couple years while they tested the 1200 option. You can't use Ironhead pistons in an Evo for a variety of reasons, but the main reason is that the Ironhead is a hemi with a very tall piston crown.