[Mad'lac]

I been thinking of buying a Sportster 883 and later on building it up to a 1200 using Buell parts and adding this to a Atlas Precision frame. Do you have anything thing good or bad to say about the Atlas frames?

 

[kcnewell]

I've never done anything with Atlas frames other than seeing some advertising stuff. I can however give my thoughts about the bike and I will look into the frame and ask around a little bit to see if any of the other shops in my area have had any expierience with them. Excluding the Buell, Harley-Davidson has built only TWO motorcycles in their long history that are capable of reasonably good handling. The Sportster and the FXR. The later Sportsters starting in the early '80s have a much stronger frame than did their earlier bretheren. The bike you're looking at is included in this family, Light weight, reasonably nimble and with minor suspension mods. VERY solid high performance handling characteristics. I like the 883 'cause when you pump them up to 1200 they are actually quite a bit stronger than the standard 1200. I've done a few and they REALLY MOVE! You will need to choose the right Cam/Carb/Pipe combination to get the most out of it but if you do it right..You will have a quick/fun motorcycle. If you need more info, Feel free to ask!

 

[Mad'lac]

Well around here in San Antonio we got the Hill Country so the main purpose of the bike is to run these hills. Being a person who suffers from Need-for-Speed I would like the bike to have plenty of punch at take off and mid-range power. This is just for passing purposes only

 

[kcnewell]

Yeah, I know, I spend a lot of time passing too! Don't go too high lift on the cam ( No more than 510 ) long duration agressive ramping on the open side ( Get the Intake air moving early ) Lots of midrange and low end tourque. on these engines you spend way more time in the tourque than with horsepower. I'll get you some MFGs and cam numbers next week if you'd like. Also Do some porting on the heads and if its an EVO engine ( Witch it will be ) Use flat top pistons 'cause EVOs breathe better with those. If you want to raise your compression shave the heads.

 

[Mad'lac]

Any info would be a great help. I want to know as much as I can on this type of performance before I even go out and buy the bike. That way I don't fall for th B.S. from the salesman. One thing that bothers me though...if I use Buell heads how do I use that mount that uses a rubber mount on top?

 

[kcnewell]

You don't really need to go with the Buell heads, Port the stock ones that's basically all the Buell heads are anyway, Ported stock heads. You'd have to grind off the front mount and clean it up to use the Buells anyway. It's a waste of money to buy new heads. I deal with this all the time. Most of the aftermarket shops are trying to sell you the latest overly expensive bolt on junk, and are missing the real goal, True performance and a satisfied customer. You have all the horsepower/torque you need hiding right there in your motor you just need to find it. And you can do that without spending money on stuff you don't need. I've gotta go right now but I'll get back to you later with more.