just dont know!

[94sporty]

i have a 1994 sportster 883-1200 bought it cheap with about 18000 mi. didnt ride it very long and started smoking pretty bad and knocking bad. so took it apart and cylinders were scared so i figured that was the smoking problem but the knocking we thought was the wrist pin. so i replaced the wrist pin bushing and had to hone it out to fit the wrist pin so got that squared away and thought since i had it this far apart stick a little more money in it. i bored it out .20 over,wiesco piston,rings,wrist pin,wrist pin bushings,etc.,n2 cams,forcewinder xr2,twin tech ignition, valves cut,behive springs,and cleaned the heads up. got it all back together and rode it but when you would cruise at a certin speed it was ticking. you had to be going about 35-40mph+ and it would get louder the faster you'd go.i took it to get dynoed and it would only get to about 60hp and die down the local shop told me the ticking sounded like a lifter and that would cause the tic and lack of hp. so went out bought adj. andrews push rods, comp cams lifters ,and two peice push rod tubes. put those on and still the tic. havent got it dynoed again. been looking around about the tic some people say its normal but i just dont think so. if you could help me with what you think it is thanks.

[PC_Hater]

Well, a good sportster can be a bit rattly. I wouldn't worry about it too much yet. Changing all those parts without the noise going away may well put it in the class of "They all do that Sir".

60hp is a bit low for a 1200.
What do the torque and HP curves look like?
What was the AFR? (air/fuel ratio)
How is the twin-tech ignition setup?

Is your back brake binding a bit?

Are your nice new pushrods rubbing?
The rockers can be noisy if they are not installed with everything properly inline. I did that on my bagger...
And I suppose - what air filter and exhaust is on there?

[94sporty]

the local shop said that everything looked good until it got to 60hp then just die straight down. the afr i think was normal he adjusted it i guess to where it was around 15 if that sounds right to you. the first set is set 7, the second is set on 6 and the rev is set to 6200rpm the pushrods are good but i have the stock rockers still in there but that is for tis winter to put roller rockers then the whole top end will be brand new. my air cleaner is a force winder and my exhaust is a very short 2 into 1.  looking into the thunderheader though. im really wanting to get about 85-90 horse out of it. that would be nice.

[PC_Hater]

An AFR of 15 is lean. Very good for cruising along at part throttle but not for power.
The Dyno Runs section has planty of chat about ideal AFRs. 13 point something or even richer depending on the bike etc is where it should  be.

Is the carb diaghragm OK? A very small tear would stop you getting full throttle. A big tear would stop you getting anything beyond tickover.

I know nothing about the Twin Tech ignition so I couldn't say if the setup is right or wrong.

That 60hp, what rpm was that at?

A very short 2 into 1 'might' upset things enough? Dunno. Would it be easy to shove another length of pipe in for testing? Or the original exhaust system?

[94sporty]

ill check the diaghram. i put a new one on when rebuilding but you never know.the rev limiter was set at 5800. what is a good rpm to set that i dont have to worry about anything? also i have n2 in there now what do you think about n8?

[PC_Hater]

A rev limit of 6250 to 6500 rpm should be fine. My bagger will rev to 6250 occasionally. (oops!) Screamin' Eagle do a 6800rpm Ignition module for Sportsters.

I have never bothered changing cams for improved performance on a Sportster. If I wanted that much power I wouldn't have bought a Harley, possibly a Buell, but not a Harley.

Have a look at Niallin Racing or Axtell and follow their recipe for power. If you want 85 to 90HP you need to be dealing with people who know what they are doing!