[Angus]

The NFL was good to me this year. I won about $700.00 in the company pool, and have decided to blow it all in one shot. It's a choice between taking the wife away for a weekend, or putting it toward a 1200 conversion on my 99 883 Custom. The bike wins. I am not anything close to capable of doing the work myself, so I'm going to have to trust the local dealer, or the local garage mechanic. I'm nervous about either one. Right now the bike runs fine, just a little underpowered. The local garage guy will do it for $1,000. The guy has a good reputation, but I don't know him personally, and had a bad experience in a similar situation (different mechanic) with my first bike. The local dealer is new, so I don't know about them either. I'm not sure which way to go with this, maybe the wife wins, and I'll have to just be satisfied with what 883 cc's.
Any comments about the conversion concering what is a reasonable price, things to look out for, things to definitely do and things definitely not do, etc. are appreciated.

 

[ronf]

Angus. Nightrider has a good section for the upgrade.

http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/xl883_to_1200_page00.htm

One of the biggest expenses is for the parts. Shop around for what you need and get the best quality. Don't scrimp here or the results could be less than satisfying. Check the credentials for anyone that you have do the work (you indicated you are farming this out) and see if you can talk to any customers about the work. Good luck and keep us up to date on the work.