D&D Bobcat, Air cleaner, Dyno tune, Drag strip – The RESULTS
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10-13-2010, 03:21 PM
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D&D Bobcat, Air cleaner, Dyno tune, Drag strip – The RESULTS
This is a little lengthy, but it contains real world results. So if you are interested in a full report on the D&D Bobcat Exhaust system, read on.
The Subject: 2009 XL1200 C. No internal Engine work done. All performance improvements are external.
Let me start by saying I am NOT a drag racer, nor do I intend to become one. The Drag Strip was just a method to get a firm performance Base and solid confirmation of improvement.
This all started because I was grounding my lower muffler in hard right hand turns.
I wanted a better lean angle, and the twin Exhaust is a limiting factor. I had already raised the rear by installing 13 ½” RK air shocks. I have done a “Tuck” job on the Jiffy Stand to get ample lean angle on the left side.
Starting point is:
SE Air cleaner, SE Street performance slip on Exhaust, Power Commander 5 with Auto Tune and map supplied by Fuel Moto. I researched all the 2 into 1 exhaust systems looking for something that would mount higher than the twin exhaust; I settled on the D&D Bobcat. I then decided I wanted to DOCUMENT any performance gain I got.
While waiting on the Bobcat (everywhere was out of stock, it took almost 2 Months for a production run at D&D) I did base performance documentation on the current setup.
Setup as stated above, I had a Base Dyno Power run done.
HP = 67.7 - Torque = 69.4. I did not do a “Dyno Tune” at this point.
On Sept 17 I went to Atlanta Drag Strip, they were having a “Test and Tune” night. I had changed the A/C to a NRHS Hurricane Flow, 3” offset, but all else is as stated above. This probably resulted in a slight performance gain over the SE A/C, but I don’t know how much. I ran 5 runs and all were pretty consistent. Worst was 13.671 at 95.21 MPH, best was 13.455 at 96.31 MPH. Note this is with all the “Street Legal” stuff still on the bike (lights, mirrors, license plate, sissy bar, etc.) and hauling my 230 lb Fat A**.
The D&D had arrived on Sept 16. I put it on Monday, Sept 20. I don’t have the exact figures, but the Bobcat is 6 lbs lighter than the Exhaust system I took off. I have to say quality of the Bobcat is EXCELLENT. The welds are very neatly done, and the chrome finish is superb. The fit was excellent as well; no problems or straining when mounting. Everything bolted right up, nothing is under stress.
Next I took it for another “Base power” run, then a “Dyno Tune”.
I WANT to put in a plug here for Brian at Livengood Motor Sports.
(http://livengoodmotorsports.com/). Brian is the owner, and is a certified Dyno Jet Tuner. He took time to explain the different aspects of tuning the PC5, and spent a lot of time getting mine just right. He tunes each cylinder individually to get the most out of your setup. Brian is a former racer, and has had much training. He knows his stuff. Brian tunes Racing bikes of all types (street Bikes also). He even adjusted the timing tables on my PC5 Map to get that last little bit of performance. Once he was done, I can tell you the bike was much smoother and he got rid of the Deceleration popping and backfiring I was experiencing since putting the Bobcat on. If you are in the North Ga. area and need a good Dyno Jet tuner, I highly recommend Brian.
Dyno results:
Base before tune – HP = 72.65, Torque = 72.72.
After tune – HP = 78.07, Torque = 75.33.
Note here: All of those who think an “Auto Tune” setup does not need a “Dyno Tune”, Note the results. The Base run was done with a new map Dyno Jet had supplied to me for the NRHS A/C and Bobcat pipe. Brian’s Tuned Map got me more.
Oct 8, back to Atlanta Drag Strip on another Test and Tune night. All the street legal stuff is still on the bike, and yep I’m still 230 lbs. I again made 5 runs, and was pretty consistent. Worst was 13.319 at 97.86 MPH, best was 13.188 at 98.51 MPH.
So I was .267 quicker and 2.2 MPH faster. I think adding the NHRS Hurricane flow A/C before the first Drag Strip session on Sept 17 gave me some power gain over the original SE A/C. The improvement between Sept 17 and Oct 8 was totally due to the D&D Bobcat and Brian’s Dyno Tune.
What I have discovered is the Sportster begins to strain somewhat after about 80 MPH. This held true both before an after the upgrades. My 1/8 mile times were around 8 seconds, and 83 MPH. So it took another 5 seconds to gain that last 15.5 MPH at the finish. Oh, and I never go out of 4th gear. ¼ mile is about 5700 rpm in 4th.
Final comments. Remember I started this wanting better right turn lean angle. Well I can happily say the same turns I was grounding out in before – I can now partially fold up the right foot peg, The Exhaust has not grounded yet! Mission accomplished.
Also I had tested on a couple of hills I would start up at 50 MPH in 5th gear, and then try to accelerate. On one I would lug the engine a little, the other I really needed to down shift. Now on either hill I can easily accelerate, so the performance gain is noticeable.
In these two Video clips you can hear the difference between the SE Exhaust and the D&D. The D&D is definitely louder, but has a much Lower tone. At normal cruising speeds it is not really bad at all, but when you twist the Throttle aggressively it really comes alive.
SE Exhaust: (I don't know why this video is double posting ???)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-gk_A6x7Y4
D&D Bobcat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8MlWpv1IFM
Here is how it looks:
In this picture you can see the increased Ground Clearance. The lowest point on the pipe is higher than the bottom Frame tubes.
From the rear you can see how closely the system is tucked into the bike.
I hope this has been informative. I am VERY PLEASED with this system and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for improved performance and better cornering ability.
The Subject: 2009 XL1200 C. No internal Engine work done. All performance improvements are external.
Let me start by saying I am NOT a drag racer, nor do I intend to become one. The Drag Strip was just a method to get a firm performance Base and solid confirmation of improvement.
This all started because I was grounding my lower muffler in hard right hand turns.
I wanted a better lean angle, and the twin Exhaust is a limiting factor. I had already raised the rear by installing 13 ½” RK air shocks. I have done a “Tuck” job on the Jiffy Stand to get ample lean angle on the left side.Starting point is:
SE Air cleaner, SE Street performance slip on Exhaust, Power Commander 5 with Auto Tune and map supplied by Fuel Moto. I researched all the 2 into 1 exhaust systems looking for something that would mount higher than the twin exhaust; I settled on the D&D Bobcat. I then decided I wanted to DOCUMENT any performance gain I got.
While waiting on the Bobcat (everywhere was out of stock, it took almost 2 Months for a production run at D&D) I did base performance documentation on the current setup.
Setup as stated above, I had a Base Dyno Power run done.
HP = 67.7 - Torque = 69.4. I did not do a “Dyno Tune” at this point.
On Sept 17 I went to Atlanta Drag Strip, they were having a “Test and Tune” night. I had changed the A/C to a NRHS Hurricane Flow, 3” offset, but all else is as stated above. This probably resulted in a slight performance gain over the SE A/C, but I don’t know how much. I ran 5 runs and all were pretty consistent. Worst was 13.671 at 95.21 MPH, best was 13.455 at 96.31 MPH. Note this is with all the “Street Legal” stuff still on the bike (lights, mirrors, license plate, sissy bar, etc.) and hauling my 230 lb Fat A**.
The D&D had arrived on Sept 16. I put it on Monday, Sept 20. I don’t have the exact figures, but the Bobcat is 6 lbs lighter than the Exhaust system I took off. I have to say quality of the Bobcat is EXCELLENT. The welds are very neatly done, and the chrome finish is superb. The fit was excellent as well; no problems or straining when mounting. Everything bolted right up, nothing is under stress.
Next I took it for another “Base power” run, then a “Dyno Tune”.
I WANT to put in a plug here for Brian at Livengood Motor Sports.
(http://livengoodmotorsports.com/). Brian is the owner, and is a certified Dyno Jet Tuner. He took time to explain the different aspects of tuning the PC5, and spent a lot of time getting mine just right. He tunes each cylinder individually to get the most out of your setup. Brian is a former racer, and has had much training. He knows his stuff. Brian tunes Racing bikes of all types (street Bikes also). He even adjusted the timing tables on my PC5 Map to get that last little bit of performance. Once he was done, I can tell you the bike was much smoother and he got rid of the Deceleration popping and backfiring I was experiencing since putting the Bobcat on. If you are in the North Ga. area and need a good Dyno Jet tuner, I highly recommend Brian.Dyno results:
Base before tune – HP = 72.65, Torque = 72.72.
After tune – HP = 78.07, Torque = 75.33.
Note here: All of those who think an “Auto Tune” setup does not need a “Dyno Tune”, Note the results. The Base run was done with a new map Dyno Jet had supplied to me for the NRHS A/C and Bobcat pipe. Brian’s Tuned Map got me more.
Oct 8, back to Atlanta Drag Strip on another Test and Tune night. All the street legal stuff is still on the bike, and yep I’m still 230 lbs. I again made 5 runs, and was pretty consistent. Worst was 13.319 at 97.86 MPH, best was 13.188 at 98.51 MPH.
So I was .267 quicker and 2.2 MPH faster. I think adding the NHRS Hurricane flow A/C before the first Drag Strip session on Sept 17 gave me some power gain over the original SE A/C. The improvement between Sept 17 and Oct 8 was totally due to the D&D Bobcat and Brian’s Dyno Tune.
What I have discovered is the Sportster begins to strain somewhat after about 80 MPH. This held true both before an after the upgrades. My 1/8 mile times were around 8 seconds, and 83 MPH. So it took another 5 seconds to gain that last 15.5 MPH at the finish. Oh, and I never go out of 4th gear. ¼ mile is about 5700 rpm in 4th.
Final comments. Remember I started this wanting better right turn lean angle. Well I can happily say the same turns I was grounding out in before – I can now partially fold up the right foot peg, The Exhaust has not grounded yet! Mission accomplished.
Also I had tested on a couple of hills I would start up at 50 MPH in 5th gear, and then try to accelerate. On one I would lug the engine a little, the other I really needed to down shift. Now on either hill I can easily accelerate, so the performance gain is noticeable.
In these two Video clips you can hear the difference between the SE Exhaust and the D&D. The D&D is definitely louder, but has a much Lower tone. At normal cruising speeds it is not really bad at all, but when you twist the Throttle aggressively it really comes alive.
SE Exhaust: (I don't know why this video is double posting ???)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-gk_A6x7Y4
D&D Bobcat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8MlWpv1IFM
Here is how it looks:
In this picture you can see the increased Ground Clearance. The lowest point on the pipe is higher than the bottom Frame tubes.
From the rear you can see how closely the system is tucked into the bike.
I hope this has been informative. I am VERY PLEASED with this system and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for improved performance and better cornering ability.
Last edited by rasaine; 10-22-2010 at 03:56 PM.
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10-13-2010, 09:50 PM
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thank you so much for this post. i wanted to see if these pipes would help with carving clearance. never could get that answered. im also planing on moving to rearsets so i had to get rid of my short shots and could not decide which pipes to go with. now i know for a fact. once again thank you
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10-28-2011, 01:11 PM
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thank you so much for this post. i wanted to see if these pipes would help with carving clearance. never could get that answered. im also planing on moving to rearsets so i had to get rid of my short shots and could not decide which pipes to go with. now i know for a fact. once again thank you
On a trip to the Tennessee Mountains in July I did manage to slightly scrape the pipe. But that was on a curve that really sneaked up on me and I was laid over right on the ragged edge.
The right foot peg was really folded up before the pipe grounded. I think another degree of lean and I would have laid it down. 