Hello Dyna Forum Members,

I have some questions / concerns about my exhaust for my 2014 Street Bob. The concern I had about the Vance & Hines 2-in-1 pro pipes for dyna, is the excessive popping and back firing. I brought it into the only shop on the Island to have its first service, though I bought the motorcycle from a dealership about 5 hours plus ferry away. The service department is adamant that the wrong pipes have been put on the motorcycle, that this is not a pipe recommended by Harley, and as they are a racing pipe, that popping and backfiring was not going to go away. The pipes in question are Dyna Vance & Hines Pro-Pipe, 2 into 1, part number: 367504 12-14.

The Service Department explained to me in person, and wrote on my Service Invoice,
"The ECM download on Street Bob is for S.E. Pipes, not vance and hines 2-1 pipes. The only way to improve popping and banging is to tune Street Bob with a Supertuner"

They told me that by installing a Kit-EFI Super Tuner, Screamin Eagle and downloading the racing map, this would help reduce the popping and backfiring. This was at a significant cost, but, I want the best ride I can have, so I approved the purchase / installation of the Super Tuner.

My partner Bernie, is a BMW mechanic, and he rode the bike afterwards, and he said that the popping and backfiring is still there, and that something else must be done. Perhaps there is a leak or its not mapped right.

I wrote to the Service Department, letting them know that the pipes are actually for a dyna, and I shared that the back firing and popping was still evident, and we should be able to do something more.

they replied:

As discussed earlier, after consult with our shop foreman, with a racing pipe, the only way to minimize the sounds further is to dyno-tune the MC or change the pipes back to stock. Race pipes by nature are free flowing and that causes the pops and burps.

I am a bit devastated. I chose the pipes as they were blacked out, looked awesome in the Harley Davidson catalogue, in the Dyna section. The shop where I bought the motorcycle, loved that I had chosen these pipes and assured me that I would really like them very much.

I have since written to the Salesman of where I actually bought the motorcycle, and shared the above concerns, but they have not responded to me.

I am hoping that some of you may be familiar with this situation and may have words of advice. Had I known this exhaust would be so expensive to get working properly, I wouldn’t have chosen them. I believe that something more can be done…

Can anybody offer any words of expertise, experience and/or recommendations?

Warm regards,

Lady Rider Coach

 

Are they backfiring while on the throttle or popping/crackling when off the throttle.

My pipes crackle/pop when i roll of the throttle or in between shifting which is totally normal for Harley's. I have had mine tuned with a S.E. Super tuner as well. Didn't do a dang thang for the popping but did open her up into a beast.

As for the pipes, they are made for Harley (Obviously) so they clearly have no idea what they are talking about.

 

Deceleration pop and backfire means either a leak or your gonna have to change the tuner. What kind of fuel manager did u buy? Fuel pak? Power commander?

 

Hi, I got the HD Screamin Eagle Super Tuner, which is what the Dealer recommended (that did the service). They downloaded a race map.

Where I got the motorcycle, and they installed these pipes, they never recommended the super tuner at all.

 

My 14 street bob Stock does it too, just a lot less noticeable with the stock exhaust, it's commonly known as a decel pop. Some people like it some tune it to get rid of it, Vance and Hines make a good Fuelpak FP3 that many have said tuned the decel pop out really well, some help but not totally got rid of it, if you do decide to get it on a dyno or get a tuner you may want to get a high flow air cleaner also before hand, so you don't have to redo the tune in the future
This is just my thoughts

 

I did the dealer race map. They flashed my bike, and not only did it run worse, it felt super hot, and popped during decel like crazy.
It drove me crazy.

I took some advice on here and bought the powervision.
It cost a pretty penny so it wasn't an easy purchase, I also figured that it might help a little but it was going to be a process of learning how to use it.

Took it out of the package, plugged it in, found my configurations in its library of pipes and Air cleaners, re flashed my bike and it stopped my issues right off the bat!

A proper tune goes a long way, I am friends with my HD dealership, but when it comes to tuning bikes, I think taking the issue into your own hands might be the best solution.
There are a lot of great tuners on the market. Do some research. This board was very helpful to me in my search.

 

I'd like to say right off the bat, that your shop is feeding you a big pile of ****, because they simply don't know what their talking about, or trying to take advantage of you being female.

I run the MasterTune tuner, which used to make the SE tuner for Harley, and I'm running the V&H Big Radius 2-1 pipe. The only time I get popping or backfiring, is if I roll off the throttle from a high rpm windup.. that's it.

With the Mastertune, I'm able to modify my own 'Decel-enleanment' settings ...etc (individual table maps). HD won't tell you crap about the Mastertune, because it's a much better product, and short of having a full-on auto-tune system, is the best you can have (my opinion).

Long story short, you should be able to tune the pop/backfire out no problem.... but sounds like the 'shop' is clueless.

 

You really shouldn't have any backfiring or decel popping.
My recent experiences installing new exhaust on my 13 WG:
First set of exhaust I installed I rode it a little while without any Harley downloads or fuel management-no backfiring...I reused the existing tapered gaskets. Next, I installed high flow air cleaner and EJK fuel controller-no backfiring or decel pops. Next, I decided I was going to try a second exhaust so I installed it but this time I used new flat exhaust gaskets-got quite a bit of backfiring/decel pops so I took out the flat gaskets and installed new tapered gaskets...now no backfiring or decel pops. You may want to have new tapered gaskets installed or check and see if they exhaust flange nuts are torqued properly. Installing of the gaskets can be a bit tricky but if not done properly, backfiring/decel pops happen....

 

On my previous Street Glide I also had a V&H Pro Pipe. I had my dealer dyno tune it with a SE Super Tuner Pro as well. The bike had a lot of decel popping and it pissed me off that the mechanics told me that the pipes were free flowing and that was expected. Basically, I had a poor tune on the bike. I am sure that with the right tuner/ tuning expert your bike will run well. I have heard good things about the V&H FP3 and the DynoJet Powervison. If you go Powervision buy it from Fuel Moto in Wisconsin. They have a great reputation and will download a map on the tuner before they send it to you. If you need to have another map you will need a PC because the software is not compatible with Apple. This is the only reason I have not bought one yet. Good luck. By the way, I lived in Portland Oregon for five years and made it up to BC. What an amazing place!

 

Decel popping does Not damage your engine...some people like it, and some don't......it is simply unburnt fuel that is burning in the exhaust tract after exiting the engine.

Decel popping occurs when one of two things are present.

1. The bike is so lean the exhaust is superheated and is burning the unburnt fuel that is in the pipes (there is always some unburnt fuel in the pipes no matter how lean). This is very rare.

2. The AFR IN THE pipes is just right to burn the unburnt fuel. This is quite a common occurrence when free flowing pipes are installed (whether or not a free flow A/C is installed). It can also occur if there is an exhaust leak that is introducing extra air into the exhaust tract.

It is always a good idea to check for exhaust leaks.

Also, check for intake leaks at the air cleaner and at the intake manifold/heads.

Another way to change the AFR IN THE Pipes is to install Thunder Torque Inserts.


If you don't like decel pop, and don't want to change the AFR in the pipes by changing the baffles or adding Thunder Torque Inserts....

It is absolutely possible for a tuner, and someone who knows how to use it, to tune the decel pop out....but much more often than not, it is not done properly and performance and MPG will suffer.

An open pipe with the best performance tune is almost always going to have decel pop.

Choice are: Either get used to it, get some Thunder Torque Inserts, or find a really good dyno tuner to work with tuner you purchased.