Had to cancel my order today with Fuel-Moto. V&H pushed out the ship date another month on the naked filter. Went and bought a Ventilator at a local HD Dealer.

 

Correct, I don't think HD's first priority is whats best for the engine or the customer. I think HD does what's best for their bottom line.

Sometimes those interests compliment each other, and sometimes those interests compete with each other.

The problem with any public corporation with a board that is beholding to share holders, the bean counters will have conflicts with the engineers. The bean counters will always win...

I have no doubt that HD has some brilliant engineers who could make these engines sing. I'm also sure many of them have gone home some nights, wanting to pull their hair out, because of limitations and restrictions put on them by bean counters.

I'll bet taking an HD stage 4, and just changing the HD tune, would be a tremendous performance improvement, and probably be easier on the engine, than the lean EPA tunes required of the MoCo...

I look forward to what some of the aftermarket tuners (Steve Cole, TTS / Jaime, Fuelmoto/ Scott, Hillside Cycle/ et al) come up with.....

I think it's the aftermarket guys, that will provide the best performance and longevity (their reputations are at stake) for these M8 engines... I think the future, outside of HD and it's warranty, will be really bright for these new engines....

 

personally, I believe these engines have significantly improved to the point where fewer and fewer people are going to feel as compelled to tear the engine apart, void the warranty, spend thousands of dollars on aftermarket performance parts, stress it on a dyno, etc. than they used to..and I don't buy into the aftermarket hopped up longevity advantage argument at all..stock bike, or with just slip-ons and a/c will be your most long term reliable choice..many are probably still doing so because of old school thinking that it's necessary to make it run decent. times are changing, I'm one of them that did all of the aforementioned stuff and don't care to go thru the expense again ..mainly because these engines just don't need it..but for many still it's nice to have the option of reputable performance specialists out there and the ones on this forum are highly respected for sure

 

I don't disagree with most of what you are saying. I just disagree that the HD tunes are the "best" for their engines.... good enough? Absolutely! Dangerous? Not in the least.... Best for even an OEM engine, not hardly..

I believe a non-EPA tune, on an OEM M8 would make it run a whole bunch better! I also think, if it's not an aggressive tune, it would be better for longevity..

When it comes to any mods requiring a change in the tune, my experiences lead me to believe the HD stage tunes are barely acceptable..... I think any of the aftermarket vendors can supply a better, safer tune than the HD downloads.

I absolutely agree that many more will choose a stock engine, the way these M8s appear to perform right out of the box.... And that is good for the consumer!

I will be getting me one of these M8s in about a year.... But I have the "sickness" and it won't be OEM for long... I enjoy the modding and tinkering.

Good thing about these M8s, it appears they will be able to please both the OEM guys, and those of us with the sickness... yeah!