I did a fair amount of investigating when doing my stage one upgrade. Our local stealer actually showed me dyno sheets with all the same upgrades with the change in the heavy breather, stage one, and the V&H (the other one I was looking at). The stage one was consistently dynoing equal to slightly higher than the heavy breather and at half the price. I went in a couple weeks ago asking about the RSD and he actually said the RSD moves less air than the SE systems.

What did make a big difference was the type of pipe you put on. The two into one systems seem to dyno consistently higher than the short pipes and even the drag pipes. I went with what I did mostly because of the look.

 

Cool thanks. That helps. Maybe i'll go function over beauty. Sounds like stage 1 is where its at. I've got the rinehart crossbacks which are supposed to do well with a little help from an air cleaner.

 

Here is the post I was talking about earlier with the dyno comparison between the HB and the SE Stage 1:
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/sport...1-a-c-kit.html

 

Heavy breather is good if you like the look, but is a waste of cash for performance--especially since the Stage 1 provides all the CFMs that a Sportster can use. The same goes for the big twins, as the limiting factor is the flow of the heads and the amount of air the engine can use.

The other big myth that some get hoodwinked into by sales/marketing is that there is a "ram air" effect from a forward facing element.

No for several reasons:

1. Sportbikes have been tested for ram air repeatedly, and unless the inlet is on the leading edge of the nose--turbulence of the airflow doesn't allow enough pressure to build to do anything. For example, my Kawasaki ZX-10R has the ram duct mounted front and center. Kawasaki first did that with the ZX-12R and Sport Rider magazine ran a test that showed it had positive ram pressure (albeit not much). The side mounted outlets on some of the other bikes yielded little to nothing.

2. The testing used a fan that blew at something like 120mph just to get a little pressure rise from ram air. Needless to say, hogs/pigs can fly--just not that fast.

3. The Heavy Breather has an endcap, so the airflow is actually being directed around.

The air might be slightly cooler with a HB, but not enough to make it denser. I can't recall the formula for temp/air density from school days, but know that it would take more than a couple of degrees. On a cold day, the air going into a Stage 1 would be cold as well. On a hot day, you get the picture.

As someone else posted, if someone wanted a better tq/hp curve they would go with a 2 into 1 vs. the 2 into 2. Me, I went with the short shots, so goodbye power

 

Ok so
200 bucks for a breather
300 for slip ons or 500 for pipes
a sert 150
a dyno 150
or a Power commander 350
low end,,$800
High end $1200
for what 7 to 9 ft lbs of torque an 8 to 10 HP
On a 1200,,
an 883 would be what Half that gain.
A large percentage of dyno runs show you what you want to see
and thats these power numbers at RPM's you don't ride at.

Then later you change things and without Auto tune and the
ability to re lock it, another 500 to 700 bucks and more dyno time...

Makes far better money sense to go 1250 kit on a 883. $1500 and
you get a Real Gain In power.

On a 1200 you go Stage two,,cams n such,,now that $1000
gets you 20 hp an 15-20 Ft lbs and You can with the proper cams
Put that extra power where you ride,,not at 5500 rpm's.

Not me sorry, I think Stage 1 Is not worth it.
I have ran a few 1200 stage 1's with my stock bike,
I usually stay beside them cause If I pull away they start taking chances.
If they want to go faster they should learn how and when to shift.
Most I see don't know where their real power band Is or how to stay In it.
I see so many who head for the rev limiter and have no Idea that torque
Is falling off and Its time to shift.

 

The OP was just asking for the best bang for the buck. He's already one step away from a stage 1-already has fuel management and pipes, just needs the a/c and the dyno. You're right, only 10 horsies but it does make a noticeable difference when you get back in the saddle. Bike runs better and cooler.

I'm not getting the impression that he's going out to start dragging, just wants a little more kick. Sure, bigger cams, why not drop in a CVO? Hell, why not just get a sport bike? Buell, Ducati, whatever. They'll all blow your bike out of the water no matter where they shift.

 

Wimmer 90 degree intake and Dyno-Jet Power Commander

 

I already have the 1250 kit.

 

I'm not getting the impression that he's going out to start dragging, just wants a little more kick. Sure, bigger cams, why not drop in a CVO? Hell, why not just get a sport bike? Buell, Ducati, whatever. They'll all blow your bike out of the water no matter where they shift.[/quote]

Thats the thing, I rode a freinds 1200 stage 1,,V&H short shots,
SE breather kit and V&H fuel pac. I couldn't tell any difference In power
over my stocker. I didn't have the heart to tell him that. I did hear more
Intake noise and the pipes sounded great.
We did a few fast starts,,he had nothing on me.

I guess If ya got the 1250 kit in the 883 and the lower gearing you got a real fast wind up and the better breather Is needed.

An yeah I'd know better than to race a Buell or a Duke.

It's just hard to decide where the best bang per buck Is.
I'm just put off by the cost of stage one considering what I felt so far.
Yeah I'd go for more power If I could get it where I ride,,
In the 3000 to 4500 rpm range.
Seems the Only way Is cams.
I dunno, confused.
I'm also under the Impression that anything HD does with a Sert
will still be the lean AFR of 14.7,,they gotta stay EPA compliant I presume.
Seems to defeat the purpose of giving them the $150+ a dyno run.

 

The SERT does not have to be EPA compliant, as it is not a street legal part. The SEST, on the other hand, does have to maintain stoichiometry.