Dude, check the title of this thread, pls. It's "Sticky: FXSB Breakout Upgrade DIY: Fork Suspension / Tires / Brake -Part numbers, tools, tips" not about exhaust or tuner

Can't help you with the exhaust but you will not need the V&H Fuel pack specifically. Any tuner would be OK while the Fuelpak probably will offer the easiest way to go with one of the standard maps they offer or with a tuned map V&H can provide you with...

 

Welcome and congrats on the Breakout. Yes as EagleRay mentioned, please be aware of threat topics and stay on topic. that is the only way we can stay (somewhat) organized around here. And you'll get better answers too. Search for the "Everything Breakout Thread" here, that is the BEST place to ask general questions about Breakout ownership, tuning, upgrades.

If you want a lot more speed for your bike see the "drive ratio diy" sticky at the top of this softail forum. that will give you a much faster bike. Pipes, air cleaner and fuel tuner will give you a better running bike and a better sounding bike. slip ons are usually quieter than full on shorty 2-2 pipes.

 

...nevermind..........

 

Brand new on the forum. I've been lurking for quit some time though. Took a bit to night the bullet and find the right bike. Picking her up this weekend. A 2014 with less then 380 miles on her.

Super excited and knew the front end was going to be the first thing I do to her.

Went with the 1.1 kg springs from Race Tech as I'm a bigger dude. I'll report back after the install on how stiff they make the front end.

Also I had a hell of a time finding the EBC HH brake pads. Either they changed them or just the part number. EBC Double-H Sintered Metal Brake Pads - FA458HH is what I found as the correct fitment for 2014-2016 bikes.

 

So, think this is proper place for this question.

In the threads there has been mention on the radial rear versus the bias front, has anyone changed to radial front & rear.

Also instead of just bashing HD for the bias/radial pairing, we can now jump into Indian engineers, just read the Springfield has the same combination. Maybe these guys know something we don't?

The other piling on that I will join is the OEM rear tire. That is the slickest tire I've ever had on any bike (all the way back to 1976) and ill handling. Swapped out to Metzeler 240 and it has been night and day difference in traction and handling. Not sure why but I used to drag everything while out & about. Since the tire I've only dragged twice (same day) while riding 2 up and hit a dip in 20mph corners (wasn't doing 20 ) and could feel the front end slam down as it bottomed in the curves. Now I've got to address suspension. My indie suggests Racetech for front (springs and valves) and rear (shocks), not looking to lower it or use air, anyone gone down this road? I'd asked him about Works but he came back with the other. Has anyone added about a 1/2" more preload to the front end? Thought it might pickup a little ground clearance?

 

Over on The Everything Breakout Thread, LA Dog a has compiled a detailed procedure for a front end upgrade using Racetech springs and Ricor Intiminator emulators. I've done it. I'm no suspension expert but this was a BIG improvement on the BO's squishy front end.

Using the Ricors means there is no drilling of the OEM damper tubes so the process is reversible, not that you'd want to.

Coupla personal notes:

1. When selecting Racetech springs from their website, there is a guideline to be used matching spring wt to rider wt. Most, like me I expect, will fall between 2 spring wt choices and wonder weather to opt for heavier or the lighter spring set. I would suggest not opting for the next heavier spring unless your weight puts you at least within 20% of matching the recommended weight for the heavier spring. Just my $0.02.

2. Pay close attention to the effort required to loosen your fork cap nuts (after loosening pinch bolts of course). The HD manual says to torque the cap nuts to 60 ft-lbs on reassembly. I think there is a typo and they meant in-lbs, BUT THATS JUST ME. I simply "nipped" my cap nuts maybe 1/4 turn past seated, torqued the pinch bolts, and left it at that. I've had no issues. To me 60 ft-lbs seems like a lot on those thin walled fork tubes and I'm sure mine didn't come that tight from the factory.

Anyway, pay close attention when you loosen these cap nuts and if you end up preferring just to nip em up and re-torque the pinch bolts to spec, know that this will work just fine. Others have torqued the cap nuts to 60 ft-lbs without issue as well. Again, just my $0.02.

Oops !! Didn't realize I was on LA's fork upgrade thread,, .

 

Yea you had me going for a second thinking I really was in the wrong place. The fork caps or other stuff inside under an extreme amount of pressure, or is it like most forks? Thanks for the tip on torque numbers.

 

Forks are sealed at ambient pressure so high pressures are not involved.

You'll also notice that the cap nut (or plug) "O" ring, seals between the side of the cap plug and the inside wall of the fork tube. No amount of nut torquing will therefore affect the seal integrity. This is precisely how "O" ring's are designed to work. They rest "un-deformed" within a channel they are properly sized for, and slightly swell when pressure is applied preventing gas/liquid from progressing past the channel.

In my business we become very accustomed to "O" rings. Sparing the detail, I can tell you that if that fork "O" ring is not deformed, the wrong size, or damaged (nicked), it would seal against thousands of psi with the cap nut finger tight and pinch bolts left loose. Nothing gets past the machined channel with the properly sized "O" ring in place.

 

Wonder if they're afraid it'll vibrate off

 

Really good group of well thought out questions. These are all so common and what most of us ponder over when considering tire / suspension upgrades. HKMark gave you some great input especially with that top fork cap nut.

Ok so lets talk about bias / radial mixing. it's not "as bad" as it used to be considering motorcycle tire technology has progressed quite a bit in the last decade or two. Mixing is going to be more of an issue on performance bikes since bias / radial constructed tires will handle differently in the corners and under loads. That can make for squirrely and potentially dangerous riding situations.

You can certainly run a matched set of radials F/R but the only issue with this is load rating on heavy bikes. most all radials bike tires are not made to hold up to 800+lbs of bike and rider, and heavy torque loads. Bias ply tires are typically called on for heavy loading- it used to be that bias ply tires were made for heavy applications only, and were horrible on performance. but nowadays thankfully that is no longer the case. Avon was one of the first tire mfrs to come out with a good, high performing bias ply set of tires (AFAIK, I could be wrong).

Why do mfr's mix tires on bikes or put slightly incorrect sizes for the rim? Who knows. It is certainly NOT purely because it is the "best setup for the bike". It is probably more of a business and cost choice, and as long as the combination of tires falls within safe / DOT guidelines then it's ok.

You pretty much felt how crap the stock Breakout dunlop rear tire is- The tire may be "DOT legal" and be good enough for The MoCo to put on a stock new bike... but... it is NOT the best or safest tire choice for the bike. Same with the front, incorrectly sized 130 tire.

Hell, even my brand new 911S came with sh*t low-end Pirelli tires on it. car drives 4x as good with the replacement set of Michelin Pilot Sport tires. On the stock Pirelli tires, the rears were all over the place even on dry pavement. Note that this specific model of Pirelli was made exclusively for Porsche, so you know there was some behind the scenes price dealings.

Wife's Mercedes SUV- Same thing. Absolute horrid Michelin tires, and only made for Mercedes on this specific model of car. definitely a cost cutting measure.

Nissan Frontier truck, same thing. Worst ever stock Bridgestone T/A's I've ever driven on. Holy hell.

Really, some of the crappiest tires I've ever ridden on or drove on were stock OE tires and at all price ranges of vehicles. Now that is not always the case, but these days it seems to be much more prevalent than say 10-15 years ago. My thought on it is, tires are safety & comfort so I will never skimp in that area. I'm totally ok with canning a set of new stock rubber that rides or drives poorly.


Suspension-
You can't go wrong with the racetech springs and racetech emulators, or the racetech springs with ricor emulators. either setup is going to perform amazingly well. Your bike will sit 1"-1.5"" higher in front than it did stock, simply because you got rid of the sloppy OE spring sag. And, your bike will not collapse under it's own weight in the corners or under braking, again saving your ground clearance nd preventing your rear tire from getting light / losing traction. I ride my Breakout just like any other regular softail now.

The only thing you could to to add ground clearance in front is to swap out your upper fork tubes for a set of WideGlide (FXDWG) fork tube uppers. it will give you an added 1.5" of height. you would use the same exact springs / dampers as for the Breakout from racetech / ricor etc, but your preload spacer would be about 1.5" longer and you would use more fork oil. you can adjust preload with making the preload spacer slightly longer or shorter. it's jut pvc so it's easy to modify.

For the rear- Racetech does not make rear softail shocks. they are supposed to come out with a new line this year but no new news on that. Works makes very good shocks. probably your best bet is going to be ShotgunShocks air suspension. AFAIK that is everyone's bet option right now for rears. Not that I'm very happy saying that... I'd love a set of triple-adjustable Ohlins. To me the most important part of the rear suspension is adequate rebound damping adjustment particularly when lowered.

Good luck with your upgrades and don;t overthink it too much- the DIY threads here are very good and well vetted. If you do the same upgrades most of us did you will end up with the same great results PS consider putting the ME 120/70 tire up front your bike will handle and turn much better.