I just bought my first Harley as my third street bike. Rode dirt bikes for decades, then a Suzuki S40, followed by a Honda Shadow Sabre, and now the Heritage Classic with the 108 motor. I got the black engine guard with the foot rests, and I know I want a couple of other accessories, but I’m not sure of a couple of things.

The bike seems too quiet, so pipes are a priority. I had Vance and Hines longshots on my Honda, and Ibthought they sounded really interesting at idle, but I think I want to try Rinegarts for a change. I’m not sure if I want full pipes or slip ons. Is there a clear winner?

I want a docking station for my iPhone 8, but I might upgrade soon to an iPhone X or whatever’s next. Is there a particular docking station I should consider?

Any other accessories I shouldn’t overlook?

 

I think you’ll enjoy the Rinehart slip ons. Nothing wrong with the stock header unless you want 2-1 or 2-2 system. Stock system works great and slip on will give you a nice sound.

As for other accessories? whatever grabs ya. Too many options to guess. I like the swing arm bag for when I run stripped down. Otherwise Heritage has everything you “need”...

 

S&S makes some nice EPA legal slip-on mufflers if you want to keep your warranty. I have them on my bike and they run and sound great.

 

I bought a medium rail RAM mounting base, a RAM arm, a Quad Lock ball adapter, and a Quad Lock Case. Works perfectly! Super secure and easy on/off the bike.

 

Regarding the warranty, I had not thought about that. I found this article about it being up to individual dealerships whether to void warranties. Can they only do it if the slip-ons effectively remove catalytic converters and are not EPA compliant for that reason? Do any dealerships actually void warranties? Any to avoid in DFW? Thanks.

https://www.lawabidingbiker.com/125/

 

I had an interesting conversation with the GM of the local dealer and he told me that HD got in trouble with the EPA a couple years ago and as part of the deal to "get out of jail" so to speak, dealers were required to report to the EPA the motorcycles that had the EPA stuff removed and the warranty voided,(Cat, certain tuners, etc.) to the EPA. His fear is that the EPA, having that information would use it against owners in the future. Not trying to get too political with this post but if you get a rabid socilistic/environ whacko administration in this country, there's no telling what rules they might impose or what group they will go against. Certain parts of the country already have that in their state and local and as such they start writing rules agains what they perceive as "unsuitable behavior" to them, NOISE is one so when you decide to exercise your freedom of speech with the exhaust, you are alienating people who can write rules to make your life miserable.

That said and not knowing how every dealer approaches the issue, I would wait until a warranty is expired before making warranty voidable changes to those systems. But if you never intend to darken the door of the service department and live in an area that doesn't have the whackos, have at it. I'm an old fart now who has sound related hearing loss (thank you 45 years of helicopters) and LOUD noises hurt my ears. Harsh loud the worst. In the past I made changes to the exhaust system on the bikes. The 11 touring ran too hot so getting rid of the Cat and a fuel tuner helped that. My 13 Fatboy was SO quiet I couldn't hear it to shift, I wear foam earplugs. But the 19 Heritage has an acceptable sound so I'm keeping the exhaust/intake/etc. stock, at least for the time being. I am modifying things to improve my riding comfort and function, engine guard and pegs, Mustang seat with back rest, passenger backrest. My changes are more function so you won't see LED strings under the frame. I ride not park in bar parking lots.

 

After even more research, it seems that at least one rider has it in writing from HD corporate that the street cannons are the only muffler change you can make that won’t void warranty if reported by the dealer. So looking into the street cannons, one guy complained that his street cannons got too loud after breakin at about 700 miles. Do stock mufflers also get louder after breakin? If so, I may wait and see on them. Also, the advertising on the street cannons indicates they have a lower pitch but there’s no mention of any dB increase. Are they louder than stock? I just think my stick mufflers are too quiet as a safety issue. I don’t want to spend money on street cannons only to find they aren’t any louder.

 

Yes, at one time the street cannons were the only legal muffler. The S&S mufflers are now also EPA certified and do not void your warranty if tuned with the H-D Street Tuner. Here's a copy of the certificate, legal in all 50 states:

 

The new slips ones looks so much better than they did in the past. My current ST is a FB114 but I owned 3 HSTCs. I changed the complete pipe because I wanted true duals with fishtails. Other than that, slips are fine.

The thing I tend to change on every HD are mirrors, grips and the seat.

 

I also went Quad Lock. A bit different set up though.
I use my Bluetooth ear buds with the phone. Work great to reduce road noise, plus have phone, music, and nav instructions.