Hi, I'm wondering whether or not to remove the catalytic converter from my 15 Street Glide Special.

 

Hey Reginabrad I have only heard of one person who attempted this and from what I was told he ended up ruining his exhaust and had to purchase new.
Don't know that much about it, but it appears you need some expertise to cut/grind the pipes and reweld.
I thought I saw a blog on it somewhere here in the forum a while back.
Cheers, Terry

 

Here is a blog I found. Hope this helps.
Cheers, Terry

Before you do it, I suggest you ask yourself "Why?" I have been reading all the threads on this issue for years and have come to the conclusion that no one can show that it accomplishes anything meaningful and that it can, in fact, cause problems, including decal popping and backfires and can screw up how your ECM operates.

This is a LONG thread, but I suggest you read all of it. You will get both sides of the issue in detail. You can decide for yourself which side you think is more credible. https://www.hdforums.com/forum/canad...eal-facts.html

In another, more recent thread, I challenged the posters to provide real evidence that gutting the cat accomplishes anything and was met with deafening silence. (https://www.hdforums.com/forum/canad...t-removal.html ) All you ever hear is anecdotal stuff--"I did it to mine, and I am happy." The supposed improvements are all just seat of the pants, never quantified. The word that is always used is that the difference is "noticeable." I'm convince that is because people are trying to notice something. If it actually did what people say it does, someone would have posted actual proof in the form of dyno runs, temperature measurements or something years ago. You won't find ANY.
Before you start screwing up the engineering of the bike by randomly changing things, make sure you have a reason to do so. The fact that something is repeated over and over doesn't make it true.

You asked for advice. That's mine. Read what is out there and make up your own mind.

 

IMHO...the best bang for your buck, is a Stage 1:
1 - air intake
2 - exhaust ( decat & free flowing mufflers)
3 - tune

1 alone won't do much, and likely needs a new tune
2 alone can reduce heat you feel on your leg, sound better, and a bit better performance.
3 alone will help your bike run better. But, with all the above, you get a better running, and cooler running bike.

Just decating the bike, will reduce heat on your legs/feet, sound different...some may or may not like it. If you don't change the air intake, it wont change the flow through the intake system, do a tune should not be necessary.

YMMV. Check local laws. For intergalactic use only.

 

Well I took mine out and there is a noticeable difference in heat reduction but I never measured with a thermometer any before and after temps. Either you believe what people are telling you on the forum or you don't. I have no proof with dyno numbers either but I feel the bike is running cooler with a slight change in exhaust note. JMHO it is an improvement

 

Reginabrad, it is a messy project with lots of chance to ruin your head-pipe and from all the research I've done and seen, there are very little to no gains in torque or hp by removing the cat. You will notice a difference in heat but I'm sure that's not what you are looking for. As others have said, increase airflow thru the air breather and pipes, then get a good tune and you will see a marked improvement in torque and hp.

You can also look at Fullsac CVO Power Cores. Fullsac makes them in 1.75", 2.0" and 2.25" cores. You have to remove your stock baffles out of the mufflers and than place the CVO Power Cores in the mufflers. Takes about two and a half hours but you will see marked improvement in sound, airflow and performance. If you have a good breather, then all you need is a tune after that. I bought the 2.25" Fullsac CVO Power Cores, the techmat blankets and perforated sleeves from Fullsac. Took me about 2 1/2 hour to remove my old baffles and install the CVO Power Cores. Cost me $305.00 CAD, free shipping thru my Kinek account at the border, and I didn't pay any tax or duty. PM me for details if you're interested.

Here is the link to Fullsac:

http://fullsac.com/product/2006-2017-cvo-power-core/

Here is what they sound like:


Hope this helps. I absolutely love the sound and the extra performance. Can't beat it for the price.

 

I thought he was asking about the cat removal not choice of muffler??

 

He was, lol, but if he wants cheap alternatives to changing exhaust to get improved performance then Fullsac is an option. As you said above, the cat removal is good at reducing heat but that's about it.

 

Theres a lot of videos on u tube about it. Im doin mine this spring. These one video to add pipe inside the cat opening and make duels. A friend did his. But youll need to retune after. With flow thorugh slipons and no cat. Theres no back pressure. But damn cooler running.

 

For me it was the heat, did pick up some power just because I used a V&H header pipe and stage 1 or what ever air cleaner and dyno tuned. That said if your looking to get rid of heat thats the way to go, I do have a extra stock header pipe that fits your bike I will sell. This way you can experiment without screwing yours up.