Thanks for the insight guys. I plan on getting a tuner and skipping the dealer download but its a lot easier on the wallet to only have to buy the pipes at first.

 

That you are aware of.

I'd be cautious making these piecemeal changes. We all like to think we are smarter than the engineers and R&D folks who design these machines, but the truth is we "hack" a lot more than we like to admit.

Just consider, the money you save now may cost you a lot more later from the internal damage you do to your engine that's not properly tuned.

 

We have O2 sensors on the bikes now to automatically adjust the a/f mixture. if the r&d folks at HD put these things on I would hope they are smart enough to make them work properly. The Tuners trick the computer to run richer and give more power as well as cool the motor changing from the stock lean a/f ratio. Which is why they have the O2 delete in the tuners. Changing the ac or pipes without the tuner the bike will adjust itself to the factory a/f mixture otherwise what in the world are they for??

 

I got a fuel processor from someone on the forum for $125, I would save your 150 to buy a processor. just remember, changing the pipes and air cleaner is going to get more oxygen into the bike. If you change nothing else you are going to be more lean, lean is fast until it burns up the motor. You can get away with it, but you are putting your bike, and a significant investment, at risk.

good riding,
Al

 

Jaron was giving you good info.
You do not NEED a tuner, the EFI with o2 sensors will adjust itself for the stock AFR, it will still run at the leanish EPA settings as it did stock and will not damage the motor.
To get the best performance from her you may WANT a tuner, but you can safely wait until you are ready.
Knowing what I know now about different tuners, I would save my money and buy a Thundermax with Autotune the first time. I went through a couple other tuners first and frankly it was a waste of money as they were not even close to providing the performance the TMax has provided.