Sorry everyone. Posted this over in the "Touring" sections then realized it was in the wrong section.?

Anyway........PLEASE help a new Harley owner with this!

Just got my first Harley (1990 Ultra Classic). I'm looking at doing the stage 1 process and have been looking for about a week for the best air intake/filter kit for around the $200 or less mark? Looking for something round or oval (dont care for the 90 degree stuff or charger types). I dont mind piecing together a kit or buying one complete. Any help would really be appreciated!

 

Figure I'll get mobed over this but never cared about being politically or socially correct anyway. Fact is - you don't need one, at least not a whole new housing just to get more air. Unless of course you don't like the looks of what you already have. Nice bike by the way. If you look at the bottom of the stock cleaner housing, you'll see it's way bigger than the carb inlet and will flow as much air as your engine can pull anyway. Only time it might make any tiny difference would be if you were running over 85 - 100 mph for a long distance and/or made a lot of ultra high performance mods. That's a Tour bike, not a bar-hopper or dragster. A good re-usable filter element like a K&N or similar is not a bad investment though. There is a baffle plate inside held by 2 rivets. Drill and remove that and it will allow it to intake more air from the bottom and less thru the back where the air is heated more by the cylinders. So, just my opinion, save the money you'll drop on a fancy a/f housing for better flowing mufflers and a more suitable cam and just buy fuel and enjoy it for what it was designed to do - go ride it somewhere.

 

Thank you very much for the indepth response. I really do appreciate it!!!
The reason I wanted to change to a more open type intake is due to all the articles on here and all over the net about how big a differnce it would make??
I just went into mine a saw a flat metal baffle in there, not riveted or anything though? You are saying take it out to allow for a more direct route for the air to get to the carb? By the way........I'm not planning to re-cam anytime soon. I just planned to increase the air going in and the air going out (exhaust). I might takle the re-jet later?
So to recap.........you are saying keep the stock back plate, buy a K&N filter and use the stock cover? Thanks again...............

 

I like your bike too!

Our 1990 Ultra Classic has just about 120,000 miles on it, it had 64,000 on it when we bought it 6 years ago. My original plan was to use it for a little bit to make sure we wanted to ride again and then buy a new one but I became attached to it and just can't get excited about a new one. God willing, I hope to roll the speedometer over again in a few more years. I think ours had a K&N air filter and it worked good even after I had head work, cam etc done to it. I some times miss the round air cleaner with the Harley "Live to Ride" cover but I don't think I would ever want to go back to the 80" engine again.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Inboxjoe#p/u/1/LAFhORcazJk
http://www.youtube.com/user/Inboxjoe#p/u/3/eb--4wkaKNg
http://www.youtube.com/user/Inboxjoe#p/u/2/gKtHA8e9yf4

 

Well, you have to understand there is a whole society of folks out there wanting to take your money just cause you have a Harley. And the claims made are not invalid, but the sales pitch is saying you "have to have" this that and the other which is only true if you're pushing one to the limit everytime you ride, which 99.99% of riders don't do. So yes, remove that metal plate, it will let the intake air a bit cooler and if I were selling the idea I'd tell you "it'll improve performance" but doubtful you'd ever notice. More open mufflers will help with power and a better cam will do wonders. But that's a '90 and there is the possibility it came out with the "L" grind cam which has as much lift as the ever popular Andrews EV-27 but less duration of course. The stock air filter is fine, but they do give out over time and numerous washings. A "lifetime" re-usable like K&N is expensive, but will flow better when dirty than a stock will after it's been serviced several times. So just my opinion...

 

I've got an 88 electra glide with an 80 ci evo in it. I pulled the Keihn carb off & installed a Mikuni 40 mm in it's place. Twice the power, it idles perfectly! I also pulled my stock mufflers off & used an inch & a quarter hole saw with a 16 inch extension & bored out the baffles. The bike is still quiet enough to roll out of my subdivision but if I crack the throttle she barks like an eguana having **** sex!

 

I am pretty sure that if you increase the air flow with the filter and exhaust you are going to have to re-jet the carb also.

 

Hatch - Still trying to imagine the sound of an iguana having **** sex...

I've been looking at Mikunis... Branch O'Keefe says they are the best... of course, they are also a dealer, but with their long and excellent reputation I trust them. Nice to hear from someone who already has one and likes it. Bertha idles kind of like that iguana in the throes... duals and her EVL-3010 cam will do that, I guess. But I actually kind of like the rumbling, and she's smooth as a baby's butt at 70 MPH... No mirror vibes at all!

You should rejet if you do that. I run an aftermarket 46 idle jet and a 185 main in Bertha's stock CV, and she seems pretty happy with that setup. I also read an article last week about using an old Sportster needle that will richen the midrange but not the idle and not the WOT (the main jet doesn't even really come into the equation until about 3/4 throttle anyway) - without having to rejet. Haven't tried that though...

To the original question - a H-D SE A/C or Arlen Ness Big Sucker II will give you all the airflow you will ever need, and they are both round and cost about a bill each on the 'net. But again, the A/C won't do that much all by itself... you will need a good and appropriate set of pipes (not long or short unbaffled ones, nor drag pipes!) A good 2-into-1 will give you the best overall performance, but I don't like the look of that on a bagger. I run V&H Dresser Duals headers and Big Oval slipons, and they seem to work well. I also have some long straight fishtails that look and sound great, but she's a real slug with those on.

The A/C and exhaust, combined with a reasonable dresser cam like an Andrews EV-27 or the V-Thunder EVL-3010 that I use, will really wake up your stock bike without breaking the bank. I get nearly 45 MPG with the EVL-3010, and Bertha weighs close to 900 pounds! I have to wind her up to about 3000 RPM before the EVL-3010 really starts to kick in... but once it does, it pulls really strong all the way past 5000 RPM. An Andrews EV-13 or a V-Thunder EVL-3000 are also good choices for heavy baggers if you are more interested in low end torque than top end HP. That's probably more useful on a heavy bike anyway.

Just some additional thoughts... All of these things will help individually - but to get the best performance, all of your drivetrain components need to work together. A free flowing A/C helps, but not noticeably it you are still running stock exhaust. Likewise, a free flowing exhaust helps, but not much if you are still running the stock A/C and cam. A good cam that is built to deliver the power in the RPM range you use the most will help, but not that much if you have too low or too high of a compression ratio, and not if you are using long open pipes or drag pipes (either are bad for low end and midrange performance for very technical reasons). And on and on...

You can spend a lot of money on aftermarket parts and still not get the performance you were expecting if you don't have a plan for all the parts to work together well in the RPM range where you live the most. I personally don't like to rev Bertha much past 5000 RPM at all, because I don't want to have to rebuild her every other year, and with my setup she's past the peak torque/HP power point above that anyway... so it doesn't do any good except put more wear on her valvetrain. Of course, with Branch O'Keefe heads...

I suggest you read up on all of the good performance threads here - and at nightrider.com, harley-performance.com, nrhsperformance.com, etc. and get some good Harley books that really inform you about what components will work best with what others.