I am in a unique situation were I'm getting a stage 2 kit put on my 17 RGS along with SE pro street tuner and SE intake but don't have the money at the moment for exhaust. My question is with the added back pressure will it cause any harm until I get at least slip ons? I know it is going to limit the gains and I'm ok with that just don't want to do any damage. To answer the question as to why not exhaust if I'm getting stage 2. I am getting all the labor for free on the stage 2 so only have to but parts. I don't have the cash for the exhaust yet and I can't wait on the stage 2 if I'm doing it it has to be now.

 

You won't hurt anything by running the stock exhaust. You already know it won't produce maximum power, and if it's tuned correctly you will probably be very pleased with the results.

 

Thanks that's what I thought but wanted to double check!

 

How much of a difference do you think slip ons will make with the stock header having the cat?

 

the SE EPA compliant pipes have the CAT in the muffs, so you will be fine. maybe lose a tad, but not worth worrying about.
sounds like a good deal to me.

maybe you can drill out your stock head pipe & your stock mufflers & that way:
-lose the heat of the CAT
-head pipe flows
-OEM slips flow
-get some HP & TQ with the tune
-the tune is not wasted (in other words, you are paying for a tune, and you can use it for a few months, vice a few weeks)

I think you could ride like that over the summer & enjoy the cam!

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/milwa...head-pipe.html

 

So i have a TC88 bored to 97" , street ported midrange torque heads , Andrews 54G cams , SE air filter kit, and 1-3/4" V&H Straight Shot HS exhaust. My combo needs to really flow the air. I added Big City Thunder Monster baffles. They are a simple old skool "lollypop" style baffle that flow outstanding , while still generating the necessary exhaust pulse backpressure to have good low speed throttle response. Even my dyno tuner commented he sees excellent flow numbers with Monster Baffles. Only possible issue is MB's are very loud (but its a deep throaty loud , not like the nasty crackly open pipe loud) . Im at max 95 hp and 104 ft/lb of torque at 4870 rpm. My engine hits like a sledge hammer around 4200 rpms, and No need to rev my bike past 5200 as the power starts rapidly dropping off. Really fun street engine .

https://bigcitythunder.com/collectio...onster-baffles

 

On my 2018 Road Glide, I removed the cat (to reduce heat) and kept the OEM mufflers because I like the look of them. Performance and sound is fine. The OEM header flows well and works fine. That's not to say you might not be able to squeeze a few extra HP and TQ out with another exhaust, but I doubt it would be enough to matter unless you are taking it to a track for racing.

Paul

 

American Custom Exhaust and Fullsac both rework the factory mufflers with new baffles that flow more and sound better than the factory baffle. Very economic way to get better exhaust flow and sound for your bike.