I live in Louisville and the only close dealer with a dyno is in Bloomington, IN. So I called and inquired about installing some Samson Big Gun Street Sweepers, SE high-flow air cleaner. and SERT installed and dyno'd. The dealer told me that his advise was to have the high-flow SE air cleaner and HD download installed. He said that if I wanted the SE high-flow, and SERT, that the dyno tune would run about $1K, not including the pipe install. Does this sound like ok advise??

 

A grand for a dyno tune????!!!! That's outrageous. I hope that includes the price of the air cleaner and SERT!! Even then, that quote is still very high. The SERT is the way to go though, if you can afford it. Don't let them talk you out of it.

Try to find a REAL Harley performance shop (not a stealership) and visit them. Check out this link... it mentions two in Louisville and there may be more near you. The one at the bottom of the page has the latest model dyno (the 250). Just find out how much experience the tuner has with the SERT before spending your money. Ask around and I'm sure you can find a few people who have used their services.

http://www.dynojet.com/maps/bikedynos/ky.htm

Many dealers charge a lot more than they have to, especially when it comes to accessories and service. Support the smaller independent shops and you'll get better service for less money. Ask around and I'm sure you can find a better deal. The only time I go to a dealer is when I can't get what I need anywhere else. The shop I use charges $50 an hour for a dyno run and it usually takes less than an hour to tune it. I only have to ride 2 hours to get there, and it's well worth it. Most shops I've seen charge between $50 and $125 an hour. Any more than that and you are getting ripped off.

You can save a lot of money by changing the parts yourself. Harleys are easy to work on, just get a FACTORY service manual before touching anything and follow it to the letter. The service manial is the most valuable tool you can have! IMHO, I think they ought to give you one when you buy a bike. What's another 50 bucks when you just spent several thousand? (Of course, they won't do that since they want you to come back to them for every little thing, that way they can drain your wallet some more) A parts catalog is another good book to have. Those are the first things I buy when I pick up a new (new to me) bike, car, truck, etc. jpcycles.com sells the manuals for a good price, as do some other shops you can find online.

 

Wow...$1000 is high even with the air kit and SERT. GO to ebay and buy them both or to Zanotti....that will save you some$$$ (about $150 for the two) I am getting my pipes (V&H), Arlen Ness Big Sucker Air kit, SERT and INSTALLATION for $1000...

 

No, doesn't sound like good advice at all. I would skip that, and do this instead.

Air Cleaner: If the engine is stock displacement, simply cut some 1" holes in the backing plate outside the air cleaner area. That will increase flow and not cost you anything. If you have a big bore kit, then use a bigger element in the stock housing. Do a search on the poor mans SE air cleaner kit.

Instead of the SERT and dyno tune, install one of the new closed loop piggyback systems like Terry Components. The bike will tune itself, and the dyno isn't needed. And you'll save big bux.

 

Thanks for all the advise! The $1K that the dealer quoted included a SERT, HFAC, and dyno tuning, which I agree seemed awfully high. I am going to check that link on dynos and also do some looking into that closed loop system and see what it's about.

 

Well folks, after considering several options and finding a local dyno tuner I decided to go with a PCIII, K&N high-flow kit, and Samson Big Gun Street Sweepers (which are due in tomorrow). I just realized that the pipes don't have any baffles and was looking to you all again for some help...Samson offers 10" baffles and a shortie baffle. I want good sound as well as performance and I know that straight pipes will hurt performance (and probably my engine for that matter). Which baffles would you recommend? Thank in advance!

 

Talked to the folks at Samson today and they told me that there are no baffles available for my exhaust only torque cones. Am I going to loose power installing this exhaust system? What are torque cones? Should I sell this exhaust and get another?? I appreciate any advise.

 

Woody,
I believe the torque cones create a sufficient amount of back pressure to give you the performance required.
I was looking at the Big Gun II Slasher pipes to replace my SE II's.
Good luck

 

Thanks for the advise, I am starting to feel a little better now. What bike do you have rideroftime, and what other mods have you done? Are your Big Gun II Slashers going to have baffles?

 

PCIII is a good choice, provided your tuner knows a lot about them.

I disagree about the torque cones. I've tried them on several exhaust systems over the years and they have all ended up in the parts bin in my shop for use as scrap metal. They are simply not sufficient for controlling reversion. Many folks think backpressure is what you need.... wrong! In a good exhaust system, reversion control is what you want, with minimal backpressure.

I know from extensive dyno testing that torque cones are nothing more than snake oil. Don't waste your money.... you will lose low and mid range torque with or without them when using open pipes. Tuned baffles are mandatory for a good running engine! You might want to reconsider your choice of exhaust, unless sound and appearence are more important to you than performance. If you don't want to spend a lot, you can use the stock headpipes and some Cycle Shack slip-on mufflers. Your other 2-2 options are the Python III or the Bartels' systems. The V&H Straightshots aren't bad either. Still, you simply won't get the most out of your bike unless you use a 2-1 system, but the 2-2s I just mentioned will minimize your torque loss.

The fact is, if you do not use a proper tuned exhaust, then your bike will be loud, and the exhaust may look "cool", but your bike will be a dog off the line until you get your revs up to 4000 rpm or so. You'll most likely be downshifting to pass someone, too.

Check out this link for results of some in-depth exhaust testing: http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/exhaust_test_02.htm

That site shows the "street power ranking" of several popular exhaust systems. For a good performing street bike, you want a street ranking as close to 100% as possible. Granted, HP isn't a very important figure with Harley engines, but considering HP is a product of torque, their chart works well enough. I just wish they would have posted the torque values at different rpms.