Removed my new headers
#1
07-14-2018, 11:55 AM
Removed my new headers
I’ve been reading constantly on this forum and other places about different peoples opinions or experiences with dealers voiding warranties because of headers and other emissions tampering. So this morning I finally made the decision to remove my Vance and Hines power duals and put the stock head pipe back on. I’m usally not that worried about things like this, and I’m really not worried that my bike will break down. It’s just a struggle to imagine some dealer ( either mine or another on a road trip) flagging my bike because of headers! I love my bike and love the new 107. That being said. I have 5 years of warranty!
Well the good news for me is this.... I have Vance and Hines oversized 450 slip ones and screaming eagle air cleaner. I did leave my Vance and Hines FP3 on (I plan to remove if I bring the bike in for service). I did remap to just the high flow air cleaner and oversized 450s. The sound is almost identical to when I had the power duals on. It’s really kinda crazy. It’s almost exactly the same tone and loudness.
Long story short, I know people have lots of opinions. And some people may complain about problems with the new motor, the EPA and so on. But for me, I plan on riding this bike till the wheels fall off. And not worry about it! If there are any lingering problems with the M8.... I’ve got 5 years if warranty for any fixes to come out by Harley. If any one else is struggling with a decision like this to save the warranty, your not alone! It’s like a damn business decision, to each there own. Ride safe!
Well the good news for me is this.... I have Vance and Hines oversized 450 slip ones and screaming eagle air cleaner. I did leave my Vance and Hines FP3 on (I plan to remove if I bring the bike in for service). I did remap to just the high flow air cleaner and oversized 450s. The sound is almost identical to when I had the power duals on. It’s really kinda crazy. It’s almost exactly the same tone and loudness.
Long story short, I know people have lots of opinions. And some people may complain about problems with the new motor, the EPA and so on. But for me, I plan on riding this bike till the wheels fall off. And not worry about it! If there are any lingering problems with the M8.... I’ve got 5 years if warranty for any fixes to come out by Harley. If any one else is struggling with a decision like this to save the warranty, your not alone! It’s like a damn business decision, to each there own. Ride safe!
The following users liked this post:
johnnynitro (07-14-2018)
#2
07-14-2018, 12:05 PM
Road Master
#3
07-14-2018, 12:48 PM
Grand HDF Member
#4
07-14-2018, 01:00 PM
I could be wrong here, but from what I was told. It’s less likely for someone to look for a tuner flash if there is no exhaust modification. My other option is to have Harley install their tuner. They told me it would erase the history of any evidence of the FP3. Guess that’s a route I can take If its true. My dealer is really cool about up grades and warranty. I just don’t like the headers because they take a lot longer to remove if I needed to have work done.
#5
07-14-2018, 01:28 PM
If all you have is a stg 1 I'd go with the HD tuner & sell your FP3 to cover some of the cost, on a stg 1 you won't notice much difference in performance & you'll save your extended warranty, that is unless you never go very far away from your own dealer. Otherwise you might as well dump your extended warranty. They don't have to look for the tuner, as soon as they hook up the digital tech to check for problems they & the mothership will know it's there & your warranty is toast.
Last edited by DTTJGlide; 07-14-2018 at 01:31 PM.
#6
07-14-2018, 01:54 PM
DTTJGlide, I agree with you. I cant sell the FP3 though, its vin locked, so unless I use it its a paper weight. I do travel quite a bit, thats why I think I wanna keep my chances as high as possible for keeping the warranty. I'll just hang onto the FP3, I'm sure they will have EPA compliant tunes in the near future. But for now, I'll let the dealer use a Harley tune for my stage 1. That way she remains warrantied. Im sure there is some Harley tech out there that could search high and low and find out the I previously had a FP3, but honestly most techs and dealerships probably feel the same way we do. If it has a Harley tune, I'm sure it would be almost impossible to find traces of the FP3 flash.
#7
07-14-2018, 02:08 PM
Grand HDF Member
Harley has zero tolerance for aftermarket tuners. They are under federal court order to void any and all powertrain warranties if they or their dealers have any knowledge that an aftermarket tuner was used. They have no choice.
If your dealer is telling you that they can "cover up" an FP3 by installing an HD tuner over the top of it, to hide it from Harley, then... Well, they're risking fines, court actions, and defrauding Harley, which could lead to penalties or who knows, even terminating their franchise depending on how widespread that behavior is and how hard the EPA and courts come down on Harley.
Your warranty is gone. You might be best off canceling that extended warranty to at least get as much refund from it as you can, because when Harley determines that you used an aftermarket tuner they will cancel your ESP too.
If you want confirmation, ask any dealer -- other than yours, of course, because yours seems to have some problems with telling the truth.
If your dealer is telling you that they can "cover up" an FP3 by installing an HD tuner over the top of it, to hide it from Harley, then... Well, they're risking fines, court actions, and defrauding Harley, which could lead to penalties or who knows, even terminating their franchise depending on how widespread that behavior is and how hard the EPA and courts come down on Harley.
Your warranty is gone. You might be best off canceling that extended warranty to at least get as much refund from it as you can, because when Harley determines that you used an aftermarket tuner they will cancel your ESP too.
If you want confirmation, ask any dealer -- other than yours, of course, because yours seems to have some problems with telling the truth.
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#8
07-14-2018, 02:20 PM
I think that’s probably pretty extreme. I’m sure it’s the truth. But I think there’s a big difference between have the FP3 installed when you bring it in versus removing it and having them tune the bike. What they told me was if I remove the tuner before it’s brought in, they can tune my bike with a Legal Harley tuner and I’m good. My dealer in no way has lied to me about what would happen if i left the FP3 tuner on the bike.
Like previously mentioned, I don’t think dealers Are required to search for previously installed tuners. But I believe they are required to check the current tune to make sure it’s not aftermarket. Of course, I don’t know that for a fact.
Being that my dealer seems to be very honest, I’ll take my chances by removing all things that aren’t legal and hope my warranty stays in effect. In realty, if I go with the Harley tuner I’m sure my chances are very high that things will be warrantied in the future.
Like previously mentioned, I don’t think dealers Are required to search for previously installed tuners. But I believe they are required to check the current tune to make sure it’s not aftermarket. Of course, I don’t know that for a fact.
Being that my dealer seems to be very honest, I’ll take my chances by removing all things that aren’t legal and hope my warranty stays in effect. In realty, if I go with the Harley tuner I’m sure my chances are very high that things will be warrantied in the future.
Last edited by Robber80; 07-14-2018 at 02:22 PM. Reason: Spelling
#9
07-14-2018, 02:24 PM
Put the pipes back on and run it. As soon as it gets plugged into the Digital Tech Harley will know everything about your bike. It has nothing to do with the visual inspection of the bike. Powertrain warranty is shot. It's a pisser, but it's true, I put mine on before I knew about this, and I wasn't super happy. Depending on the ESP you got, it might still be good after the factory warranty is over.
#10
07-14-2018, 02:31 PM
Road Captain
For what it's worth, I had a regional service manager with HD say that if you use any tuner on your bike, it "tattoo's" the ECU and cannot be erased, even if you re-tune with the PST from HD, MOCO will still see FP3 tune. As soon as any dealer plugs your bike in, they will know and flag your bike with no warranty. My guess is there are protected partitions within the ECU that are not accessible to erase.