I have a 2016 Heritage Classic with the HO 103 motor. I bought it with the SE heavy breather air filter and Vance and Hines exhaust. I think they're slip ons. It has an unknown tune in it. I've been thinking of going with cams and my local dealer has suggested SE 255 cams along with a Harley tuner so I can keep my extended factory warranty.

But I've read that the HO 103 motor came with cams that are close to the 255s. Would replacing cams on this bike show me much improvement in lower end torque? I don't really go much above 3,000 rpm and mostly stay below about 2,500. I just would like a little more power in the 2,000 to 2,500 rpm range.

Follow up question: if cams aren't really worth the price for my situation, would true dual exhaust help much? I see Vance and Hines offers true duals for my bike.

 

The 255s are tough to beat for low end torque...probably the best EPA cam for bottom end. Alot of people say its not worth the trouble though...its your money and your bike. Maybe at this point your best bet might be to find a 2 into 1 exhaust that won't void your extended warranty and just ride it until it expires. Then you'll be ready to put a good aftermarket cam and tuner in it. A good 2/1 will pick up some low end for you.

 

The 103HO engines do not come with SE255 cams, but their OEM cam profile is close....

Many have mentioned that the slight gains are either not really noticeable or not worth the cost... all second hand info...

I had SE255 cams in a 2012 103", not the HO version. While they were a change form the OEM cams in that bike, as soon as my warranty was over, I was ready to try another cam...They ran out of gas in the upper rpms (4000 rpm +) and seemed to run hot even when properly tuned...

I ended up trading the bike for a 2016, and took a different engine mod path than just doing cams...

 

If you stay below 2500rpm, performance upgrades are a waste of $$$. Leave the stock cams.
Asked your local dealer?

 

Yes I asked my local dealer. I have extended mechanical warranty for the next 4 years and I don't want to do something that will void that warranty.

So, it sounds like I would be wasting my money and time with cams. What about the dual exhaust? Does that help, or is it just a cool looking thing?

 

The dual exhaust I'm thinking about are the Vance and Hines duals.

 

True duals will NOT help performance, as much as 2 into 1 or 2 - 1 - 2 exhausts, at lower/mid rpms.....

Depending on the build, it may or may not be noticeable, but that is the general rule...

If you're worried about warranty issues... read the fine print in your extended warranty contract... some allow certain upgrades to be covered, that aren't necessarily EPA compliant like the OEM warranty from the MoCo... don't trust someone trying to sell you something to interpret it for you... read it for yourself...