I recently bought a 2012 Heritage Softail Classic with a Twin Cam 103 and have a few things in mind to upgrade and customize it a little. Most of my mechanical experience is with 4-wheel vehicles, so around motorcycles, there are a few areas that I have little or no experience. For that reason, I wanted to start this thread to seek input and advice and document my progress as I go.

The first thing on the list is performance: The bike currently has an older Screamin' Eagle High Flow Air Cleaner, de-catted stock mufflers, and a Screamin' Eagle Super Tuner Pro tuner. (The tuner appears to be an older version and didn't come with any cables) The de-catted mufflers have some sort of tab installed inside them (see photo below) which I assume is to help increase the backpressure. The mufflers sound OK but have a "hollow" sound that I don't like and I'm getting some decel pop on deceleration and shifting.

My thoughts for performance mods are:

Cams: I'm considering the Screamin' Eagle 255 cams (or equivalent aftermarket) to get a little more bottom end torque. I don't ride fast or aggressive and rarely go above 4-5,000 RPM but wouldn't mind a little more low-end torque. Is there a compelling reason to go with a aftermarket cams instead of the SE cams? Anything else I should do while it's opened up for the cam installation? (The bike only has 16,000 miles on it)

Intake: I plan to keep the Screamin' Eagle air cleaner and don't see a reason to change it. The only question I have is that the current kit available for that model on the H-D website has a different part number for the backing plate than what's currently installed on the bike. I'm curious if anything changed on it. The part number on the backing plate installed on the bike is 29478-05A and the part number of the kit currently shown on the H-D website is 29586-06.

Exhaust: I want a nice deep, slightly aggressive tone with some "attitude" that's not overly obnoxious. I don't care for the sound of V&H slash cuts and Khrome Werks and Cobra NH's aren't quite loud enough for what I want for this bike. (Although the Khrome Werks are perfect for my touring bike) I've already ordered a pair of Tab Performance Mufflers /w Zombie baffles with the option to swap them out for medium baffles if the Zombies are too loud for me. I prefer mufflers without cats and wanted to stay with 2-2, so that narrowed the field quite a bit. I considered full exhaust systems but decided to go with slip-ons for simplicity, but I may consider aftermarket head pipes in the future if there's a compelling reason to change the factory head pipes.

Tuner: Since I don't have cables for the tuner that came with the bike, and the tuner is likely somewhat dated anyway, I'll probably go ahead and buy a new one. This is one area where I have zero experience, but I know I want to keep it simple. I have no intentions to ever go above a Stage II on this bike, so I don't need all of the bells & whistles of a high-end tuner. Will the Screamin' Eagle Pro Street Tuner, currently offered by H-D for my model, have everything I need to optimize the cams, intake, and exhaust that I'll be using? Is there another aftermarket tuner available that doesn't cost significantly more that would be a better choice?

I'd appreciate hearing if this sounds like a good plan or if there are some holes in my logic or other things that I should consider. I'm looking to improve the low-end performance a little and make the bike sound better, without spending piles of cash or disproportionally sacrificing reliability.

 

handsome bike!
Fuel Moto has good prices on pipes and fuel management systems. Moreso, they are VERY helpful when trying to figure out what makes sense for you.

I PERSONALY would go with V&H short shots on an older heritage. they look and sound great. I prefer thundermax tuners. Expensive but top notch customer service if questions come up. They have available tunes for several different cams.

but if you buy any tuner from fuel moto, They'll provide a canned map for whatever set up you have to get you close. they also provide free maps when/if you decide to make upgrades to your bike later on.

 

I appreciate the feedback Toe Knee!

With all of the expertise and experience on this forum I'm a little surprised that no one else has replied. Was this the wrong forum, too much to read, not enough information, tired of answering the same questions?

I was hoping to learn from the collective wisdom of the community so I could get this right the first time. Entering into the field of motorcycle performance upgrades, even if it is a small step, is a new venture for me.

 

I'm sure others will chime in.

But I'd go with a solid stage one with aftermarket tuner and see how it performs and runs before going into the cam chest.....You might be satisfied.

Pick a set of pipes you like, search youtube and ask questions here to help you decide. You already have a stage one air cleaner so you're all set there.

Then start looking into aftermarket tuners. The most popular ones are dyno jet power vision, vance and hines fp3+4 (don't like that tuner personally) and thundermax. A canned map will get you close but unless you have wide band o2 sensors, you might think about having the bike dyno tuned. If there is a reputable tuner in your area, give them a call see what THEY like to use.

 

We believe that Foundation is Key.
A great Stage 1 Upgrade has 4 components, each of them are detailed in our Overview of Stage I Upgrades report that you find helpful.

By doing a True Stage I Upgrade, you are now in position to get the full benefit of an upgraded cam, should you choose to do so.
Feel free to give us a call or shoot us an email with any questions or concerns.

Ride Safe, Ride Free.

Shelly