Thunderheader - R.I.P.
#1
Thunderheader - R.I.P.
When I bought my Heritage in 2008 I had the stage 1 upgrade at 1000 miles which included the Thunderheader. Ran great and I was perfectly satisfied. A 100% T-header guy. Then I upgraded to the 103 big bore, Pro heads and 211 cam. I've been running that configuration for about 2 years now. The sound was great but as to be expected, much louder. On long rides it began to wear on me so I started shopping around. I hesitantly went with the Road Rage II B1 by Bassani. I figured that the loss in performance would be offset by the more acceptable exhaust note. I couldn't have been more wrong! Based on my experience and seat of the pants dyno, the RR II has it all over the T-header! Quality, fit, finish, the T-header isn't even in the same league as the RR II. And as far as performance, the exhaust note is just as loud as the T-header but much easier on the ears. It has a deeper tone to it. Even the men that ride with me approved the new sound. As a symbolic gesture, one rider buried his Tylenol on the side of the road. LOL! As far as performance, I didn't realize how anemic the low end torque of the T-header was until I experienced the RR II. The T-header just couldn't handle the 211 cams like the RR does. My bike pulls like a freight train from about 3300 rpm on up. With the T-header there was a lag until about 3800 rpm. Big difference! Bottom line, I think the Thunderheader is still a great performance pipe for a stock motor, you get the Harley rumble and some performance gains but anything above that and the RR II is the way to go if in the market for a 2 into 1 pipe. R.I.P. Thunderheader.
Last edited by AZRenegade; 11-17-2013 at 05:25 PM.
#3
Good system pick. Good to hear Ur comments
Most times we Zero in on a product thinking its the best and then buy it. But when we open our minds to see other products as good or better its good to admit to be wrong.
Like others have said, IMO the TH'er are the worst looking 2-1 pipes, but cant dispute they produce really good #'s .
We still love our Rush muffs, but like U, hearing the front pipe all the time does get to our ears on a trip. The stock Stagger's puts the front muffler even at my ear and in front of her.
The RR-II's are for me the best looking 2-1 system made today.
When I do replace the Rush as of now it will be with the RR-II's, so its good to hear how U like them.
.
Most times we Zero in on a product thinking its the best and then buy it. But when we open our minds to see other products as good or better its good to admit to be wrong.
Like others have said, IMO the TH'er are the worst looking 2-1 pipes, but cant dispute they produce really good #'s .
We still love our Rush muffs, but like U, hearing the front pipe all the time does get to our ears on a trip. The stock Stagger's puts the front muffler even at my ear and in front of her.
The RR-II's are for me the best looking 2-1 system made today.
When I do replace the Rush as of now it will be with the RR-II's, so its good to hear how U like them.
.
#5
Rambo.. I've watch and talked about Ur RR-IIs for at least a yr. Liked them the first time I saw them.
When I got our 07 I said when she gets 50k and time for some top end work on her I'll prob do the 103 and new pipes.
Trouble is, now with 46k she just keeps running better and better every yr, still like our Rush but, sometimes we just need a change.
.
When I got our 07 I said when she gets 50k and time for some top end work on her I'll prob do the 103 and new pipes.
Trouble is, now with 46k she just keeps running better and better every yr, still like our Rush but, sometimes we just need a change.
.
Last edited by oct1949; 11-27-2013 at 02:12 PM.
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