I'm possibly going to make some modifications to my 2006 FLSTI, and wanted to get some feedback, if I could. I bought a set of Screaming Eagle II pipes, and I was thinking about going with a better air cleaner, like the Arlen Ness Big Sucker I kit. I'm wondering how that setup would work on a basically stock bike. Now I'm also being told that I'd need to get a tuner, as well, not sure what kind.

What I'm looking for is a reliable bike that runs to its fullest potention, but I'm not interested in great amounts of speed or power. There will be no cam updates, or anything of that kind in the future. Just reliability first, better gas mileage if possible, and then whatever extra power I can get would be fine.

How are the SE II for a street bike -- too much? A nice throaty rumble is great, but I don't have any interest in rattling windows. Also, will I need a tuner with this combination, or can I just have it reset by the dealer?

Any opinions are appreciated. Thanks.

 

This has been debated for years............

I think most will agree that since you are changing both pipes and air cleaner, your bike will be breathing better/flowing more air..

What should/needs to be done is the debate. There are 3 camps in this debate.

Camp 1 - do nothing... your ECM will be able to adjust for the change, you will be fine.

I don't agree with Camp 1-- unless you change just one or the other (exhaust or air intake) not both. I believe the air flow change will be enough to fall outside the parameters of the what the ECM can adjust to without help, and your bike will still run lean & hot...

Camp 2 - Gotta have a dyno tune! If you don't dyno tune it you will never get the engine to run correctly.

I agree/disagree with Camp 2-- make no mistake, if you can find a COMPETENT dyno tuner, your bike will never run better. The trouble is finding a good dyno shop/ tuner. Even then, I believe for street driven motorcycles, the current crop of flash tuners will get you very close with a canned map from a good shop.


Camp 3 - This camp will suggest one of the following...
a) an add-on (piggy-back) device to make your bike run richer. It won't change your ECM, but fool signals from it to adjust the AFR
b) Harley-Davidson flash to your ECM
c) Buy a tuner and flash a tune to your ECM that is compatible for your mods.



I am in Camp 2(c)...

a) I don't like piggy-back devices, but there are many who will swear by them. I'm not saying they don't work, I would just rather put the proper tune in my ECM rather than "fool" or adjust it's signals downstream.

b) I believe the HD flash is a waste of money. It will make things better, but it is still EPA compliant which means still lean...

C) I like a good tune in my ECM.

I personally like the DynoJet PowerVision. It allows me to flash a good tune, and then do a basic auto-tune to dial in that tune to my bike's specific volumetric efficiency. As good as a competent dyno tune...? No, but on the street I believe it will close enough that most will not notice the difference if you did a good flash/auto tune and then went and got a dyno tune.

Additionally, I bought mine from FuelMoto. That way you get lifetime support & tunes form both DynoJet AND FuelMoto. Should you ever sell your bike, you can keep the PV and get a new license so you can use it on your new bike.

Well there's my 2 cents....

Some will agree, some won't... good luck with your decision and enjoy the ride!

 

Some fantastic information, hattitude. Thanks for sharing.

I probably should have mentioned that I'm going to have to have it remapped anyway, as the plugs were super gray, which I believe is from running too lean. I've been sitting on these SE II pipes for nearly a year, but didn't put them on because I wanted to do the whole thing at once, but didn't want to remap until it was needed. Now I just want to do it right the first time, and not find myself wishing I'd done something else.

Thanks again.

 

I am sure most new bikes can benefit from a retune. I have no doubt that they all, especially in the last several years, run lean to meet EPA standards.

However, it should be noted that the art of reading plugs doesn't apply to an EFI engine..... just FYI...