Just picked up brand new 883 Iron w/1200 upgrade and stage one, V&H 3" slash cut slip ons. The air cleaner is the Scraming Eagle oval that comes with the 1200 kit, and I got the pro street tuner, all done by the dealer. It's wicked loud! I like it, but I may have to get the quiet baffles. Plenty of power for me, but the one thing I am a little wary of is that it does have a loud crackle backfire on decel. does anyone know if this is just normal break in? Or something to do with my set up? Or did the dealer not do the tuner download properly? Should I get a better air cleaner than the one that came with the upgrade kit? Any advice is appreciated.

 

Backfires and decel popping are two different things. Backfires mean the A/F is wrong in the cylinders, decel pops means unburnt fuel in the exhaust. On my 1200 with the stage 1 setup has some decel pop when I'm quick to roll off the throttle when slowing down. If I roll off slowly, I don't get any decel pop. A little pop is normal and won't hurt anything. Normally the stock pipes hide this noise, but aftermarket pipes have different baffles or none at all. So you'll hear every little noise the bike makes. If it happens all the time, every time you roll off the throttle. I would think your tune might be running a little lean. But even a perfectly tuned motor will have decel pop. So if you want to get rid of it, you'll have to add fuel. But then you'll be de-tuning the motor, more fuel may equal less power. The best way to solve this issues, is finding out what your true A/F ratio is at a wide range of rpms.

 

Don't know, but since the dealer tune has to be within EPA restrictions, could it be that is your problem?

 

Not if the problem is decel pop which is typically caused by too much fuel when the throttle is closed. EPA restrictions tend to make the motor too lean (not enough fuel).

 

Did the dealer dyno it or did they just download the hd stage 1 map. I heard alot of bad about the hd stage 1 map. Even had a mech at the dealer tell me not to do it. I had backfiring with my V&H longshot slipons till I got a quiet baffle.

 

Ehh? Now I am thoroughly confused.

If decel pop is due to too much fuel, why would adding fuel get rid of it?

 

Decel popping does Not damage your engine...it is simply unburnt fuel that is burning in the exhaust tract after exiting the engine.

Decel popping occurs when one of two things are present.

1. The bike is so lean the exhaust is superheated and is burning the unburnt fuel that is in the pipes (there is always some unburnt fuel in the pipes no matter how lean). This is very rare.

2. The AFR IN THE pipes is just right to burn the unburnt fuel. This is quite a common occurrence when free flowing pipes are installed (whether or not a free flow A/C is installed). It can also occur if there is an exhaust leak that is introducing extra air into the exhaust tract.

It is always a good idea to check for exhaust leaks.

Also, check for intake leaks at the air cleaner and at the intake manifold/heads.

Another way to change the AFR IN THE Pipes is to install Thunder Torque Inserts.


If you don't like decel pop, and don't want to change the AFR in the pipes by changing the baffles or adding Thunder Torque Inserts....

It is absolutely possible for a tuner and someone who knows how to use it to tune the decel pop out.

HOWEVER, the methods used to tune the decel pop out of very open pipes are almost always at the sacrifice of performance and/or MPG.

An open pipe with the best performance tune is almost always going to have decel pop.

Better than putting in baffles, or in addition to putting in baffles, is to add the TTI's. They can help reduce decel pop, and they will increase your low and mid range torque.

 

I was going to get the quiet baffles to quiet the pipes just a bit, and also to see how it solved the deceleration popping issue. I would say it's 20% backfire, and 80% decel pop. I also want to get the screaming eagle to undo performance air cleaner just because I like it better than the covered oval SE that came with the 1200 kit. With those changes, I'm thinking the dealer will have to re-map. Yes, I believe it was the download, since the dealer told me that's all they do now.
Or, I could try the TTI's as Kevin suggests. Kevin, is this something any non mechanical newbie can install, or will I be needing to drill stuff? I have V&H 3" slash cut slip ons with standard baffles. I don't have a lift to get under the bike to drill. If I have a local shop install will it void my HD warranty? Do I need a new mapping download, or perhaps FP3? What do you think?

 

Its a 30 minute job to remove the V&H slash cuts the first time. Less after you do it once. 1/2 gear wrench for the muffler attach points and I think a 11/16 deepwell socket for the clamps.
No jack needed. Remove 4 bolts and loosen 2 clamps and thats it.
And yes those pipes are as loud as hell.

FuelMoto Micro took care my popping with the same setup as yours.
$199 plus shipping. Free shipping for Vets

 

As my signature states, my 1200 has the SE ac, V&H slip-ons and DK Customs 158 thunder torque inserts. I purchased the HD street performance tuner and had the dealer perform the initial download. Since then I have run auto-tune a couple of times with the downloaded HD Street performance tuner program. The V&H twin slash slip-ons still have the standard baffles installed but I used the DK TTI's in place of the screw that normally holds the baffle in place. I removed the slip-ons from the bike and removed the chrome covers. Removed the baffle screw, drilled out the threads to 5/16" dia, installed the torque inserts through both the baffle and slip-on tube with nut and washer on both sides (used stainless and red 271 loctite) cut the threads down on the insert flush with the nut and slipped the chrome covers back on and re-installed to the exhaust pipes.
And yes I still have decal pop, if I get off the throttle quickly. I have a tendency to down shift and rear brake a lot when slowing down before having to use the front brake. I also noticed the decal popping is more prevalent with hotter air temps (late afternoon verses cooler early morning temps). But as Kevin stated the best performance tuned bike with open pipes will have some decal pop. My 1200 custom has a butt load of low end torque, which can be lost due to open pipes. The torque inserts cured that problem. I'm not crazy about the decal popping either, but I'll live with it. The bike is running like a absolute champ and I'm getting 42 - 44 mpg!