As most of you know, HD restricts the airflow in and out of the engine and tunes them very lean to meet the terms of its agreement with the EPA. Therefore, I decided to ride my new bike for six months and to then do a Stage 1 conversion on it. I used the six months to research the components I wanted to use for the conversion and how I could reduce the cost. I finally settled on the components, and I decided to perform the labor of installing them myself. Hope my research and experience help someone else.

Since I am stopping after the Stage 1 conversion, this decision made the choice of components easier. I am using a Vance & Hines FP3, V&H Twin Slash 3+ slip-on mufflers, and the HD Stage 1 Kit High Flow air cleaner. I chose these components because they are easy to install and because H&V already has standard maps for them. The retail cost of these components is $885 plus sales tax. By shopping the components on line I as able to acquire the new V&H components for about $120 less than retail and didn’t have to pay freight or sales tax. My local dealer sold me the HD air cleaner kit at a discount that covered the sales tax plus a few dollars. Over all, I saved about $125 on the components by shopping around.The dealer quoted me approximately $460 to install the components. I installed them myself. My total savings from careful shopping and self-installation was about $600. I am no master mechanic—far from it, but the skills required to perform the labor was very basic—a one beard. Because I own a Craftsman socket and other basic tools, the only tool I had to acquire was a torque wrench that I bought on Amazon for around $20. The entire installation took less than 4 hours. The mapping of the FP3 (the part I feared most) was a breeze and took less than 20 minutes. The hardest part of the job was the removal of the OEM slip-on mufflers.I am pleased with the outcome of the Stage 1 conversion. The sound is just right, and the look of the new components on the bike is great. Overall, the cost of the Stage 1 conversion was about $850. Plus, I really enjoyed working on my bike and know how to fix anything that goes wrong.Obviously, I will need to run the bike for a few weeks to see how effective the Stage 1 conversion is in improving the operation of the engine. But, my initial results are promising. I will post updates to let you know how my results progress.Bottom-line: A Stage 1 conversion is worth doing. The cost can be kept reasonable if you shop the parts and do the labor yourself. The required labor skills are very basic.
V&H Slip-ons complement the OEM look of the bike.

V&H FP3 is small and easily fits behind the left side cover.

 

Congratulations. Sounds like you spent your money wisely and got excellent results! I've had my bike at the stage one level for 28 years, no reason to mess with a solid engine, fills my limited needs quite well.

John

 

I agree with John, the Stage 1 upgrade is worth it. Even before I installed the Rush slipons and the Stage 1 air cleaner, I reflashed the bike with V&H stock MAP. The bike ran much better just doing that, and runs even better with the slipons and air cleaner when I flashed it for them. I even routed the breathers out of the airbox and under the bike.

BTW, unless you are running the Autotune feature there is no reason to leave the FP3 attached to the bike. IMO, that could be asking for trouble, if unknowingly some how the FP3 app got fired up on your phone no telling what that could do. Just me I guess...

 

Congrats...sounds like you did your own research and have your own vision.

I think most members in the Sporster forum have at least stage 1....unless you are in the classic section which is mostly original.

 

Yep, stage 1 made a big difference for me also. I leave my FP3 connected all the time with no problems. I like to check temps and RPMs occasionally. Just me?

 

My thoughts, exactly.

 

Thanks for the advice for not leaving the FP3 connected. Your comments confirmed my thoughts and concerns. The service manager at my HD dealer warned me against trying to use the Autotune feature--more things can go wrong than any slight improvement is worth.

Quick questions for you guys with experience.
1. I have taken my bike for a couple of 15 to 20 miles runs. It seems to idle smoother, have better throttle response, and run smoother now that I have a few miles on it. Is this normal and how long will it take to stablize?

2. I get a single "pop" when I decelerate to engine brake. Is this normal?

Jim

 

Did it on a 2016 883 Iron and on a 2018 1200 Iron. Did wonders for both bikes. Sound & run like they should! Only diff I used the V&H "Nekkie" air filt. The 883 at 10000 miles runs better than ever. Only have 800 miles on the 1200, did the upgrade at 500. The 883 never did have any "decel pop", the 1200 did, I ran the decel feature on the fp3 and it took it right out, I have run auto tune and it seems to help. Both bikes just keep running better. I am high pleased with the V&H setup. I bought both bikes new, and would do it soon as I could on a stock engine. Regards "Big E"

 

 

I only run the high octane fuel. I also bought and installed a set of HD Gold spark plugs. There is quite a range of spark plug gap settings listed in my shop manual; I set my new plugs in the middle. I am not sure this is the best gap setting. Since the fuel/air mixture is now running more rich, should the spark plug gap be set to a more open or closed setting to get the best complete fuel burn capability?

FYI: I am very satisfied that my engine oil temperature is now running 25+ degrees cooler once the engine is warmed up. Is this normal?