Hello all. New to the forum. Been planning on joining anyway considering I just bought my first harley. (05 1200C) And just installed new Vance and Hines Staggered SS. (Which I love) But...I do believe ive got a small loss of performance. I seem to have some Hiccuping and a "Gulp Gulp" sound (if that makes sense) and a little more loud popping than what the stock pipes had. and it seems to smell a little rich. also my tank is 4.5 and i had 185 miles BEFORE reserve. the tank after the pipes were installed was 154. although most of the previous were highway miles. Aproxx 140 of them. not sure how much the pipes are hurting. My question is does this all sound pretty normal with these particular pipes because ive read alot of these forums and it kinda sounds like it is. anyway any good remedies i am on a budget. New air intake? Rejet? Help. Please and thankyou!!! PS. Glad to be here!!

 

You definitely loose some power with short shots or drag pipes, a high flow intake will help. Right now your motor is starving for air, you unrestricted its exhaust flow but are starving it for intake air. 05 came in efi and carbed Im pretty sure. So either a rejet or a tuner will set you straight depending on if you have Efi or a carb.

 

2006 and earlier are all carb. 2007's can be either carb or EFI. 2008 was the first EFI-only bike.

 

Awesome thats what i thought. Thanks for the info captian. It is indeed carb'd. like XO said they were that way until 07 then they were injected. The way i understand it (correct me if im wrong) once i change the intake ill have to rejet then as well correct? again thanks fellas.

 

Yes, '06 were all carbed. '07's were all EFI. And once you open up the breather, you'll need to rejet the carb.

 

Short Shots are very popular for their look and sound, but they do rob a lot of the low and mid range torque. There is an easy inexpensive fix that will gain you 10-15% low and mid range power-

Thunder Torque Inserts- Click HERE

You want the W118's

 

I keep trying to read this post, but captain smooth's avatar GIF is too distracting. Thanks Captain!

matt051200, yes, it is recommended to rejet when you change the intake.

 

omg capt. smooth....thank you for stopping bye.

 

Yeah its a learning experience. I have a pretty decent BASIC knowledge of how all this works but its a different beast and a different nature ha ha! im starting to think im not so rich if ANYTHING im lean. dont get me wrong the bike still runs pretty damn good. just more popping and back fire. Now from a little research and words from others is it true that the high flow exhaust will actually up the air flow in the motor...making it lean? because im not so sure this isnt whats happening. (Again learning) Does anyone else support this theory? Ive heard from a few knowledgeable and reputable people. Thanks alot for the opinions and responses. hang around and keep me on the right track. and last but not least...captian thank you for that wonderful display!

 

Yes I found that reading this first post was a problem also Butt instead of paying 20.00 bucks for the Thunderbolts just go to you local hardware store or save your gas and don't buy any.

+1 on the new breather & carb jet.
You will still have a midrange drop even after you do these upgrades but that's the sacrifice you make for looks and sound you just learn to live with it.