Aniticipated performance increase???
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,928
Likes: 285
From: Edmond Oklahoma
Only the 09 headpipes came w/o the cat. The important thing about that is that the 02 Sensors are different than 2010 and newer. If you headpipe is a modified 2010 or newer, your are good to go.
Beary
Beary
Advanced
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 97
Likes: 0
From: St Pete / Crystal River FL
FYI ... On my 14 Ultra Lim the De-Cat header took care of the heat issue and the Stage 1 / SE Exhaust / High flow AC made it come alive @ 2500 and above. Really don't use 6th gear much anymore as in 5th gear at 3500 is 75-78 MPH .... IMHO it's money well spent ��
Cruiser
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 182
Likes: 13
From: Ohio
I ran the "gutted" stock head pipes on my 2012 Ultra Limited for a while, backed by Rinehart 4" slip-ons. Later I switched to an "X" pipe. To my surprise fuel economy increased more than anything else. Felt power was just a tad better in the upper mid-range and top end. I also discovered that the left side factory pipe where it goes under the transmission is smashed nearly shut and very restrictive.
The power limiter on the 2012 (and earlier) 103's will be the cams, they reportedly still used the emission cams from the 95's till 2014.
I was told this by several reliable sources, both Fuel Moto when I bought the PV and our local resident dyno expert did mention that I'd hit a "brick wall" with that engine without changing the cams.
It still made decent power, nothing overly impressive. The power curve on that engine will all the goodies in place and in perfect tune is pretty linear, smooth/flat and pulls about the same clear across the load/speed range.
I got my feelings hurt a bit when one of my buds bought a new 2014 Street Glide and installed nothing more than a 2 into 1 and had it dyno tuned. His bike was a "rocket" compared to mine, and I had a LOT more time and money into mine trying to get decent power/fuel economy out of it.
On a good note, when the smoke cleared and dust settled I was knocking mid 40's for mpg's, and that was on pretty hard runs not cutting it much slack. Before the PV and X pipe, best I could do with the PC-5 and gutted factory head pipes was about 39mpgs riding it as gently as possible, most tanks were mid 30's for "normal" riding.
So bottom line, there is some efficiency to be found in the early 103's, but to see big power numbers you're going to have to get dirty and put better cams in them......Cliff
The power limiter on the 2012 (and earlier) 103's will be the cams, they reportedly still used the emission cams from the 95's till 2014.
I was told this by several reliable sources, both Fuel Moto when I bought the PV and our local resident dyno expert did mention that I'd hit a "brick wall" with that engine without changing the cams.
It still made decent power, nothing overly impressive. The power curve on that engine will all the goodies in place and in perfect tune is pretty linear, smooth/flat and pulls about the same clear across the load/speed range.
I got my feelings hurt a bit when one of my buds bought a new 2014 Street Glide and installed nothing more than a 2 into 1 and had it dyno tuned. His bike was a "rocket" compared to mine, and I had a LOT more time and money into mine trying to get decent power/fuel economy out of it.
On a good note, when the smoke cleared and dust settled I was knocking mid 40's for mpg's, and that was on pretty hard runs not cutting it much slack. Before the PV and X pipe, best I could do with the PC-5 and gutted factory head pipes was about 39mpgs riding it as gently as possible, most tanks were mid 30's for "normal" riding.
So bottom line, there is some efficiency to be found in the early 103's, but to see big power numbers you're going to have to get dirty and put better cams in them......Cliff
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,928
Likes: 285
From: Edmond Oklahoma
I got my feelings hurt a bit when one of my buds bought a new 2014 Street Glide and installed nothing more than a 2 into 1 and had it dyno tuned. His bike was a "rocket" compared to mine, and I had a LOT more time and money into mine trying to get decent power/fuel economy out of it.
Beary
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 821
Likes: 54
From: Tomball, Tx.
I put the SE street cannon slip ons on my '15 RK. I'm looking to get a bit more throaty sound out of it and increase performance/mileage as well as reduce heat. Should I look at a stage 1 kit?
Thread Starter
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Intermediate
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 26
Likes: 1
From: Long Beach, NY
Wow, lots to digest. I'm not really looking to make a rocket out of it ( I say that today, but who knows what tomorrow brings), and was just curious as to what type of performance I thought I could see. Apparently the early 103 CU cams are limiting anything substantial... Will look into that if/when I get interested in more power.
My issue for now is getting those (I guess '09) non-cat, stock headers back on. I spent almost all night last night trying to fit these pipes I got from the same guy who sold me the monster ovals. Is there a trick to get more threads to show past the flange? I can't seem to get enough threads (otherwise I may have stripped the nut when taking it off) to even hand thread 2 of the 4 on. The flange didn't sit straight initially either, and I tightened one nut on each (front and back) and couldn't get the 2nd one to thread. I used a mallet and a screwdriver to push it back towards the heads and seemed to get a little more thread. I'm worried that "forcing" the flange may have disrupted the threads on the bolts or it could be that I simply need to get new nuts. Not sure. Anyone have any tricks for getting the flange on well enough from the start?
My issue for now is getting those (I guess '09) non-cat, stock headers back on. I spent almost all night last night trying to fit these pipes I got from the same guy who sold me the monster ovals. Is there a trick to get more threads to show past the flange? I can't seem to get enough threads (otherwise I may have stripped the nut when taking it off) to even hand thread 2 of the 4 on. The flange didn't sit straight initially either, and I tightened one nut on each (front and back) and couldn't get the 2nd one to thread. I used a mallet and a screwdriver to push it back towards the heads and seemed to get a little more thread. I'm worried that "forcing" the flange may have disrupted the threads on the bolts or it could be that I simply need to get new nuts. Not sure. Anyone have any tricks for getting the flange on well enough from the start?
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 6,129
Likes: 143
From: Santa Cruz
Did ya take the old gaskets out or just add new ones? Headers take a little "jockeying" to get properly lined up with the ports. When ya get it right there are plenty of threads to get the nuts on. Shouldn't be rocket science??
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