Living in the Houston area the heat can really be unbearable so a couple of months back I decided to buy a set of V&H True Duals to go with my V&H Oval Slip-Ons.

I already had the Stage 1 setup from the MOCO (i.e., SE Air filter, ECM Flash).

Rather than deal with the MOCO (new ECM Flash), I decided to just install the duals and see how the bike performed. I was hoping the bike would continue to run as good as it had in the past.

I was wrong! The bike ran lean so I purchased a PC III from FUELMOTO and Jamie sent it promptly with a custom map for my setup.

The first thing I noticed was the gas mileage went down. Way down!
I went from approx. 200 miles per fillup to approx. 140 miles per fillup! I made sure that
I had the correct map and that the "closed" throttle position was set at zero.

The bike was harder to start. I initially thought I needed a new battery, but
I would remove the PC III and it would fire right up. It was almost like it wasn't getting
enough fuel. I noticed that the green led light on the PC III was at the bottom (i.e., -zero)
when I would turn the bike on. I tried to reset it back to zero following the procedure
in the user's guide, but I could never get it to stay reset.

I sent Jamie a request for a new map describing my problems in detail.
Who knows maybe I got a bad PC III?

Yesterday, I decided to go ahead and remove the duals and go back with the stock headers. The duals have a fantastic sound but they are too loud! This was especially true on trips. Maybe I am getting old but I like the way my bike sounds and performs with the stock headers.

Yes it is true you will lose power in the low to mid range with the duals. I didn't want
to believe it while I had them on, but it was very noticable when I went back to stock.

In all fairness I probably should've found a tuner and had them dial the bike in. And I probably would have if the noise hadn't been a problem for me.

ride safe,
Dave
2005 FLHTI
51K

 

I'm a first time Harley owner (08 UC) and have about 15,000 miles since January here in Boston. My bike is bone stock for two reasons. One, I'm afraid I'll go broke with all the mods I have seen and second, reading this forum I can't count how many times guys modify the bike, usually for performance reasons, only to find it often runs worse, gets worse gas mileage, seems to break more frequently, etc. I'm quite happy with the stock bike for trips with the wife. Very smooth, lots of luggage space compared to other bikes, and the sound is unique.

 

Sorry to hear about your problems. I should count myself lucky.

I have a Stage I with a Fullsac conversion and Hooker Tuned Flow slip-ons fully closed. I have a good amount of low-end torque and so I can shift earlier, which actually helps my mileage.

 

Ouch! expensive, but now you have what you want, and that is what really matters.

 

Of course your gas mileage will suffer- you're feeding your machine MORE fuel. I could never get 200 miles out of my tank but I did get around 160. Now, I'm getting in the 150 range with my V&H duals and Rush slip ons. It's too bad your experience wasn't good because from the majority of stories I've read on here, the experiences are great. I know mine was. Yes, the duals are louder and yes your mileage suffers but for me, the PCIII made my bike run better than it ever has- even better than when I had the SERT hooked up and dynoed.
If you're happy with the stock setup, there's certainly nothing wrong with that. As long as you're happy, who cares what other people's opinions are. Just enjoy it!

 

when i went from stock to stage 1, my gas mileage went from 40 mpg to 40 mpg. yep, no change. but i did notice a big change in how it ran. it just felt like it wasn't working as hard as with the stock airbox and pipes.

 

I'm pretty amazed at the reports of MPG changes being so bad. Even riding hard I odn't think I've ever dropped below 40 MPG on the Stage 1 with PCIII. Sounds like there is some major inconsistency. People who are making these changes how many miles are on your engine? I've found over my HD history that things really don't settle in till roughly 5000k on the od.

 

Hey Thehueg...I'm from Boston..well Revere...where you near? I was just talking to my INDY about some serious motor mods and the cost is crazy. All I have on my FLHTI is Stage One and SE Touing mufflers and it runs great. I'm always wanting more but I should be satisfied...I don't want to spend money I don't have..stock is great...but also is the temptation!!

 

Good to see some boston guys on the forum. bdeuce/Lynn

 

ESBT: Without a decent tune (and lousy gas mileage is a great indicator of a poor state of tune), don't rely on your experience with the True Duals. Power also suffers from a poor tune.