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I got my 09 SG with the 103 and I love it. Mine was already done and sitting on the showroom floor with the upgrade so I didn't really have a choice of stage 1 or 2.
If I was doing the upgrade myself, I would go straight to stage 2 with SE255 cams. Much cheaper doing it all at once I would assume. The way I have it now I'll have to wait a while to upgade to stage 2.
But I have to say there is plenty more power than my 07 Night Train with stock 96. I know gearing has something to do with it, and it's like comparing apples and oranges, but I do love the added power.
Many will say you need to go aftermarket to get the bang for the buck. I am very happy with my 103 stage II. I did it at time of delivery so I could get the full 2 year warranty on the build. It was also done during the winter so I got the reduced labor rates.
I disagree Hamps after riding both, I must say the aftermarket is a better deal. On my '07 I did the HQ 103 myself before the 2 years is up. I all my own wrenching, so that is not an issue. I think kits from HQ, t-man, or other qualitiy places are indeed better. In terms of seat of the pants feel, I test rode an HD 103 stg II '08 and a t-man '07 103. The t-man was a lot more respnsive and had lots of pwer. The hd had decent power below 4k RPM, but not as pletyful as the t-man. I like what the HQ has to offer. I was more focused on TQ not HP for my RG. It really is not hard to do yourself.
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