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Ok, dumb question. I have a 05 King & want to do a stage upgrade. I am confused regarding the stage I, I.5, & II. How much more does each one produce & is it worth going to stage II. Here is the dumb question; can you leave the stock pipes on? I know you should change them but the wife loves that we can talk at a stop light & she is 80% of the riding I do. Do they make a stage pipe that is quite or like the stock pipes? I am at the mercy of my wife on this one as some of you know my wife saved for 3 years with out me knowing to buy me my 1st HD. In my book she is #1 then the HD.[sm=icon_rock.gif]
The mechanic that went over my bike to give me the overview was telling me about the many upgrades to power with regard to the stage I, II and so on. He mention that there was something between stage 1 & II.
On my new Road King, I had the same questions. A good place to start on a new machine is with what is called, "stage 1" which is nothing more than a pair of slip-ons (your choice here, but, I wanted mainly rumble, nothing to crackly - so, my mechanic recommended Screaming Eagle slip-ons - very nice sound, not too obnoxious), and, a better airflow into the intake. Again, I went with my mechanic's advice and simply installed a K&N filter which supposedly has a 50% better flow rate and will last a long time. I also went with the Power Commander injection controller which is pretty cool. Since there is less restriction on both sides of the cylinders, you need to enrichen the injectors to keep your 14:1 ideal air/fuel ratio. That's the purpose of the Power Commander - they downloaded a new map off the internet and uploaded that into the Commander. I now have all the power I want, a good sound, decent fuel economy, and the ability to do other engine mods (if I want to) in the future by either downloading another map or dyno tuning the bike. Hope this helps. Btw, I assume you got fuel injection.
Harley calls the purchase and installation of a Screamin Eagle air cleaner assembly with a down load of a new EFI Map the Stage 1 Kit.
I am guessing, the mechanic felt the air cleaner, remap and mufflers were the Stage 1.5, since it's a little more than what Harley calls the Stage 1.
Around these parts, we tend to talk about Stage 1 as the above with a set of slip on high performance mufflers. Personally, I would do the entire thing (air cleaner, remap and mufflers) together.
Stage 2 involves cracking the case (internal motor work) and is significantly more expensive.
HD touring Slip-on mufflers are louder than stock, but quiter that SE Slip-ons. They have a good sound, but are not soud enough to interferwith conversation at a stop light.
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