I love the 2010 Ultra Classic. Hate the restrictive catalytic converter. Salesman says no problem, they will remove the pipes & muffler and replace them with dealer performance pipes. I tell him that I want the warranty to remain intact. Salesman says MoCo will approve the removal of the cat and honor the warranty as long as the work is done at the time of purchase. Anyone else experience this sales pitch while shopping for a 2010 bike?


DJK

 

A dealer may remove it and put on new pipes and honor the warranty. But I bet the MoCo would not approve. I would get it in writing.

 

My dealer told me as long as they do the performance mods then they will deal with the warranty issues with HD. According to him HD doesn't condone any modifications to their bikes. But they believe the dealerships on warranty work that there has been no modifications to the bike. That being said, I just purchased a 2010 EGC. Is the CAT really that big of an issue?

 

Congratulations on your new bike. I am very impressed with the smooth ride and power of the Electra Glide Classic. Beautiful bike! Here's the problem: To comply with EPA emissions standards HD had to lean out the 96 engine, which after having owned a pair of 2007 Heritage classics, made the bike awfully hot. I even experienced excessive heat after adding a ThunderMax ECU, K&N air filter, oil cooler, and Rush slip-ons. The 2007 was a pain in the South Florida heat. Now in 2010, HD has been forced to restrict the exhaust even further by adding catalytic converters in the head pipe. I believe they have leaned out and restricted the 96 engine way beyond the reasonable expectations of an air cooled V-Twin. I refuse to pay any additional money on top of the already steep price tag just to get a decent machine. Just my opinion. I'm sure there are many 2010 Ultra owners here that are satisfied with their bikes. Having experienced the HD engine here in South Florida I can only say I was none too happy. The bike was fine as long as you were moving down the road. Hit a little traffic...

DJK

 

I would truely doubt they would make a statement like that.

EPA laws.

 

I doubt they would put it in writing

 

Thanks for the info. If the snow ever goes away I might actually get to ride this thing. It's my first HD, been riding metrics and most recently a Yamaha Roadliner, it's air coolded also. I figured I would leave it stock for the first 1000 miles and then do the stage 1 package from Fuel Moto. I wonder if the CAT's could be removed?

 

I doubt the MoCo is so naive to totally believe a dealer who tells them a bike is stock when in for warranty work. All HD has to do is comply with epa regs when the bike is made. After that it's the end owners responsibility and fine if it came to that. If Harley refused warranty work because of dealer installed modifications (screamin' eagle), I doubt they would sell very many bikes.

As far as the bike being hot, yep, you have an air cooled motor sitting 6 inches from your nads, what do you expect? The ultra has the most restricted air flow because of all the plastic so that compounds the problem along with all the other things mentioned. I think fuelmoto sells a package that includes new headers and catless exhaust so yes you have to pay the "harley tax" to get the bike cooled off and running right. FWIW, my catless, stage1 06 RK runs quite cool compared to other metrics I have been on.

 

I would not take that deal unless he is willing to put it in writing. I'll tell you why. Before I sold my 09 EGC and bought the 08 I have now, I looked seriously at the 2010 Ultra Limited. I ask the salesman about the cat in the head pipe. He said no problem we can take that off. He said they were swapping them out for 09 head pipes. I asked him was that legal and would they be willing to put it in writing in case of warranty issues. also theres states and counties already checking Cat's with sniffer's. He said no they won't put anything in writing.

 

I believe I've seen a thread around here regarding the removal of the converters. I'd wait to see if you experience any problems before going that route. I currently own a Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 Classic LT. I love the fact that its water-cooled engine runs much cooler than any Harley I've owned. But, the Ultra Classic is a superior ride. I've just spent 30 minutes reading the "Jimer" thread, and I agree that the Harley runs extremely hot. My concern was never about the physical discomfort from the heat, but more about what it was doing to the reduce the life of the engine. I may just say to hell with the heat concerns, and head back to the dealer. Let me know how it's going and what you think of the Ultra while you're breaking it in. Damn fine bike!

DJK