Hi,

I owned a total of 3 HDs... a 2008 Dyna, a 2008 Road King Classic and now a 2011 Electra Glide Police...

Both 2008 bikes had the 96ci engines, the 2011 has the 103ci... all three bikes had aftermarket mufflers, a PCv and a breather...

I have noticed excess heat on the 2011 that I dont remember having on the 2008 bikes... the heat is specific to the right side of the bike... It sort of gets annoying at times...

Has anyone noticed the difference? or am I just imagining?

Thanks for the input...

 

Yup, your 2011 is HOT.
The heat is generated by the lean running engine and a Catalytic Converter in the down pipe now required to meet the EPA Emissions Standards.

 

The newer bikes have catalytic converters in the head pipes. That is probably where the heat is coming from.

 

Change head pipes, like Vance & Hines Power Duals, and it'll go away. My 2011 103 Limited was terrible. Worst heat I ever felt. I was almost in panic mode because nobody (at the dealer where I bought it) would help me out. Another dealer helped me & told me what it was. It's that catalytic converter. What a relief! (Go up & do a search on the words "heat" or "excessive" and you might not believe how many others are experiencing it.

 

I cut mine right out of the header, took all day on a Sat and totaled $35....heat gone. There are several threads on how which is what I used as a guide.

 

And that excessive heat is also responsible for the history of break switch failures(and recall). Easy problem to fix, and the bike will be enjoyable to ride once the cat is gone...

 

Coliseum, the head pipe is the problem just as the previous repondents have said. I had a 10 Ultra with a 96" engine. The heat was tremendous but lessened in time. When I traded for the 11 Limited with the 103" engine I had a complete V&H exhaust installed from the heads back. The heat is not an issue. You have to get rid of the catylitic converter in that pipe or learn to deal with the heat on your legs. I like what Tucci has done for $35 as opposed to $1500 or more for the complete stage one that I did. Good luck. I'm not sure what may be coming down the road for emissions testing however. If the gov't mandates cats must be operative with annual inspections then we'll all be screwed.

 

thanks all...

Now the issue I have here is that I need to do an emission test every year... would the bike fail if I dont have a Catalytic converter? how come people who have a full stage 1 dont fail?!

Ps would I need to remap the PCv if I remove the Cat?

 

I think if you remove the cat, you probably would fail an emission test. But then again, I don't know how strick the UAE is on emissions.

 

Buy yourself a takeoff headpipe, watch here on the forum or e-bay to find one for sale. You should be able to get one for $100 or so. Keep it as a backup incase you need to put it on for emission testing. I also did like Tucci did and cut mine out myself, $25 to get welded back together. You won't believe the difference in heat reduction!!