I just traded up from my 99 Road King to a 2012 Ultra Limited. Both the dealership and some friends have recomended changing out the pipes to Reinhart True Duals for increased power and a cooler running engine. Any thoughts from the forum?

 

For what it's worth, I went with a Fuel Moto x-pipe and RC Components 4" slip ons. My 2011 Limited runs cooler and sounds great.

 

I would!

 

As you can see in my sig I’m running the TD’s. I really can’t tell you if they make the bike run cooler or not. I had them installed right before last summer and out here in the desert hot is just hot, when it’s up over 100F who knows. The only thing I can say is that the CAT can retain heat and without it (hence the TD’s) maybe some of the heat can dissipate better with the “clean” pipes, makes sense?

BTW, the sound of the TDs are pretty nice (throaty at idle and cruising). They will let people know you are there when twisting. Sometimes I wish they were just a little bit tamer, but that’s just me. Also, the pipe dimensions (muffler end) are a little bigger than the oem pipes (can’t remember the dimensions right now, I think it’s a quarter inch). So if you decide to change the mufflers later you may be limited on choices.

 

the dealer has stuff to sell you, so take their advice with a grain of salt.

the new bike has a cat in the header, changing to a no cat header or removing the cat from your header will reduce heat in the header, behind your right foot.

It will also allow higher flow for power gains, and increase exhaust noise.


a true dual header will have reduced low end power ( torque) compared to other headers where the 2 exhaust headers are connected with a cross over pipe.


my suggestion to you is to take your time and leave the bike as-is for awhile.

some of the common mods we do violate the factory 2 year warranty- the dealer may say "don't worry, we'll cover it".

1.) get that promise in writing

2.) what happens if you break down 500 miles from that dealer ?


enjoy the new ride.

Mike