UPDATE:
I added pics, so scroll to the last couple posts to see the stage 1.
I have a video but it is too big, so I will make a smaller one and post that as soon as I Can so you can hear the pipes.



hi all, well after a month of reading, pricing, studying dyno sheets and saving my cash I pulled the trigger and went for it.

if you hate long thorough posts stop here.

I will review the S&S tuned induction air cleaner and hacker custom exhaust and anger management system tuner.

I originally thought I would go with the same stage 1 I did on my 2004 road king custom.
Rinehardt headers and 3" mufflers with a big sucka cleaner.
I found out on the 2007 that was going to cost me $2550, so I decided to do some reading, boy am I glad I did.
I bought the S&S single bore tuned dual induction air cleaner after reading about the performance gains even over the teardrop or se heavy breather.

the air kit was a little pricey at $535.00 with tax and shipping, but in the end I saved $1100 all told so it worked out.
the tuned induction was very simple to install with no surprises.

I ordered the wrinkle black version and with one exception I am very happy with my purchase.
the supplied a backing plate and adapter for my bike which installed great BUT the backplate and adapter are super chrome, if you like chrome this is very well done' if you expected it to be black as I did you might not be thrilled with the chrome.

the install was easy and you can feel the difference from stock with just the breather added.

for pipes I decided to go with pipes from Ronnie Hacker from northern Cali.

the pipes are called bagger mayhem pipes and they look awesome.
I read on Ronnie's site about their philosophy and their various pipes.
Ronnie strikes me as a guy who made some pipes for himself and they took off from there.
Talking on the phone with Ronnie you can tell he is just one of the guys and all about performance.
Ronnie is a Victory guy but has made pipes for all models of Harley as well.

I almost went with Ronnie's stepped and tuned dual pipes but decided to go with the mayhems for the torque, look, and sound
the pipes were very easy to install' took 30 minutes by myself in my garage with basic tools.
the tuner I used was the Anger Management System.
I'm not sure who makes it but Ronnie told me his local dealerships that use his pipes and tuner love it for its simplicity and ease of use.

the tuner was also a straight forward install, got it right the first time in 30 minutes.
mind you I do my own oil changes, brake pads, starter replacement etc.. but I've never done pipes or air before, I was a little nervous finding and using the fuel injectors and O2 sensors but it turned out to be very easy, if you have any mechanical inclination at all you can save some cash and enjoy a job done right.

using the tuner is pretty simple although it did take a phone call and an email to get it right.

straight out of the box the bike ran very well, good idle no popping on deceleration and torque till you can't twist anymore, very impressed with the ride and sound.
the sound at idle isn't bad, sounds pretty good even, a little loud on the road but not an obnoxious loud and not a sloppy gross loud more like a properly tuned race car, very cool sound.

Now I also ordered silencers because I could just tell Ronnie could care less about volume over performance.
My only disappointment was to install the silencers I will have to drill.
That kind of bummed me out' not because I'm lazy or expect it all done for me but more because it would have been a 2 minute install where now it is another day as I want to think this through before I drill my new pipes.
I called Ronnie and he said they don't drill them because most people don't order silencers.
I didn't think that had any merit as I ordered these with silencers and they had to ship them out to be powder coated a week before they came to me, so they should have said hey, he ordered silencers, let's drill them so he doesn't chance messing up his new pipes, but hey its not a perfect world.

I decided to use three screws to shim the silencers in place to see if I liked the tone' which I do, so now I'll have a friend tack weld them in for me and be done.

That aside I am extremely happy with the quality, look and sound, most of all the seat of the pants dyno road test tells me my 103 is alive and kicking.

Now the dealer printed me a quote prior to making my decision and it was $2550.00 with an se heavy brwather, black rinehardt pipes, a Vance and Hines head pipe' a master tune and 5 hour dyno tune but that was me installing everything and then bringing it in to be tuned.

in comparison I paid a total of $1550.00 and did all the labor myself.
I didn't get a dyno tune out of it but I don't ride a dyno, I ride a bike.
I am not doing cams or a stage 2 or other engine mods so for me I wanted the max gains I could get from a stage one' after riding it I know I succeeded.


I do have some pics' but my laptop died yesterday and I don't have a way to upload the pics yet, I'll see if I can host them somewhere and then post back.

in summary if your looking to do a stage one or just pipes you could do a Lot worse than Hacker custom exhaust.
they look unique' sound incredible, and deliver low and mid range torque where and when you need it.

his other pipes like true duals stepped and tuned pipes with a place able core for power are all high quality parts that deliver the goods.
I saved $1000.00 and was able to easily do the install myself with basic tools and a basic understanding of what is involved.

The most difficult part was removing the stock exhaust with cross over, goodnight that was awful, it took me over an hour before I grabbed my grinder and cut off wheel and chopped those baby's up.

I for the life of me can't see how you can get that head pipe off without pulling the rear wheel passenger boards and whatever else, a true pain in the ***!

I'll post up my pics as soon as I figure out how without my PC, I'm using a 7" tablet to write this.

I hope this review will help someone else looking for a good set up for stage 1 that are unique and good performing at a huge discount over the same old stuff every one seems to keep buying/using.

lump

 

Man i just happen to come on and see your post. Opened it up and then realized i dont have the time to read all that. Man, maybe later. Thanks for the warning.

 

thx for posting the feedback. Nice job.
I've also been eyeballin' that Hacker Mayhem pipe. Wish I could hear one. I do like the looks of it and the fact that not everyone & their brother is running them.

 

yeah its long' I added a disclaimer so be warned' if your doing a stage one it is worth the three minutes It takes to read it, otherwise don't waste your time
lump

 

frosty, I'll post a video with my pics as soon as I get to a PC so you can here them I'll say I've never heard pipes like these personally I think they sound awesome!!


best part is the guy who bent my pipes called me at home and helped me out and shot the ****, try that with Vance and Hines or bubb Rinehart.
lump

 

Obviously you are happy with the results and the cost of the Stage I upgrade and that is most important. The post is interesting and informative but you won't know if you succeeded in getting the "max gains" until you get the bike on a dyno and see the numbers; that is the only way to compare with other Stage I configurations. The butt dyno is unreliable.

 

Sounds like it went well. I can't wait to see the pictures and video. Those pipes look real cool on their website. Great post

 

I like those pipes!

 

thanks mike' we will ride soon and you can see them in person.&lt;br /&gt;<br />
&lt;br /&gt;<br />
I know only a dyno will PROVE results, Im not spending 500$ so I can read what I already know.&lt;br /&gt;<br />
&lt;br /&gt;<br />
if the dynos I have already read showing my year make and model of my bike from stock showing the gains with only the pipes and others with only the air showing the same results why bother.&lt;br /&gt;<br />
I see what your saying but I'm not looking for bragging rights, just wanted more torque, less pinging and a good sounding pipe, mission accomplished.&lt;br /&gt;<br />
&lt;br /&gt;<br />
I don't care about the numbers I ride a lot and a few test runs loaded with my wife on the back I can tell you it is like a new bike.&lt;br /&gt;<br />
&lt;br /&gt;<br />
as far as posting numbers to help others compare, if I had the extra money I would do it, but I don't.&lt;br /&gt;<br />
do I know if this combo is any better than another ? I can't say, all I can say is from stock, you will feel a whole other ride if you match these up and are upgrading from a bone stock bike.&lt;br /&gt;<br />
I'm sure many pipes will do similar or maybe even better, I only went from stock to these, so I couldn't offer a good comparison anyway.&lt;br /&gt;<br />
&lt;br /&gt;<br />
my rinehardts were on an 04 88&amp;quot; so I can't begin to compare that to this either.&lt;br /&gt;<br />
now if I had two other exhausts I could have setup and run tests against then that would be helpful, but I'll leave that to a magazine editor to buy and compare them, my job is done and I just thought I would share my experience.&lt;br /&gt;<br />
&lt;br /&gt;<br />
no matter the numbers these pipes look awesome, they sound fantastic, and from stock for me they provided the extra umpf I was looking for, and again for $1500 you could do a Lot worse.&lt;br /&gt;<br />
&lt;br /&gt;<br />
Mike, did you run up to Lake George ?&lt;br /&gt;<br />
&lt;br /&gt;<br />
lump

 

here are a few pics of the bike after the stage 1, I have a video but it is too big, ill shoot another one smaller so i can upload it so you can sort of hear the pipes.
I love the way it sounds and drives, it has a ton more response and torque that never quits, the more I twist the stronger it pulls.





The pic with the bags strapped to it are from our trip to the White Mts last week.
1200 miles in 5 days with only what you see in the pic.
Lump