Hollow pipes on HD

[Bagger_Matt]

Sorry if this post cant go here. I "removed" the air divertor plugs from the mufflers of my fuel injected electraglide. The bike still has baffles but no plugs to route exhaust through them. I have no other mods done to the stock bike. Bike runs great and does not pop or crack at all. Will I hurt anything by running like this with the stock calibration? The parts book says no calibration needed for just slip-on mufflers.
Thanks, Matt

 

[fuel tanker man]

I think you'll be fine. Check the color of the soot in the pipes, should be dark brownish-black. If it's really light in color and the pipes are bluing, you are too lean. If it smokes and blackens the pipes on the inside to a deep, sooty black, then it's too rich.

Usually you can tell by the way it runs if it's too far one way or ther other.

Join and post here: http://harleychatgroup.com and they'll be able to give you more certain advice.

Dan

 

[Fatboymoe]

One way to be sure is to have your bike put on a dyno that has a air-fuel ratio meter. Thats how I dialed in my Mikuni carb. after many mods. Many dyno runs were needed to set ignition curves and fuel requirements. Thats really the best way to be sure.

Sometimes, shops that have dyno's have specials for dyno pulls. I was lucky that a friend of mine opened a shop that had a brand new Dynojet 200 with all the options.

 

[Bagger_Matt]

Thanks guys, I talked to a friend with 20 years at a HD dealer today. He told me not to worry about harming the engine, that worst case I would lose a few MPG and maybe poor drivability.

 

[seldont]

How do you remove the air diverter plugs??

 

[Bagger_Matt]

I took the mufflers off the bike, put them upside down on a block of wood and hammered a 3/4 inch thick pipe through them. Let the redneck jokes begin.

 

[Titan]

Hey, at least you took them off the headers first!

 

[PRND3L]

quote:

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Originally posted by Bagger_Matt:
Will I hurt anything by running like this with the stock calibration?

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Excessive engine wear could result from too much throttle blipping while coasting/in gear at low speeds, y'know, to 'impress' everyone with the loud pipes. It's a favorite pasttime around these parts.

 

[fuel tanker man]

One reason that many of us rev the engine while at idle is the oil pressure drop that occurs when the idle speed is set too low.

I keep my idle at about 800 rpms, and this allows for adequate oil pressure so reasonable periods of idle aren't a problem.

But for guys who have the idle set to around 600 rpms or even lower, the top of the engine may not oil well if they don't rev it up a bit. And of course, if you idle too low, you sometimes have to blip the throttle just to be sure it's still running.

An idle that is too low will allow for back-firing during decel when you're going down a hill--another thing that "sounds cool" but isn't the greatest thing for the engine.

In short, set the idle speed at factory recommended rpms and that'll solve a lot of problems.

Dan

 

[wizzells]

Tanker,
Depending on year and model, 950-1050 is the typical hot idle speed. That being said, worrying about the oil pressure at idle on Harley's when they're hot is a bit of a myth. They require very little oil pressure due to the use of roller bearings for the crank. Its a low pressure, high volume oiling system.

Bagger Matt,
The bike may or may not run like ****. If yours was an '06, I would almost guarantee runnability issues. The latest bikes (06 especially) are set so close to "too lean" with the factory mapping for emissions reasons that probably 25% of them run like garbage right from the factory without any mods. Im curious what year your bike is and how it responds to what you did to the mufflers.

 

[Bagger_Matt]

Wizzells, Mine is an 05 FLHTI, it runs ok but does seem to lack power at low rpm and speeds. Once on the highway it runs great but the sound is hollow and not that pleasent. I got a set of 06 take offs from my dealer to replace mine,the 06 pipes have a catalist in the right pipe. Will that hurt anything on my bike or just clean up the exhaust a little?

 

[wizzells]

Matt,
You could put the '06 pipes on the bike - they would mount up the same as previous years. Those pipes might be restrictive enough to richen that mixture enough that the bike would run well. Keep in mind though, that the ECM on your '05 is mapped specifically for the '05 non-catalyst mufflers, whereas an '06 ECM is mapped for the change in muffler. I honestly have no idea how it would run. Only the right muffler on the '06 models have the catalyst in them. That being said, it is more restrictive than your '05 pipe would be. It might just suck even more power from the slightly anemic (in stock form) 88ci engine.

Truth be told, the way the bikes come mapped from the factory, they run so close to too lean for emissions reasons that it is likely the reason yours runs somewhat poorly with any kind of pipe swap and no other mods to it. You can add the highflow setup with the Stage 1 download, but this essentially only alters timing and only takes into account that air filter change. A better way to get that bike to run well is to put either a DFO on it (digital fuel optimizer - think jet kit for an injected bike) or to use a Screamin Eagle Race Tuner to remap the ECM. The difference between these products is A) DFO is a seperate aftermarket component that mounts on the bike, whereas the race tuner just links into the ECM. Benefit of the race tuner is that you dont have the potential for product failure. and B)cost - typically $200 for a DFO, and $460 for a race tuner.
The Race tuner is the best product available to tune the stock ECM, but requires time on a Dyno on top of the product cost to get it setup right.

We have seen very good results with this combination - highflow setup, stage 1 download, DFO, and some type of mufflers/full exhaust system. That'll typically get you a 10% gain in power and torque and get some better sound out of it. Anyway you look at it, the right way to swap pipes is gonna include a high flow filter, a stage 1 download, and pipes and a DFO. The bikes just dont seem to respond as well without all of those components being changed at the same time.

Hope this helps a little. Anything else, let me know.

 

[Bagger_Matt]

Thanks, thats a lot of good info.