We are beginning to see more and more mismade exhaust pipes coming on the market when it comes to the O2 sensor placement. So this is a CYA for all of you looking to replace the stock head pipes. These are not coming from no name manufactures but from the big suppliers! The issue comes from not placing the O2 bung properly in the pipe and/or making the bung the WRONG size! This is causing issues with how the bike runs and is purely an exhaust pipe manufacture issue.

 

http://www.bosch.com.au/content/language1/downloads/Oxgen_Sensor__Cat_WEB.pdf

 

Go to page D4 lower left corner of the page to see how to properly install and O2 sensor! You can continue on to page D5 and it describes a general procedure for O2 placement.

 

If you are going to put pipes of any brand on your bike make sure and inspect this area before wasting you time because the wrong sensor placement is going to give you a poorly running bike. The sensor itself MUST be inside the exhaust flow so it can properly read the exhaust mixture!

 

I have also seen some exhaust manufactures now moving the 2010 small sensor closer to the cylinder head. I have not seen any failures yet but I am concerned about this, as the new small sensor will not take the heat due to its size. It has a heater in the sensor to warm it when cold and that is why HD moved the placement downstream!

 

Thanks for sharing this important info Steve, Much appreciated.

Its not only placement as in position on the pipe, but placement as in the depth of the bung. I have seen both early and late style sensors that once screwed into the pipe the tip of the sensors is still in the bung part! That just does not work! The Sensor HAS to be in the exhaust stream in order to properly measure things.

 If you like the look of the stock mufflers, then the Khrome Werks tapered slip-ons are the bees knees. Sound good too.

I use saftey wire to measure.  Anything will work.

Regular O2 bung plug.

Shaved off the lip and the bottom so it would fit down in the bung but left allen key hole.

This has worked for me on about 6 sets of pipes.  You will get some chatter but the more downward pressure the less it is.  I do use a file for clean up.  I use another plug and a sharpie to check my squarness.

http://www.yardstore.com/  This is the store I got everything from.  But I have been informed the P/N's aren't good anymore.  It's a 1 in. counter bore and a 3/16 pilot.

No problem. There are several problems that can come up. Exhaust sampling is a huge one that is nice to cross off the list.

Thanks for having me.