Hi
Have an 08 RK classic with factory pipes still on. The problem is they sound...well....they don't. Would love any ideas on pipes that will make it sound a little more HD. Just a bit sad having a good looking ride that doesnt have the sound to match..
Thanx
Pipes are another very subjective subject.Depends if you want the best performance,look at a 2 into 1 type system.Better sound,start with a set of slip on aftermarket mufflers.Maybe the best sound from a bagger !! True duals header pipes and slip on mufflers.I have Vance and Hines slip ons on my 07 Roadking and love the note,not too loud,but loud,especially when I removed the valve from the exhaust.I will also fit a set of Vance and Hines True dual header pipes as well,I can live with the very slight decrease in performance.You will also need to think about some sort of fuel control unit and replacement high flow air filter when you replace the exhaust.I went to something different to most others,I went to an S&S teardrop air filter as it gives great results and looks different to the normal filters you see fitted to late model bikes
nobody
Thanx mate for the reply.
Holy shit I should have known it wasnt simple...Always a trade off. I must admit i like the way it performs as it is factory sent but I guess I need to work out what I want more. I bought the RK to do big KMs so I think if its a trade off between power and spound power might win. Its a hard one I really like the sound of the softail classic that rode with me for a while yesterday but maybe the HP is more important for the road trips in the end. Damn shame that. My last bike a GPZ750 turbo sounded great with 4 into 1ns and i felt it went better with them. Oh well Im still new to HD and loving every doller of it I ride..lol...
Thanx for the help.
Hey Rocket
thanx for the reply mate...so comparing ur ride from the original pipes to the screamin eagle(which r exactally the pipes i was thinkin about) do u think the trade off was worth it?? If the diff in HP is not so noticable its worth the change.. Nothing so insulting than pulling up on a new 08 Road king and being told it didnt sound like a Harley..
I didn't notice any change in power mate and to be honest, not that much change in rideability which is where it is really supposed to make a difference. Maybe a bit more midrange, but it was a while in between rides before and after so i may not have picked it up. I hear so much about these engines being set up to run lean (and the mufflers could only make it more so) that I would probably have done it anyway. It also means that if I go cams or a different exhuast later, I can use the SE tuner to tune it (well, HD can as I didnt even get the cable to hook it back up to the bike). Where are you mate ? I'm in Perth...well, not right at the moment... but you'd be welcome to check it out and take a ride to compare. If not, I'd advise you see if you can get a listen to someones bike that has them to see if you like them. They defo sound better than stock.
As i said before, the dealer said i could just run the pipes and be happy with no other changes, but that lean thing really bugs me.
Oh yeah, without the plastic shit on the back of the airfilter when they fitted the SE filter, in the intake is as loud as fuck when you open it up !
The Chirpin Eagle pipes are not that much louder than standard,I know a few guys around here bought them and have since changed them because they don't make much noise,if you just want to replace the mufflers you possibly may be able to,as long as you don't make it breath any better by changeing the air filter.Just because the Chirping Eagles are sold by Harley,don't let the dealer pressure you into buying them with all their bullshit that they spin.If you want loud get something else as you will be disappointed otherwise.But be warned,new pipes is just the beginning.
Hey rkc
I am betting you will like the sound and better performance you get with the new pipes !!
Thanx heaps to you all. Ive taken it all on board. More options than I thought. I am in Sydney but would certainly like to meet up to hear the new ones. Im just off the Hwy at Casula so I get to hear a lot of nice sounds riding past. I will do a little research now on the names that have been suggested. Hmmmm the wife just took away the credit card....shes onto me..lol..
Hey guys
Went for a top ride from Casula up to the Entrance today. Finally good ride weather in Sydney. Met up with a few HOG guys up there and one of them had the same RK 08 as mine with S & S mufflers on the back. They sounded ok and I would be happy with them but he told me that he didnt need to change anything else on the setup for them as it will work with them alone. Does this sound right? I thought we had to make a few changes with any exhaust mod. U guys know more than I do so does this sound right? Thanks again
The bike will work if you just change the mufflers,but it will still be running too lean.If all you want to do is mufflers and you can live with the heat generated by the fact it runs lean,that is ok,just don't replace the air filter,that is where you will find problems,as it will then become overly lean,depends on what you want out of the bike.
Hoodaman
I ran my 07 with just the pipes for a short while and it ran ok,but it got very hot very easily,especially if in any sort of traffic.There are reports of these engines getting so hot that at idle it has been found that there have been partial siezures as the pistons have nipped up in the bores,this usually comes about when the engine is idleing in traffic,usually in hot weather,the head temp gets so high that the engine goes into a safe mode and runs on 1 cylinder,usually making the engine idles rougher,unfortunately what most people then do is turn the throttle to bring the idle up and make it smoother,what this does ai actually make the bike leaner just off idle and therefore even hotter and causes the nipping up of the engine.This problem is reported many times in the U.S. in climates that are a lot cooler than our summer temps. You can fit whatever you like it is your bike after all.But I wasn't prepared to take the risk,I fitted a relatively low cost device to alter my fuel delivery (V&H Fuel Pak) and hence make it run cooler,and then added my high flow air filter.And what a difference it makes.Usually people that say that all you need are pipes are usually either the uninformed or dealer brainwashed,or they haven't had the opportunity to ride something that has been done properly in the first place.Like most things with Harleys,the cheapest cost initially isn't necessarily the cheapest way out in the long run.
P.S. I don't live all that far away,at Penrith.If the weather ever fines up on a day that I am off,you are more than welcome to have a look at my setup.
My 07 RKC has been running with re-cored mufflers for the past 16,000 k's, no other changes. I find that the note is fine, a nice healthy burble that gets a little louder when opened up. I've recently fitted a set of 02-IED from Nightrider.com but truthfully I haven't really noticed any difference in the way it runs. The 02-IED is supposed to slightly richen the mixture by changing the pulse to the ECM which makes it read at about 14.2:1 AFR instead of the standard 14.7:1. I've considered other "tuning" ideas, even thought of fitting eliminators from Big Joe but then I found that apparently during one of my services the exhaust valve had been pinned open. This hasn't caused any error codes so I'm not sure what has actually been done. Supposedly the air filter valve should be fitted with resistor as well to make it inert. My bike has only ever been serviced by HD dealers so when they've done the exhaust valve I don't know. I'm still trying to determine what other basic mods can be done to achieve a little more "tweaking" without needing to go to fuel modules or such.
I have used S&S oval mufflers on all my baggers and found them to have a pleasant bark without the headache inducing loudness when on the long haul trips around Aus. They fill in the with of the bags bags as well.
Mate they look great. Will be having a look at those
I also have the S&S ovals on my 08 Road King. They sound pretty good, deep and not too loud, hopefully won't attract the plod. Also have the aircleaner and download changes. The pipe "poofer valve" has been blanked off. I like them....TC
Here's the guff
The blackened end caps look great TC, will copy that if I get another bagger.
Loftybob, I didn't do anything with the end caps, that was the original colour, maybe S&S were responding to customer needs........mystery.
G'day again. I posted recently about trying the 02-IED items from www.nightrider.com, these didn't achieve anything for me and I've since taken them off the bike. I can say though that the guy, Steve Mullen, was easy to correspond with and he offered good advice, I would recommend him to others. I decided to try other means of reducing the heat output from my RKC pipes and to do this I purchased some Intake Solenoid and Exhaust Actuator Eliminators which I found fitted easily and woked as promised, so no error codes. I then purchased some 'True duals' www.superflowmufflers.com and fitted these. While removing my stock 'H' pipe I discovered that I had a broken exhaust tab (the one that mounts onto the brace from the starter motor) my 'tab' looks like it has been broken for some time by the road grime in between the break. I didnt have any luck witha warranty request even though I've learned that this broken 'tab' is a regular occurrence on FLH's. To replace this 'tab' is about $15.00, I've ordered one from my local supplier. I've also ordered an improved air filter (RK-3909) from www.sorgys.com which I'm waiting on and I've ordered a DFO refer to www.dobeckperformance.com which I'm also waiting on from my supplier. I was surprised to learn that my HD dealer told me that while they would be happy to service my bike it was up to me to tune it because of the changes I had made. What do you think of that?
