2009 Road King Classic

[Entreprenuer]

Hello all I am a new member just joined 5 minutes ago. Just picked up a new 09 RKC and the only thing I want to do is add some slip-on rinehart or SEII mufflers for a little rumble nothing annoying. Unforetunately, I have literally received 28 different answers from 30 H-D dealerships. My question is simply can I add the mufflers without doing any mods to the bike or causing any longterm engine-ware on the bike such as backfiring or running hotter etc? If so, what must I do and why, please? This is my first Harley and I think it kind of crazy to get so many different answers from H-D dealerships, I 'm confused. Second question will either of the mufflers I mentioned above give me a deep rumble without been exetremely loud or annoying.

Any help is greatly appreciated

First Time Harley owner

Go with the Rinehart slip ons.I have them on a 06 Heritage,very pleased with them. I went with a power commander and dyno to get everything dialed in.

[Tbone]

I believe you can put just the mufflers on without remapping. I believe there was an AIM article that stated that the new EFI systems can adjust to this.

[unfknblvbl]

Originally Posted by Tbone

I believe you can put just the mufflers on without remapping. I believe there was an AIM article that stated that the new EFI systems can adjust to this.

I second TBone....There is an elusive AIM article talking about this. I remember reading it in the mag, but I don't remember which issue. Maybe their tech guy can jump in here and shed some light.

Here's my suggestion...buy the slip ons you want, install them, ride the bike and then go from there. If it doesn't seem right and a tuner is not in the budget throw the stock ones back on and hold off until you can get the tuner.

I believe you'll be alright without a tuner and here's why I say that...When I put the SE Stage I A/C and a set of new V&H pipes on my 08 NT it sounded good, idled good and ran good without the tuner. I had little more pop on decel and some backfiring without the tuner. I got the V&H fuelpak, installed it and guess what I still have some decel pop and get the occasional backfire. A lifetime friend of mine is a service writer for a dealership in Oklahoma and I was talking to him about it. He said even on his bike where everything was done in the shop he still has some pop in his bike.

Bottom line...What can it hurt if your only changing out the muffler?

[milindh]

Hey Entre

Just curious, why haven't you had this done by the dealer you bought your bike from? Is there some reason you don't trust them? Maybe you're planning on doing the work yourself which is fine as long as your dealer agrees that they will still honor your warranty after you do the switch. Most will but make sure before you do it and maybe document that fact.

As for who to believe about this installation try talking to the service manager at your dealer and see what he has to say. At some point you have to decide to trust or not trust somebody here. This exhaust switch is the absolutely most common mod made to Harleys and the dealer should not have any trouble giving you a definitive answer to your question. Not sure why you would contact 30 different dealers about this. Are your knuckles turning white yet?

The advice given here by UNF and Tbone seem right on to me.

Good Luck Dude

[tommyglide]

It was in the Oct issue of AIM that they had suggested their experiance was that the 07 and later ECM will compensate for minor mods such as you are planning, Ent. However the ECM will likely shoot for the same too lean government regulated AFR. It still beats paying the dealer the download fee and the one, and perhaps only upside of the lean engines are pretty good fuel economy. What kind of mpg are some of you guys getting?

[unfknblvbl]

Tommy- I think I get close to 44 mpg. It's been a while since I've checked my avg. When I rode from MS to AR I stopped almost every 225 miles to refuel (total of 4 times), but I never let the tank get below 1/4...gas stations seem to get really sparse between Northern MS and Central AR.

[pono60]

Originally Posted by tommyglide

It was in the Oct issue of AIM that they had suggested their experiance was that the 07 and later ECM will compensate for minor mods such as you are planning, Ent. However the ECM will likely shoot for the same too lean government regulated AFR. It still beats paying the dealer the download fee and the one, and perhaps only upside of the lean engines are pretty good fuel economy. What kind of mpg are some of you guys getting?

hey guys,it also talks about using the stock ECM in the new jan 2009 issue.page 52,one hour tech.and it says exactly what you said tommyglide. Mr. Chris Maida himself wrote this article,or at least some intern did and Chris's name went on top of the page, so i'd say it's pretty authoritative. the article says that the EPA mandates a 14.7:1 air/fuel ratio, so you'll never get any richer than that with the stock ECM.your bike will produce more power,but still run on the lean side,as mandated by the EPA.

Entrepanour,i went through the same thing when trying to decide what the heck to put on/do with my bike this past spring.i knew i wanted it to be louder,that's it.and like you,diff dealerships were telling me different things.it was getting frustrating.you know where i found the help i needed?here.there are a lot of great guys in here with an encyclopedia's worth of knowledge that they are more than willing to share with you.now i'm no guru,but here's my suggestion:tell the dealerships to suck your ass.they're hogs,money hogs that is.when i did decide what i wanted,i went to the dealership to get a quote on it,$1,300 installed,and i figure he probably figured that a shade low on labor,so i'm figurin $1,400.then i was reffered to a place called american classic motors from someone in this forum.checked out their ebay store,got the parts i wanted shipped to my front door for a grand total of $900 and installed them myself.screw the dealer,they got enough of my money when i bought the dang thing.

and in my opinion,now this is just my opinion,and i know there are guys who will disagree with this,but screw the dang warranty.as far as i'm aware,there are no major bugaboos with the TC 96 (like the head gasket problem with the CVO 110" that is making harley look like crap).the TC 96 has been out for a few years now,so any bugs that it may have had initially have more than likely been worked out by now.i have,however,read plenty of stories about guys who take their machines to dealerships with problems,and the problem never really gets fixed by the dealership.even with my limited mechanical experience,i trust myself more than the dealership.that way i know exactly what has been done to my bike.

[tommyglide]

I feel so lucky, my dealership is close by, 3 more are within 350 miles and I get treated quite well. I don't have them do everything, far from it, but they don't sugar coat pricing or anything else. Warranty? I cancelled the extended warranty as I feel the bike will be quite reliable, besides the fact that I voided it, but the only thing that needed attention was the heated hand grips that came with a 90 day warranty which were fixed for free 21 months into ownership.
Un, thats good mpg, with stage 1 I got 43 with the new one before mods, and 46 mpg with the hopped up Evo. Makes good economical sense, eh? Get one for the missus!

[Entreprenuer]

Thanks to all who replied!