Two Part Question Intake/Exhaust - Harley Forum

VanSant · #1 01-11-2009, 10:02 PM

I own a 2007 FLHRS, I bought it used with only 340 miles on the bike. The previous owner installed a stage one kit and V&H slip ons, I installed a big sucker intake kit and lots of jewelry. I experience alot of heat on my left leg in the summer months especially on my way out to the 105th celebration. I am being told that if I go with true dual exhaust I will lose power but will also lose the heat issues, Is this true? Will tere be noticible power differences?

My second question is that after doing eighty mph through Indiana on the way back to Pennsylvania, I noticed oil on my pants and bike apparently leaking from the big sucker kit. Every bolt is torqued to spec, I am told this is normal, is it? Can I remove the intake and use a small amount of silicone around the edges?

Thanks in advance, my apologies no pix, they were all taken with too many pixels and I am clueless about how to make them smaller. Cheers Van

milindh · #2 01-11-2009, 11:38 PM

Hey Van Sant

Eliminating the crossover pipe on your exhaust would probably help some but better yet would be to address the heat problem itself. Richening up the air/fuel ratio with an EFI modifier like a Power Commander or one of the others along with installing an oil cooler will do wonders for your bike's comfort and longevity. Lots has been written on this forum and many others about the heat problem on the newer baggers. Check it out. You can spend hours doing this.

As far as the oil on the pant leg thang, well it's common to almost all Harleys to some extent at least. Do a forum search here and on other forums for "oil misting" and "oil blowby". There are lots of cures for this spitting of oil into the air filter from the head breather holes. You can buy gizmos or make something yourself. Pick up one of the better accessory catalogs like J&P or Dennis Kirk and you'll find whole pages devoted to curing this mess. The quick and easy way to deal with it right now is to just pull the air cleaner cover off every so often and wipe out the oil before it builds up to the point where it drips out. On my Evo I can just reach up between the air cleaner cover and the filter element and wipe the built up oil with a rag or paper towel without removing the cover. Among the many "cures" sold for this some are better than others. One of my winter projects is make a total loss drip catcher that diverts the oil from the breathers away from the air cleaner housing.

VanSant · #3 01-12-2009, 06:09 PM

Thanks so much for the input. Funny, I just received my new catalogs from the companies you listed. The oil cooloer sounds like a good idea. Is there any noticible loss of power going with true duals? I am told 2 into one is the best but I like the looks of both pipes, especially on a bagger. I had Big shots longs on my 05' softtail and liked them alot. Thanks again, Van.

NightGlide · #4 01-17-2009, 01:18 PM

If you want to keep the dual pipes on the bagger, take a look at Thunderheader.

They make a 2-into-1 exhaust that comes with a matching fake pipe that bolts onto the left side, to keep the look balanced.

I have the 2-into-1 in black ceramic on my Softail; the performance is phenomenal, but they didn't get the name Thunderheader because they're whisper-quiet.