I've cleaned the Sportster and temporarily stripped it down; removing the windscreen and saddlebags. I was feeling nostalgic for the more simple sporty appearance and riding of the bike. It's amazing how much the windscreen changes the look of the bike – not to mention the feel of wind-in-your-face riding. In the attached pictures you can see the Harley-Davidson XL with the Tour Master saddlebag center strap across the rear fender. Later, I loosened the seat and removed the center strap.
I've finally recorded the Sportster with the Screamin Eagle mufflers. The mufflers are very easy to install, only requiring the loosening of the clamps, the removal of the four mounting bolts, and the loosening of the lower bracket for the rear pipe. Removing the original mufflers required the application of a little force and some twisting. The Screamin Eagle mufflers provided the sound I was hoping for and based on seat-of-the-pants measurements improved the throttle response.
According to the Harley-Davidson dyno metrics the Screamin Eagle mufflers for the Sportster add about 5 or 6 horsepower and 10 foot pounds of torque. Pretty good price/performance results for bolt-on parts. With the slip-on mufflers the Sportster has great sound, not too loud in the lower RPM range, but with a twist of the wrist they provide a great result. I use the added sound to 'notify' drivers when I'm passing them, especially if I see them on the phone or not paying attention to what is going on around them.
BTW, after doing some research I decided not to add the Screamin Eagle intake. From what I've read on Sportster related forums the performance gains from the intake are minimal given the comparative costs. Upgrading the intake requires either taking the Sportster to the dealer for an update to the engine management computer or buying and tuning an aftermarket engine control unit. Given the cost and hassle of the two options I made the choice to take the less complex route. I may change my mind in future though I am more inclined to update the rear shocks and front springs with products from Progressive Suspension.
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4 comments:
Sounds pretty cool. I have been dying to get my 06 883R sound louder, not too loud. This probably the best solution. Gotta check how much this is gonna cost.
Thx
Did you need to do anything to your carb to match your pipes or was it just plug the pipes and go?
I've got an '05 XL1200C and I might consider pipes once I'm done w/backrest, Mustang seat and windscreen.
Thanks!
pipes look and sound great. good question about the remap- I have heard both yes and no with slip-ons but no idea with these ones...
b
www.americancustom.com
Sorry for the late reply. According to Harley the bike does not need an EFI remap for the slip-on exhaust alone. I found the Sporti to run well but it sounded a little lean. I added the TVR system and the bike ran well. When you add higher flow intake the stock system does need to be remapped. The TVR covered for this fine but it did not get some of the improvements like higher rev limit. I did have the Harley-Davidson Screamin' Eagle EFI upgrade done along with the plug wires. The Sporti runs awesome with these updates, great throttle response and power.
Needless to say, the 2008 Sportster is fuel injected, no carbs. I would think the slip-ons and a higher flow intake on a bike with carbs would require re-jetting.
Good luck and have fun!
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