[HellBoy]

Hi everyone, I've been getting hesitation when accelerating and when holding at a steady speed. My 2003 Sporty had drag pipes put on before I bought it. They're incredibly loud. I like the sound but need to dial it back just a little. I went to the Harley dealer in Queens N.Y. and they said they could put baffles in and that a Stage 1 kit would help with the hesitation.

I'd appreciate hearing about your experiences with the stage 1 kits before I pay for something I may not need.

Thanks,
HellBoy

[fujimo]

carb or inj,,, which,,,stage one will help as it helps breath,,,, but if you are carb,,, can dial it out with carb,,,, or change carbs,,,, pops

[chucktx]

a stage one kit with a pipe modification will help your situation, if the mech. working on your bike is qualified. the stage one will let the engine breathe easier, and the baffles in the pipe will help with backpressure. drag pipes without restrictions are worthless at anything less than wide open throttle. they are very poor in the preformance department. they will make a lot of noise but rob mileage, and preformance. if you have efi the bike will also need a map and possibly a dyno to get it dialed in.......let us know what the outcome is........

[duke76]

I had a slight hesitation with my old fxrs, mostly from reversion of the air up the pipes I think, I installed some lollipop baffles(basically a washer welded on a quarter inch bolt in the end of my pipes) and gained lots of power and no more hesitation, and it also almost eliminated my decel popping. I would try this first(very cheap to try) Todd

[chucktx]

pic of "lollypop"...

[HellBoy]

Thanks for the swift response guys. I don't believe it's fuel injected. Harley wasn't asking too much to baffle the pipes, something like $40 and will do it along with the Stage 1 upgrade. I agree Chuck, the straight pipes look cool but my low and midrange speeds are shaky. Hopefully the baffles will help with performance as well as dialing down the volume.

Any particular air filter that's considered the best choice for the 2003 Sporty?
I think the dealer recommended something that looks round, but it all went by so fast I'll have to look into it further tomorrow.

[chucktx]

i feel the arlen ness kits are superiour to the screamin eagle that the dealer uses. arlen kits are not expensive. i have a stage II on mine and love it. i no longer deal with the small amount of oil that used to collect in the bottom of my aircleaner after a hard run. they all work, some work better than others......just another item to research for the bike.........

[HellBoy]

Thanks so much Chuck, much appreciated. I just dropped off the bike at the Harley dealer. The guy at the repair dept. was cool. It was my first time there with my Sporty 883XLH and he offered some helpful suggestions. I did order the Harley Stage 1 kit, I'll check on which air filter ASAP. They're looking into finding the correct baffles for my straight pipes and will rejet the carb. The screw for adjusting the fuel mix didn't have anything in it's way, so I assume the previous owner had it changed. I figure it'll cost me $200 more than if I did it myself, but I wanted Harley to sign off once on the bike for future reselling purposes.

The repair dept. guy said that the Sportster CV carb is a "cold blooded" animal and might still give a burp or two even after the work is done. He did feel the Stage 1 upgrade was worthwhile for performance reasons, but advised me against bothering with an 883 to 1200 cc upgrade. he thought it wasn't worth the cost and that since I'm 6'5" I might want to enjoy the Sportster while getting accustomed to riding and then eventually look at a Softtail.

I could ask the dealer about the Arlen Ness kit, if they can do it, perhaps it's a better idea.

[chucktx]

the stage one ness kit would replace the hd stage one. ness has a reusable/cleanable k&n filter element. the hd has an expensive throwaway paper. any carbed bike will have a burp if not allowed to warm up. the stealer made a valid point in not upgrading, as you will probably want to go to a larger machine once you get your "riding" legs!!!!....keep us posted!!!

[HellBoy]

Thanks Chuck. Good news, the Harley kit does have the K&N type washable filter, so I'll let them do their thing with it. As for baffles, that's tricky. I don't want to lose too much of the vibe of my straight pipes, but do need it dialed down just a bit. The Big City Thunder baffles seem to be a good choice, but may not lower volume enough. The sales guy at the Harley dealership has 40 years experience with this, so I'm communicating with him about choosing the right baffles for my drag pipes. They don't seem to be trying to gouge me and I'm feeling good so far about the dealer. Of course, we'll see....

[SPORSTERBOY]

If You Change The Air Cleaner You Might Have To Dial It Back In, Also The Crank Case Breathers On That Year Are The Mounting Bolts Which Are Hollow That Hold The Air Cleaner On. You Will Need The Kit For That. Cost About 30 Bucks In J&p. I Took A Round Free Flow And Modifyed The Mounting Holes, Drilled One Hole, Took Some Fittings And Made Crankcase Breather Filters, Also Made The Cross. But I Got The Air Cleaner Out Off J&p Or Dennis Kirk For Like 30 Bucks.

[SPORSTERBOY]

Hey Chuck, How Do You Install Those Things, Does It Knock Out The Noise Or Just For The Back Preasure.

[hotroadking]

bolt them through the hole for the baffles in the pipes,

Locktite them in


They will kill noise to some extent but not like a full baffle with wrapping.

[chucktx]

Originally Posted by SPORSTERBOY

Hey Chuck, How Do You Install Those Things, Does It Knock Out The Noise Or Just For The Back Preasure.

very easy to install....drill a hole as far forward in the pipe as will allow you to install the washer. once installed it will knock the noise and create backpressure.....and it is adjustable from full on to full off.....some people like the sound, others dont.....you can judge for yourself. if holes are already there for baffles, use those existing holes.......

[Ultra Al]

On my shovel I have 2 into 1 Paugho straight pipes. I took a metal baffle which was very cheap and trimmed it down to about half it's original length. I did this mostly so that if a cop sticks something up the pipe he will feel resistance. It did not quiet it down significantly, which is fine with me. Al

[HellBoy]

I haven't encountered a cop checking on volume and baffles yet, but I'm planning a little east coast road trip this summer and should be ready for anything by then. It'll be a few days until parts arrive at my Harley dealer. Hopefully I won't be disappointed with the sound after baffles are installed. the choice is tricky because you really don't know until it's done. Possibly the little ring was all I need, if it's not good, *uck it, I'll do it again!

[cowboy]

I did something likeAl did my shovel had drag pipes , I got a baffle looked to about A foot long ,I cit down to about 2-3 in long & put them in each pipes , cop tried to stick it up there but found it would not fit I still had good sound & some back presure

[whacker]

I have a 75 sportty and I installed some AR cones,they really helped the performace of my drag pipes,not sure what they would do for a newer bike....

[HellBoy]

I'm waiting for my Harley sales guy to see which baffle he recommends. He's mentioned that he doesn't want one that's too big, looking for something small. My goal is to keep 85% of the sound I have now, hopefully not changing the pitch much and getting the back pressure I need. He's got 40 years experience, so I'd be foolish not to take advantage of his expertise.

[SteveO]

I just purchased a 2003 low Rider with Vance & Hines Pipes as the only engine modification. The bike ran like crap, wouldn't idle, hesitated, etc..I was af