[Jammer]

I just bought my first harley and its a 94 hugger with 1200 bore kit. The previous owner put a S&S super E carb on it and drag pipes. I mostly want the bike for just toolin around town so running low rpms with good response is a must. This bike here only runs well at full throttle, lol. I've read a bit and it appears the drag pipes have to go. I'm looking for stock pipes to put back on but my question pertains to the carb. Is the super E too big for this app? Would the super B be a better fit or would the E with a yost atomizer and some tuning work as well? Any help would be much appreciated, thanx

[Art_NJr]

Originally Posted by Jammer

I just bought my first harley and its a 94 hugger with 1200 bore kit. The previous owner put a S&S super E carb on it and drag pipes. I mostly want the bike for just toolin around town so running low rpms with good response is a must. This bike here only runs well at full throttle, lol. I've read a bit and it appears the drag pipes have to go. I'm looking for stock pipes to put back on but my question pertains to the carb. Is the super E too big for this app? Would the super B be a better fit or would the E with a yost atomizer and some tuning work as well? Any help would be much appreciated, thanx

Yes, the drag pipes have to go, although you can put some "Big City Thunder" baffles in them to regain a good bit of lost mid-range power & some of the low end for now if you want & they're not very expensive. Stock pipes with crossover & quality slip-ons like Cycle Shack is the best exhaust system there is for your bike though.

As to the carb, you can get the S&S carb you've got to work well with some tuning & probably jetting changes, but a stock CV carb tuned properly is even better. Buying a Super B would be a waste of $$$ and you can usually find used CV's on e-Bay, etc. for less than $100.

Either way you go, when you change the exhaust you'll have to re-adjust the carb again & probably change jetting again too, but jets are cheap, so get several. Can't tell you what the baseline is for your Super E but S&S can & I can tell you what it is for a CV - 42 slow, 170 main & 2.5 turns out on the idle mixture screw. I'd also get a 175 main - probably won't need it, but you might.

[hotroadking]

I"d say the same as Art,

Dump The E it's too large for low end response you want, buy a cv40, off ebay or trade someone with a stock carb looking for a Super E,

It can be made to work but the CV is a better street carb. JMO

Also for pipes besided Cycle Shack, Khrome Werks makes a good set of slip ons that will have better sound and make better power than the drags.

And get it tuned after you do the changes. That helps.

[HellBoy]

Art, Hot Road King, I had Vance & Hines baffles installed in my drag pipes a while back and it helped somewhat, but I'm not completely satisfied. I'd like a bit more pickup and grip in 1st and 2nd. In city traffic, sometimes I need a real fast start when the light turns green and my Sporty could use some more 0-25 speed.

If I started from scratch and money wasn't an issue, what pipes do think perform best on the 2003 883 XLH? In case your choice is ugly, what's your 2nd place choice?

* One Harley mechanic I'm getting to know thought Thunderheaders were the best for a Sportster (he's a real Sporty fan), but I don't like how the pipes look.

[wvak47]

Originally Posted by HellBoy

* One Harley mechanic I'm getting to know thought Thunderheaders were the best for a Sportster (he's a real Sporty fan), but I don't like how the pipes look.

Now what is it that sticker says? OH YEAH. This ain't no fashion show. I feel ya man, can't be ridin no ugly piglet, unless that mutha is SCARY FAST.

[Lucifer]

I had Vance & Hines baffles installed in my drag pipes a while back and it helped somewhat, but I'm not completely satisfied. I'd like a bit more pickup and grip in 1st and 2nd. In city traffic, sometimes I need a real fast start when the light turns green and my Sporty could use some more 0-25 speed.

If I started from scratch and money wasn't an issue, what pipes do think perform best on the 2003 883 XLH? In case your choice is ugly, what's your 2nd place choice?

* One Harley mechanic I'm getting to know thought Thunderheaders were the best for a Sportster (he's a real Sporty fan), but I don't like how the pipes look.[/quote]

A set of torque valves AKA "AR cones" will help with reversion in your drag pipes. Stock headpipes and a decent pair of slip-ons would be better, Supertrapp make excellent exhaust systems. Depends on your definition of "ugly". Lots of people say I am, but I don't think so.

[HellBoy]

I kind of like the straight pipe look, nothing too curvy, (I like my curves on women not pipes!)

[hotroadking]

If you are going 2-1 a thunderheader is a great pipe but it too can have dips in the lower RPM range, some can be tuned out some you bend a couple of tabs over in the pipe and it cures it.

A disk tuneable system will probably be best, Supertrapp 2-1 works great.

For slip ons Khrome werks HP+ are hard to beat, make good power, sound good and are not expensive, stock headers to these work well.

[Art_NJr]

Originally Posted by HellBoy

Art, Hot Road King, I had Vance & Hines baffles installed in my drag pipes a while back and it helped somewhat, but I'm not completely satisfied. I'd like a bit more pickup and grip in 1st and 2nd. In city traffic, sometimes I need a real fast start when the light turns green and my Sporty could use some more 0-25 speed.

If I started from scratch and money wasn't an issue, what pipes do think perform best on the 2003 883 XLH? In case your choice is ugly, what's your 2nd place choice?

My choice is ugly (crossover), but the best there is for everything other than all-out top-end only racing & there ain't no if's and's or but's about it - stock pipes w/ crossover & quality slip-ons like the popular Cycle Shack or the KromeWerks hotroadking mentioned.

Somewhere down the line H-D got sloppy with the crossover & if you look down inside the headpipes, you'll probably see the ends of the crossover protruding. Ain't fun to cut/grind those protrusions off, but with lots of bright light, a flex extension for your Dremel & some cutting & grinding wheels, it can be done.

That crossover is worth 5-8 HP & one thing I've been meaning to do forever is to remove the chrome heat shield from the crossover pipe, wrap it with heat tape I already have (used on race pipes), then paint it high-temp black. Won't make the crossover disappear, but with black cylinders, it won't show nearly as much. Maybe I'll get to that this weekend ;-)}

2nd choice? For me it's the SuperTrapp "high pipes" the flat-trackers use, which I'd already have for the '00 bike if I could afford them. Downside (besides cost) is you can forget about saddlebags & carrying a passenger.

3rd choice would be Vance & Hines "StraightShots" with the (not so) "Quiet" baffles. Classic looks, "real Harley" sound & high quality.

* One Harley mechanic I'm getting to know thought Thunderheaders were the best for a Sportster (he's a real Sporty fan), but I don't like how the pipes look.

That's a popular pipe, but as far as performance goes, certainly not the best. There's not a 2-1 system on planet earth that will out-perform a good 2-2 setup on a Sportster, except in one narrow rpm range, typically 1500 rpm wide. If you don't believe me, look @ the dyno charts. See my good friend Crim's "Exhaust Shootout": The Sportster Home Page

- Art

[whacker]

The s&s carb,I have an "e" on my 75 sportty,and I really don't like the low end responce..I've tried the triple x booster,it made it a little better,but it still ain't where I want it to be...thinking if the I have the money ..going to get a cv carb...All I've heard is the "e" is too big..and I'm thinking it's the truth...So maybe Santa will get me a carb for Christmas....

[HellBoy]

Since I had the Stage 1 kit done by Harley, would I still need the carb re-jetted if I got the V&H Straightshots?

[Art_NJr]

Originally Posted by HellBoy

Since I had the Stage 1 kit done by Harley, would I still need the carb re-jetted if I got the V&H Straightshots?

Probably, but that's no big deal & if you can use a screwdriver, you can do that yourself

[HellBoy]

Thanks Art, HRK. There's a possibility I could get the original pipes and the have them installed with slip-ons, but it would be quite a hassle. My bike's original owner left them at an ex girlfriend's house in Pennsylvania. I would have to pay for them to be picked up, packed and shipped ( she won't pack them herself).

I'm not sure it's worth bothering with considering the various hassles. I like the look of the V&H Straight Shots and might begin keeping my eyes out for an eBay deal on a set. Also, V&H have a few designs for decorative tips for their pipes. Do they affect the pipes performance negatively or are they just for looking stylish?

[Art_NJr]

Originally Posted by HellBoy

Thanks Art, HRK. There's a possibility I could get the original pipes and the have them installed with slip-ons, but it would be quite a hassle. My bike's original owner left them at an ex girlfriend's house in Pennsylvania. I would have to pay for them to be picked up, packed and shipped (she won't pack them herself).

Check around with dealers & indy shops - often you'll find stock exhaust setups gathering dust from bikes which have had aftermarket pipes installed that you can get cheap & sometimes even for free.

For example, I needed baffles for the SE I slip-ons I've got on the '95 & H-D "obsoleted" those years ago, but while @ an indy shop picking up a couple items, I saw they had taken the whole exhaust off another Sportster & it had the same slip-ons. I asked could I buy the baffles & the mechanic said if you'll get the whole system out of my way you can have it.

The stock pipes from other years will fit your bike too - I know 2000-2003 are the same (883 or 1200) & I'm pretty sure the mounting tabs didn't change '91-'03. I can take the exhaust off my '95 & put it on my '00 & vice-versa.

I like the look of the V&H Straight Shots and might begin keeping my eyes out for an eBay deal on a set. Also, V&H have a few designs for decorative tips for their pipes. Do they affect the pipes performance negatively or are they just for looking stylish?

The tips are just for looks & don't affect performance.

[HellBoy]

Is it the weather or my new ignition module? My Sporty's been running really well lately after I had the ignition module changed. I've often thought about changing the pipes, but lately I seem to get a good response when I need some grip to pickup speed quickly. The bike doesn't seem to drag it's feet anymore. I'm not saying it's a pocket rocket, just getting good (not amazing, but very good) acceleration when I need it.

I thought the ignition module was just a plug and play type thing, but my mechanic mentioned he'd put a new "5 Speed" plate on when he was installing the ignition module, and I forgot to ask why. Perhaps it was scratched and he did it as a favor ( I don't recall any scratches though) and it only cost $15. Does the 5 speed plate cover something that needs to be removed for some reason when changing the ignition module?

[Art_NJr]

Originally Posted by HellBoy

I thought the ignition module was just a plug and play type thing, but my mechanic mentioned he'd put a new "5 Speed" plate on when he was installing the ignition module, and I forgot to ask why. Perhaps it was scratched and he did it as a favor ( I don't recall any scratches though) and it only cost $15. Does the 5 speed plate cover something that needs to be removed for some reason when changing the ignition module?

The ignition module is behind that plate.

[HellBoy]

Thanks Art, I get it now. I guess I should get my parts manual out and start reading

[Jammer]

Alot of good responses, is very helpful, thanx. I bought a set of stock pipes off ebay and hope to have them in a week or so. I'm gonna rejet the S&S super E and see how close it gets for decent drivability but I believe like what everyones saying, I'll need to swap that out too. I've cheecked out a few CV carbs on ebay also but was wondering how much rework I'll need to do to get the stock carb back on. Would it hook right up to the same mounting and intake? Would I need a different air filter? Looks like the guy before me bought the whole S&S carb kit, including air breather and all.

[hotroadking]

You can get the E to work, it just takes some tuning, throttle response may always be a bit boggy on the bottom due to it's size.

I ran an E on my 95 inch 12 to 1 twin cam, then put on a G, same numbers, better throttle response with the E, maybe 3 hp out top on the G but the E was better as far as the street.

go to S&S Cycle Home Page - Welcome and they have a section with all the manuals for all the carbs, there is a tuning section in the SuperE PDF.

Basically you need to know what jets are in the carb
Also if you don't have a manual air bleed in the carb read up how to do it
and add the air bleed, by changing that jet you can move the transistion from pilot to main jet up or down the RPM band.

Also the idle air screw is important to have set correctly or it will bog as well

Basically if you twist the throttle at idle and get black smoke out the back you need to adjust that screw.

Anyway the full instructions are there, and BTW SNS says 90% of the people out there are running the carbs way too rich.

[Jammer]

I don't have the stock exhaust on yet but I tried a smaller intermediat jet on the super E. Went from a .0265 to .025 and it did help a bit. The bike will idle now without me bumpin the throttle and runs much better through the lower rpm's. Still not where it needs to be but much better. If the stock pipes don't make a real difference I'll be getting the CV carb. I was looking up some information for mounting the carb on my present intake and saw a press on brass mounting flange instead of the rubber one. Anyone have any feedback on this, which ones better or personal experience?