Beating a Dead Horse

Hope I am not beating a dead horse, but I did not find an answer to my specific question. I have a bone stock 05 FXDLi that I have had for a month. I am looking to put V&H Pro Pipe HS pipes on along with the SE Stage 1. Has anyone had any problems or complaints with the Pro Pipes? The second choice for pipes is V&H Straitshots. Thanks

Just installed the Pro pipes and I really like them, specially performance wise.

Good to hear it, Godot.


HotRoadKing, will the regular re-programing that the dealership has to do work instead of spending more scratch for an after market chip/re-programer?

Hmm, odd....

If the Power Commanders will not work on the '05, Dyno Jet or DP would be shocked to hear that! Dyno Jet says to use the '04 maps and '05 maps will follow. There were no electronics changes to Dyno Jets knowledge and we have sold a couple of hundred units for '05 models ourselves.

So far this year we have heard the following "fibs" told to customers by illustrious dealers.

"The '05 electronics are different and nothing will work except the Race Tuner"
"The RK custom uses different muffler mounts so only SE mufflers will work"
"The Softail Classic uses different frame mounts so you can only use SE exhaust"

And the very best one:
"The '05 heads have new exhaust ports so only 'special' SE headers and exhaust can be used"

I heard the "you need to use a race tuner" from the dealer I bought the bike from. I thought it was odd so I called another dealer and they said the other guy fed me a line of B.S. I am guessing they must get a lot of people that do not question what they tell them and just shell out the cash. This dealer had the best price on the bike, but since they had no problem lying to me about what would HAVE to be done to the bike if I wanted to change the pipes, I decided to go elsewhere for service. Who knows what else they would lie about. They lost my business.

Another thing I noticed is how HD will sqeeze your wallet where ever they can. I want to put saddlebags on my bike. The bags I like are alone around 800 bones. Ofcourse, I can not put them on unless I move my rear blinkers. Seems to me HD could have mounted the signals further back on the strut so they would not have to be moved. Since I do not want to move the signals, I will have to settle for a T-Bag Switchback for weekend trips.

Another thing I noticed is how HD will sqeeze your wallet where ever they can. I want to put saddlebags on my bike. The bags I like are alone around 800 bones. Ofcourse, I can not put them on unless I move my rear blinkers. Seems to me HD could have mounted the signals further back on the strut so they would not have to be moved. Since I do not want to move the signals, I will have to settle for a T-Bag Switchback for weekend trips.[/QUOTE]

Hey mark-
Just a thought...but do you think you could get the saddlebags to mount if you went with one of those real small lazer light turn signals? That way you could keep the location and your blinkers would kinda be hidden until you lit them up? Might be worth looking into at the least.

I will have to call the bag maker and ask. I dont think it will work, since they say specifically that you need to move the blinkers. Ofcourse, it could be that they also sell the blinker move kits.....thx Seahag.

I kind of have decided to just get a T-Bag Switchback. It mounts cleanly on the handlebars and is easy to remove. The longest trips I am able to take are only 2 or 3 days, so I can get by w/o saddlebags for now.

I just talked to a guy Saturday regarding the Pro Pipe HS on his new Softail Std... As I was admiring them, I noticed he'd scraped the billet end cone on the asphalt while taking a turn--he said he did that the first week, but still really loves the sound! I also have a new Low Rider and was contemplating the HS until I saw his pipe-- the FXDL is lower and you're more likely to have this happen. If you do go with teh HS, I'd make sure you have the rear shocks tweaked all the way up and be really careful in the twisties--especially when carrying a passenger. I'm now looking at the Big Shots Staggered...

I finally got around to getting my pipes. I did settle on the V&H Pro Pipe HS (from Direct Parts) and I am not disappointed! It looks great, sounds better, and seems a little quicker in the acceleration department. My bike finally sounds like it should.