Losing Power, Why

That's why I put 5-1/2 inches in brackets senior, I don't do french either...or spanish

I'll do almost anything French or Spanish, (as long as it's female )

Took my first ride this month last night, only local though. Bike seems 10-15% better since I reset the Fuel Pack numbers, no reason why I can think of, since I think the numbers were right when I did it, but I forgot to look at many of the numbers as I punched in the correct values, so I'm not certain. I was hoping to ride to a custom shop today that a good friend with decades of riding experience uses, but nooooooo..... it's friggin' raining again. I think we're at something like seven weeks with only a day or two without rainfall and even those days were threatening to rain. The streets are all wet and slippery and the bridge I need to cross to get to the shop is grated metal and hazardous in the rain, ugghhh... Wish I could send some of the rain your way guys.

CHANGING to no back pressure but loud baffles will kill Ur down low power.. that might be part it..

GrandPa, thanks for the input. The thing is, I haven't really changed anything to do with the exhaust, just messed around with it. First, I had the V&H Big Shots (staggered) with their standard baffles, and they were PERFECT as far as performance goes. Smooth take off in all gears, great grip, no lagging, no dead spots, perfect. EXCEPT, it was pretty loud, not crazy obnoxious loud, but not comfortable loud either. SO... I figured why not try the V&H Quiet Baffles that they make specifically for these pipes. My friend has had great results with the same bike as me, using V&H Long Shots and the Quiet Baffles. He had them installed at HD BUT, he has the Power Commander of the Screamin' Eagle race tuner (I'm not sure) AND he had his "Dynoed". Well, before I changed anything, my bike ran even smoother and more powerfully than his, my friend even said so after trying out my ride. So... I tried the Quiet Baffles and then remapped the V&H Fuel Pack and my bike ran like crap, no grip, strange dips in power, not strong at all. Frustrated, I had the original baffles put back in, EXCEPT, one had been damaged during removal, so they put in one brand new baffle and one original baffle with 4,000 on it. In the interim, I had my oil changed to Red Line synthetics. In previous posts I documented other issues I was having. There was a loud rattle, so HD first insisted I go back to dino oil in the engine, I agreed, simply because they could have made the oil a warranty issue, so I didn't argue. Then, they change lifters, still rattling, then changed one of the heads, rattle gone. So I was now almost back where I started, V&H Big Shots, with their standard baffles and lots of engine work in between. Also, i was having trouble getting into neutral, so they did a clutch adjustment 3X. It's finally breaking in, but that may be part of my issue. The second clutch adjustment felt great, I said "don't change it", and of course, they did another adjustment anyway. That's what happens when a first year mechanic gets a shot at some of the "simpler" adjustments, they keep messing with it. They removed thhe exhaust 2X to do the baffles.
It's 10:30 AM, looks nice at the moment, I have a few spare hours, but of course, thunderstorms are predicted between 12 and 1, so once again, rain spoils the ride. maybe next week, but... the weather reports show rain every day for the next six days. I thought I lived in NYC, not the friggin' rain forest!

Well, I finally made it to a custom shop that's highly recommended by some good friends with lots of experience. The shop is called Halo Cycles, the owner Milton was clearly knowledgeable and was a pleasure to speak with. I quickly gave him the general repair history and asked if he'd take a ride and see what he thought. He said the clutch is fine, the ride is fine and that in this weather, (hot & humid) my kind of bike doesn't run as smoothly as it does in cooler, less humid weather. I still feel a subtle difference in grip, especially in 1st. gear, but I think it's something that will right itself eventually, either when I get clutch pads after another 5k miles and then adjust the clutch or change to a power commander instead of my V&H Fuel Pack, and then have it Dyno'ed.

Probably going on the Million Mile Harley D. ride tonight, but of course.... drum roll....
rain is predicted, so who knows?

Thanks HRK, but I'm going one step at a time lately, money's really tight, and I can't even afford the saddlebags I want at the moment! I was at my Harley dealership yesterday and their main mechanic said that after changing lifters, baffles and the head it might still be breaking in. I've done about 500 miles since, and I hope that's true, but if so, then HD should have mentioned a technique for properly breaking in, wouldn't you think?

* did the Million Mile Ride to Coney Island last night and the rain threatened, but stayed away, yeah baby! The food at Nathan's sure wasn't as good as it used to be though.

I rode to a friends place upstate NY this weekend, about 400 miles round trip. Something curious happened. I rode up (200 miles) I had around 1/4 tank or less, so I went to fill up the next day. Immediately after filling up, the feel of my first gear improved I'd say.. 75%. It just felt something like it used to, as obvious to me as taking off a shoe that pinches for a more comfortable one. No one could see it, but I sure felt it. I wonder what that's all about?

Makes sense, unless it was the 200 mile, 60-80 mph ride that made a difference. I've been using Sunoco 93 octane here in NYC. I refilled with the same Sunoco 93 upstate after the ride up. I wondered the same thing, so I just filled up with Shell's top of the line. They've been advertising a lot lately about their "gunk cleaning" properties, so I thought I'd give it a try. I guess I won't notice much difference, but I'll wait until the whole tank's been used and see if anything's noticeable.