Pythons on A Softail-- Loud and Clear?

New 2005 Softail

I have been reading all the threads about different exhaust systems. I have the same dilema with my new bike that most have, I need louder pipes!! I am leaning towards VH Big Shots longs. I heard a lot of people talk about PCIII. Do I need to have one installed in order to run these pipes. Anyone out there running big shot longs on their softail??

Congrats on the new bike! What color is it?

If you bike is EFI, then yes, you need the Power Commander III or some other way to re-map the ECM to run the bike with the correct air/fuel mixture across the rpm range. This will insure maximum TQ and HP and fuel economy. Go to the Power Commander website to read up on it, and of course, read all the threads here, since we have recently covered your question from top to bottom.

The Vance and Hines website tells more about the various models of exhaust pipes. I got the Pro Pipe HS 2:1. The V&H website also has sound files of their pipes, and take my word for it, the sound of my Pro Pipe in reality is MUCH better than the virtual version!

Which ever pipe set you choose, it will be an improvement over stock. Take your time and ask lots of questions, and keep the forum here informed of your progress. Are you planning to install the new pipes yourself?

Yo, down the road,

Painter

Thanks for replying Painter55. It is black, I am going to post a picture. I was going to have the dealer re-map my EFI. If I am going to make a lot of changes it would be cheaper to buy the PCIII so I will not have to pay the dealer $150.00 each time I make a change.

My bike is almost identical to yours. BLACK. I am going to put up a picture of my bike soon to show what a Heritage looks like with a 2:1 exhaust.

Louder and Prouder,

Painter

Final Result

I had to go back to pick up this thread so I could post the final results of exhanging the stock exhaust system to a Vance and Hines Pro Pipe. I also put in the Power Commander III and put on the Ness Big Sucker. The rest of the motor is all stock TC88B.

I went to the Open House at Illinois Harley in Berywn today and entered their "Dyno Shoot Out". For $20, they put my bike on the dyno and did a base line run. Here is what happened:

HP 70.3 max at @5200 rpm.
TQ 73.4 max at @4200 rpm.

Not 'great', but certainly better than stock. I saw some really big numbers today: 128 hp, etc. on some monster bikes.

Yo, down the road,

Painter

Painter,

You didn't do a dyno before the mods, did you? Actually, I think those numbers are very good. You have to consider that Harley's published numbers are crankshaft numbers and your's are rear wheel numbers. That's a considerable increase for the relatively modest expense.

Congrats!

Time for a dyno tune

Painter,

That's good that you were able to get a dyno baseline on your bike with the new mods. Now it's time to have your PCIII tuned on a dyno.
As you may recall, I have an '03 FLSTCI with similar mods as yours (Ness big sucker, PCIII, V&H bigshots staggered)

The dyno tech that tuned my bike showed me actual rear wheel dyno results of a stock FLSTCI. It was producing 59.8 HP @ 5500 and 73.5 TQ @3300.

After having a skilled tech dyno tune my PCIII, my rear wheel is now producing 76.9 hp @5500 and 80.3 TQ at 4500.

Therefore... I would assume that you can squeeze some more out of your "Black Beast" if you can get a good tech to dyno her for you. With that 2:1 pipe, I would think you can get even better results than mine.

More power to ya

P.S. How's the turbo project coming??

SISK

If it's too fast, you're too old!

Here is the graph of my Dyno Run. I was impressed with the flatness of the TQ curve. From 2000rpm to 4500rpm, the TQ is within the range of 65-73. I can certainly feel this when I rev the bike. Nice a smooth pull all the way. The flatTQ means that the HP curve is practically 1:1 with rpm. The line equation for HP in this graph is

HP = .0152 x RPM - 5.2

The Final Result

Here is the Pro Pipe installed on the 2004 Heritage Softail Classic.

Looks Nice

Painter,

Glad to see you finally post a photo of your bike

The pipe looks nice, and I don't think it detracts too much from the "Heritage" look.
I do like your foot boards, my wife's been "hinting" that she wants me to replace her pegs and install the passenger footboards.

Does the Black Beast spend her nights in a storage unit? I would have thought you'd have a place for her right next to your bed

SISK

Life is tough - but it's tougher if you're stupid!

I live in an apartment, and there is NO WAY I would leave my bike parked in the lot... too much temptation for theft! The storage unit is my own private garage. I have it well stocked with tools and everything else I need to keep the Black Beast ready to go.

The passenger floorboards were expensive, but L. kept burning her pricy boots on the pipes and leaving black goo all over them . So I decided to save my pipes.



This me PAINTER.

HRK said: "The best bet is to look to Short Block Charlies shop and have him do your stock 88 heads for you, get a set of Andrews tw-37B cams or Kuryakyns TC-2G gear drive cams to eliminate the tensioners and chain drive. Big bore it by having your stock cylinders bored out to fit 10 to 1 compression pistons."

I have already surmized this set-up from my readings 'elsewhere'. To really get the punch from a turbo, then some of this work is probably necessary, otherwise it may not be worth the time and trouble. The quest for power an performance can take many paths. Sorting this all out is tough.


My technical studies right now are on combustion chemistry and thermodynamics. I know what the 'gammas' are now. This is all leading to piston and head desing configurations which will lead to a good choice of some of the options that you mentioned. I may well end up making these type mods, but instead of doing it becaue I 'heard about it', I will be doing it becuase 'I know about it'. Not that others don't know tech stuff... It's jus that "I" don't know it yet. Squish, squish.

Yo, down the road,

Painter