[Ken]

Well I was able to track down someone in my area with a Vulcan 1500 who has the V&H Propipe HS. It looks and sounds great. He fired it up for me and went for a short ride so I could hear the frequency and the volume. Great set of pipes. Ordered them this weekend, $404. Will report back when they are on.

Also, I'm curious about the "need" to add the Power Commander. It was suggested by the parts guy where I ordered the pipes as well as by lonestar and others here. But I've also taked to folks who said it was unneeded. So, for now, I'll toss the pipes on and see what happens.

Tell me about the differences between the "famous last-forever" K&N air filter, and the Thunder Air Kit mentioned by lonestar.

I'm always interested in gaining performance. But it's a desire, not a need. I know the Power Commander runs about $300. So, what should I expect to get in increased torque and HP if I add the Power Commander and an air kit?

 

[bikeaholic]

re

ken,changing exhaust won't really create a lean condition -its all after combustion . its the intake that creates the condition , that's where
fuel adjustment comes in - most of these systems just add more fuel to
the mix to correct for added intake air with a high flow filter

i'm not much on these off the shelf units with a factory map or even someone
else's map - i prefer a custom map on every bike cause every bike is different. as btreaves has mentioned in another thread - you want hp at a
given rpm not just at the top of the power band-thats were custom tuning
has the advantage imo cause i've seen bikes that had to have fuel reduced
at certain rpm's depending on what the rider wants and these tpi,tfi bla bla
won't do that - but hey that's just my worthless opinion :lol: :wink:

 

[lonestar]

thunder air kit

Ken,
I thought you would like the propipe if you listened to it and saw it on a bike! As for the differance in air kits, the thunder air kit actually uses a K&N filter but it is not "enclosed" like the stock air box allowing max. air flow into the engine at all times. If you do go this route 1) you will need to add a power commander 2) it will not stick out far enough to bother your right leg position 3) between the power commander and the thunder air kit expect to inc. H.P. by about 7-8 if the bike is custom tuned(mapped). I watched this process step by step on my bike and can honestley say that although it is expensive, you will have absolutley no regrets with the end result. With my bike when just the pipes were added it sounded better yes but the idle was'nt smooth and it backfired some,overall just was not as "smooth" as it should be (I noticed this while it was being dynoed second run) If you are planning on keeping this bike for awhile you will get your moneys worth from the above mods. I wish you lived closer and I would let you ride mine......once around the block would be all it would take. A friend on my street has a Harley Road King and when he came back from a ride on my bike he could'nt get the [email protected]#$ eating grin off his face. Whichever way you choose to go Good Luck!
Lonestar

 

[Ken]

Sounds good, lonestar. Your experience with this project has been really valuable to me. I plan on keeping this bike for a few years, so these would be worthwhile modifications. Pipes first, and then Power Commander and air kit this winter.

Two questions:
1. When you added your pipes, did you experience backfiring on deceleration and have to disable your reed valves? This is a popular "Gadget fixit": http://www.gadgetjq.com/smogstuffremove.htm
2. Which Air Kit did you go with. I checked the cruisercustomizing site and saw that there are many different ones to choose from. I'm assuming they are bascially the same, except for appearance.

Thanks again, bikeaholic and lonestar!

 

[lonestar]

pipes

Ken,
When my bike was tuned first dyno run was stock, the second dyno run was with the pipes added to the stock bike. This is where it sounded better, picked-up about 4-5 hp but was not as "smooth" as stock-there was some rumbling and slight popping(backfiring) on deceleration. We did not block-off the reed valves until we added the thunder air kit and this along with the power commander tuneing made all the differance in the world. The thunder air kit I used is the 7'round fluted air kit, it was recommended to me as the most unobtrusive as far as the fit to the bike and I have found this to be very true. These things can interfere with leg position and braking with some models(the teardrop looks neat but hits your knee/the hypercharger sticks-out over 6 inches and does'nt make near the air flow) If you have really tech. questions call Johnny Cheese Performance Bikes in Pflugerville Texas 512-990-0686 He is "THE MAN" in these parts on dynotuning Vulcans and did a GREAT job on mine . I realize it's extreme long distance for you but Johnny is really helpful and could answer any questions you might have. If you do call him tell him Donnie said "thanks!"..............Good Luck!
Lonestar

 

[PickYourPockets]

Do they make a PCIII for the 800? Can't seem to find one or are they universal?

Has anyone seen Kuryakyn's new Hi-Five air cleaner kit? It's quite a bit less expensive than a hypercharger (which as mentioned above is obnoxiously large) or the thunder kit. Comes with jets too, perhaps displacing the need for DynoJet. Of course, I know you get what you pay for.... any thoughts?

 

[PickYourPockets]

Do they make a PCIII for the 800? Can't seem to find one or are they universal?

Has anyone seen Kuryakyn's new Hi-Five air cleaner kit? It's quite a bit less expensive than a hypercharger (which as mentioned above is obnoxiously large) or the thunder kit. Comes with jets too, perhaps displacing the need for DynoJet. Of course, I know you get what you pay for.... any thoughts?

 

[lonestar]

PCIII

PickYourPockets,
The PCIII is for fuel injected bikes only, on the 800 you would need to rejet your carb to have the same effect. Before I got my 1500 Classic I had an 800A that I modified with Cobra slashcut exhaust system-carb rejet kit and a K&N air filter(in the stock air box) this made a tremendous change in the performance of the bike. My only gripe was that the Cobra pipes were loud as hell at 75-80 mph on the hwy. and it was no fun on anything but around town trips. But it ran GREAT! The 800 is a very powerful bike (leader in it's class) and can run with the 1500 all day long.
Good Luck With Your Mods!
Lonestar

 

[PickYourPockets]

Thanks lonestar. After the post I did some more reading and figured out the whole PC/fi thing. Guess I should've read further before opening my trap.

I'm leaning toward the V&H straight shots. Seems like a good place rather than risk the decibels of the HK. But man I like the look of 'em.

Still want to know if anyone out there has experience with the HiFive air filter assembly. Thanks all.

Time to ride to the union meeting... via the long route of course.

 

[Ken]

Just wanted to follow up on the original post. This past week, my V&H HS Pro Pipe came in and while I was picking it up, I also grabbed the Dyno Power Commander III USB.

Today, my brother and I removed the stock exhaust (incl. the goat bladder), strapped on the V&H's, and fired it up. The oohs and aahs were plentiful. What a difference. Just for grins, we took out the baffle to hear the difference. Wow! My brother was in his glory, but that's a bit more sound than I wanted. For my riding taste, this pipe with the baffle in is just perfect. Deep and throaty without being piss-off-the-neighbors loud. Backfiring on deceleration without the baffle, no backfire with the baffle. 45 minute job.

Next up, the PC III. The instructions recommend removing the tank, and this is a really good suggestion. Trying to get the PC III's ground wire up to where the main wiring bundle was a pain, and we ended up removing the tank. Should have done this to begin with, it would have saved us 30 miuntes in the long run. Have not yet hooked it up to my laptop, or added a new map. So right now it's running with the stock Vulcan map. I plan on taking a long ride tomorrow, and then downloading a new map so I can get a good before and after comparison. 90 minute job.

Unfortunately, it rained for the rest of the day. I rode it home kind of slow due to poor road conditions. Couldn't get a good feel for the changes since it was a short ride and didn't even get out of 4th gear. But the throttle responsiveness was immediately evident. Not to mention that it's just dam fun to ride a bike with more throat 8)

Last step is to add a Thunder Air Kit. I ordered the round fluted kit (as previously suggested by lonestar - thank you again!) since I don't want the air kit to seriously get in the way of my leg and foot position. The air kit should be here Wednesday, and I'll blog again when it's on.

At that point, I'll be hunting around for a map that matches my specs as close as possible. Next Spring, I'll take a ride to throw it all on a Dyno to get a custom map dialed in. For what's left of this riding season, I'll be happy with the changes I've made. Thanks to all who helped with my research and provided feedback. Much appreciated everyone!

 

[lonestar]

custom map

Ken,
Glad to hear that you like your propipe. Sometimes it feels like going out on a limb by suggesting mods to other peoples bikes because we all have different tastes. Once you get your thunder air kit let me know. If you are interested I will make you a great deal on a copy of my custom map, I will be willing to send it to you to try it if you would like. My bike is an 02 model classic fi . We have the exact same mods so this map should be perfect for your bike. It made all the differance in the world on my bike! Reply if interested and I'll get back to you.
Lonestar

 

[Ken]

That would be great, lonestar. Appreciate the offer. How was it created? With dyno or by trial and error?

EDIT: Answered my own question. You had a custom done with dyno on the assist. Yeah, I'd LOVE to check out that map 8)

 

[bikeaholic]

re

great setup on that bikes - congrats :wink:

 

[hawgklr]

Exhaust, etc...

Heh guys, first-time poster...could I interject?
First off the V&H pipes either long shots or straight shots, come with a handy-dandy chrome "wrap" that hides the discolored pipe underneath...SS is nice, but Oh the $$$. The bonus is they sound better than anything else on the market...F the noise!
Secondly, After my bone-head dealer installed my PCIII at 1,000 miles I noticed an immediate improvement in shifting/clutch action. Whereas I used to have to feather the clutch a tad while gassing away from a stop and then making the 2nd gear shift was "clunky" due to engine revs dropping off more rapidly or ECM doing something to save the environment) I noticed the PCIII at the stock setting eliminated this snafu!
2,000 miles (and 10 months later) I'd just started out for a 500 mile shake-down cruise when the bike started misfiring and backfiring badly...110 miles from home (and help) I drained the fuel thinking the last fuel stop was bad...Refilled...same thing!
Called my BONE HEAD dealership and discussed it with them...They said bring it in...and "We'll take a look at it..." Two days later and $129 lighter the service mgr. handed me my PCIII and said "She's toast man...see it all the time!" Grumbling and pissed I drove for home with the "clunky" trans and poor performance...Called PC and sent it in, discouraged.
PC actually called me 7 days later and said "Uh, seems the harness is damaged by poor installation...the brain is okay." PC sent the (out of warranty) PCIII back to me repaired with a letter of explanation at NO COST!
Now, to tackle the dealer! Recent developments had the dealer bought out by foreign-nationals. I'd never dealt with them up to this point and decided to remain calm...I collared the service mgr. and explained the problem and
asked it be resolved...A Itlalian-accented fella around 30 speaking very broken English, explained he would reinstall the unit free...but would not remap the unit or warranty the job...Nor would they (he) refund my $196. installation or $129 de-installation charges.
Needless to say, I'll NEVER return to them. Lesson learned. I used to wrench on my stuff and got too busy with the business operations of my company...From now on I do the work or it doesn't get done!

When dealing with Motorcycle Dealerships on the PCIII...Make sure they're on PC's list of authorized "trained" dealerships!

 

[bikeaholic]

re

well said :wink:

 

[Spok]

welcome hawgklr. If your first post is any signal, you will be most welcome here.

 

[Ken]

Good advice indeed. Glad I did the mod work myself now :shock:

My air kit came in today lonestar! woohoo! Can't wait for the weekend so I can put that sucker on 8)

 

[lonestar]

air kit

Ken,
Glad to hear your airkit arrived, you will love the sound of this thing sucking air........you can really hear it! Send me a PM with your home adress and I will make a floppy disk of my map for you, If you are happy with it I would like to get $50.00 bucks for it. I paid over $200.00 for it and feel that this is a fair price. If it does not work for you I will trust you to destroy the disk. It would be nice to be able to help you out with a really great map and recoup a little of my $ on mods also. If this is agreeable let me know.
Lonestar

 

[1RAASTA]

Good guys with great knowledge and dialect make all of the debates fun. MABEY WE SHOULD BE THE ONES RUNNING THIS COUNTRY, (ALL CRUISERS INTO OFFICE). First on the ballet would be an autobahn in every state. Yes I am wakeing up now!!!! THX. GENTS.

 

[lonestar]

custom map

Ken,
I just got home from the post office, sent you a floppy disk with my custom map and a graph file that shows hp/torque before and after the mods we have made on our bikes. I called Johnny Cheese today and he said that you should have no trouble loading the map with the software that came with your power commander, just follow the instructions. If you run into a problem you can go online to powercommander.com or call for assistance. The postmaster said you should receive this package Monday or Tuesday as it was sent first class mail. I'm really anxious to hear how it all works out for you! My address and phone number are included in the letter.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Lonestar