HD pipes and a loss of power

[Moakster]

Well I got my Road King pipes installed. From the looks of them from the inlet side they are both drilled for stage one. My question is the bike has seemed to have lost a little power and lost acceleration now. Almost like the pipes were clogged up. Also the bike was running smooth as silk before the install and now has a vibration. The HD pipes sound great and the vibration seems to be from the pipes. Is this loss of power and the vibration normal when you change to HD pipes?

I had the carbs synced two weeks ago and she was running great.

This is the first time I have tried this slip-on swap and don't know what to expect.

 

Moakster:confused24:

[Mean Dog]

I installed the slant cut HD pipes off of a HD Ultra Classic that had all the baffles removed. If you looked through the mufflers you saw a 2" hole all the way through. I noticed no difference in power or fuel mileage. All I gained was the better look on the lines of the saddle bags and the sound of a v-8 motor.

 

 

 

Dog

[Moakster]

Yours did not feel like it lost some omph!! when accelerating or vibration?

[Mean Dog]

Yours did not feel like it lost some omph!! when accelerating or vibration?

 

No Bill I did not notice any difference at all. I have a 2006 Midnight RSV and like I said it just raised the noise level out the pipes and that is it! I did nothing to the carbs other than sync them and it needed that anyway!

 

Dog

[royalstarjac]

I installed the RK pipes on my 07 over the weekend. Took it out last night. I didn't notice any power loss. I drilled the baffles before installing them.

 

I think they are just about as loud as I would want on a touring bike. They definitely sound better at idle.-Jack

[RoadKill]

I noticed no change in power after the switch either. Smooth and Quick, just like always, but sounds a whole lot better.

[jcain]

Moakster,

What year Road King did the pipes come off of? There were certain later model years that had catalytic converters in them. I think they started with the 2006 and forward but it may have been earlier.

 

I have the slash cuts on my '03 and other than the sound my bike is just as it was. I punched the baffles right out of them so I could seen straight through muffler. I think I get a bit better mileage than I used to but no vibration or lack of acceleration.

 

Cheers,

John

[Bugsplat]

Need some help?

 

2006 RSV

 

I installed a set of RK mufflers that were dealer take off's from a '04' Roadking.

Prior to the cat. being added, I think? Anyway, I drilled out the rear most baffle plate with a 3/8" bit and really can not tell any difference from the stock pipes???

What drill bit is being used and should I be able to see all the way through the muffler when it is opened up correctly to get that low rumble?

Thanks for the help!

 

Bugsplat:confused24:

[Black Ice]

Moakster,

What year Road King did the pipes come off of? There were certain later model years that had catalytic converters in them. I think they started with the 2006 and forward but it may have been earlier.

 

 

 

 

The Catalytic converter started in 05. I have a set of those from a RK and did not punch out the Cat. No loss of power or vibration for me. The Cat does not restrict the pipes to any significant extent.

[Moakster]

OK, well I guess I must have a set that are stopped up or something as I definitely feel a loss of power with these pipes. It's not my imagination. Guess I'll look for another set. Too bad, these looked great. I believe they came off a 2003 Road King.

 

Moakster

[royalstarjac]

Need some help?

 

2006 RSV

 

I installed a set of RK mufflers that were dealer take off's from a '04' Roadking.

Prior to the cat. being added, I think? Anyway, I drilled out the rear most baffle plate with a 3/8" bit and really can not tell any difference from the stock pipes???

What drill bit is being used and should I be able to see all the way through the muffler when it is opened up correctly to get that low rumble?

Thanks for the help!

 

Bugsplat:confused24:

 

Most people drill out the baffle on the inlet end with (4) 1/2 inch holes. Thats what I did.-Jack

[Moakster]

The 03 pipes were stopped up. Went and got another set from Harley that came off an 05 Road King. Put them on and got my power back. They have a low rumble when idling but will really bark when you hit them hard. The bike will pull all the way to the rev limiter again. No vibration now, smooth as silk except when you get on them. I took the 03 and bounced them on their end and a ton of rust fell out. I could hear the stuff rattling around inside the pipe. Quess it pays to keep trying.

 

Moakster:cool10:

[ricky lopckhart]

I have used two different sets on my 06 Venture. One set that is drilled out on the inlet which I run most of the time and a set that is drilled out on both ends. I have not noticed any lost of power or mpg. They sure did improve the sound.

[Moakster]

OK here goes, my eating crow. From the start of this thread I was inquiring if anyone had a power loss from installing HD pipes on their RSV. Everyone was telling me that they experienced no loss of power just better sound. I kept changing pipes and still a loss of power and loss of top end. I found a set that seemed to bring my power back that came off a 05 HD Road King. Thought the problem was solved. Wrong. Well here is the tale of the tape so to speak. Changing pipes was not the only thing I changed. I also at this time added a set of the Yamaha Billet Carburetor Covers. Those who have installed these no where I'm going with this.

 

The install requires you to remove two bolts from your carb diaphragm cover to use in the installation and replace them with the supplied bolts. There are two shims that fit into the diaphragm holes to secure the covers.

 

Well....... You really should make sure that the shims are seated in the holes...... If you don't you create a huge opening for air to enter the carb from the outside, bypassing the air filter. The result is that when you twist the throttle full you create a vacuum in the carbs and the diaphragm gets sucked into the carb from the rush of the outside air.

 

The tech working on my bike said that when the diaphragms got sucked in, I was then only getting fuel from two carbs instead of four to the cylinders.

 

It turned out to be an easy fix. Re seat the diaphragms and realign the shims. Problem solved.

Now I wont say who installed the carb covers or who might of forgot to check the diaphragm covers to make sure that they were tight. He will here from me ( I did it) later on this.

 

Just as a side note... When I was trying to find out what was wrong with the power I took my bike up to 95MPH where it quit accelerating. Now think on that....... A V4 that will do 95MPH on two carbs into 4 cylinders and still be as fast as a Harley. :>)

 

Moakster

[BradT]

Glad you got it figured out.

 

Brad

[Moakster]

Man it had me baffled for a while. What broke the ice was I had it Dynoed and it came out to 43HP. Way wrong should be around 70HP. That got them thinking about the horse power and gas vs air mixture.

 

Moakster

[DragonRider]

Go ahead and do a 2nd and 3rd stage drill on the bafflew when you remove them and slip them back on and see what happens, you have nothing to loose in doing this except a few minutes to drill them..................Then if that doesnt work................get another set. I put some 03 RK's on my first gen, without drilling them and really like the sound I got out of them. Now that I have my new V Star1300, I might just do a stage 1 dril of the baffles when I take her apart for a makeover, the 1st Gen, that is..........:whistling:

 

 

 

OK, well I guess I must have a set that are stopped up or something as I definitely feel a loss of power with these pipes. It's not my imagination. Guess I'll look for another set. Too bad, these looked great. I believe they came off a 2003 Road King.

 

Moakster