In order to reduce the r/s heat a bit I decided to swap my '09 California cat equipped header with a '09 49 state header without the cat. I am also running vented lowers. There are a couple of things I ran into that as a novice would have been good to know in advance so I thought I would pass them on.

The exhaust flange gaskets supplied for my bike are quite long and a bear to install in the head. My dealer recommended a couple of much thinner ones that are easier to install and are supposed to work as well. I took him at his word and used the thinner ones which were very easily installed. The only problem was that they didn't work. At all! After reassembling the whole shootin' match I started it up only to have both flanges leaking like a sieve. I pulled the whole think apart again only to find that the ends of the header pipe hardly touched the gaskets at all. On my bike it seems that the pipe bottoms on the head before ever reaching the gaskets. Back to the dealer to get two new ones with the right part# this time. They are a definite bear to get into the port but with a good dose of WD40 and a whole lot of patience they went in. The system sealed fine this time.

The exhaust flange itself pushes against a split retaining ring which in turn pushes the header pipe into the port. Not having any idea what the rings originally looked like I reused them. Mine were beveled after having formed themselves around the header. Little did I know that they are flat to begin with In any case, one of them was so twisted that it ended up keeping one of the flanges from sealing. I brought them to the counterman and he took one look at them and gave me two new ones. Live and learn I guess. Anyway, if your rings aren't pretty flat its probably a good idea to just replace them. They only cost a couple of dollars.

The entire process of replacing the header is actually no big deal and can be done in about an hour or so.

The kicker was that the amount of heat reduction when moving is not noticeably improved without the cat. Its probably better when you're sitting in traffic but I didn't get to experience that. I'll see how it is when the weather heats up again. If you decide to pull your cat don't expect miracles

Marc

 

How much did that header cost if you bought it at the dealer?

 

Zanotti's $318.91.

 

Or watch HD forums classifieds. I sold mine here for $125. They pop up from time to time.

If you have some nice slip-ons, like Rineharts, the sound of the exhaust is greatly improved. Bassier, louder, yeah!!!

 

Wow, great info Marc! Really appreciate it. I have been considering doing this for my bike, but you may have changed my mind. I was under the impression that the non-cat headers would cool the bike considerable. Especially after reading what FuelMoto says about the 2010 cat models increasing headpipe temps by several hundred degrees.

Thanks again.

 

Thx! Putting on notification

 

As I remember it Jamie quoted 150 F difference between the non-cat and cat equipped bikes. This is obviously measured while sitting still. The cat is back under the transmission. When you're moving the airflow carries the heat out the back. The heat I feel when moving is around my ankle and calf which is upstream from the cat so probably not effected by it much. When you're stuck in traffic I'm sure the cat contributes quite a bit to the discomfort since the heat has nowhere to go but up towards your body. I still think its worthwhile to get rid of the cat even if it only helps in traffic during the summer. The cost of a used one is not much and its easy to change out. The only bummer would be if the state starts smog checking bikes Of course you could always put the cat header back as compared to a lot of guys who drill the cat out and would have to buy a whole new cat equipped header if the need happen to arise.

Marc

 

Yup, the Screaming Eagle exhaust gaskets SUCK!! Been there, done that. The reason those that like them do so is because of the decreased possiblility of them "squishing" and obstructing the exhaust port, however, when the OEM exhaust gasket is placed properly, it is still unlikely for this obstruction to take place PLUS you get a better seal.

Lesson learned.

 

What he said

 

Yep, but those of us not in CA don't have to worry about that since there are no emissions control requirements on bikes in our states. At least not in mine, so I saved a few hundred by just drilling mine out and it runs great and cooler now.