^^^ Agree, I drilled mine out too. I didnt even take the pipe off the bike, in fact the bike held the pipe nice and steady for me!

Used a 1.25 spade drill bit, followed by a 1.5 inch spade drill bit attached to a 12 inch extension. Bosch drills from Home Depot. Worked great cost $30 for the drill bits and extension. I know I got it all too, I then used an angled piece of metal (tent stake) and moved it up and down the inside of the pipe and confirmed no resistance, just smoothly scraped up and down the inside of the pipe.
Bike runs GREAT, small reduction in heat, to me by far the best part was the really nice improvement to the "tone"/ sound of the exhaust.
I did put non adjustable XIEDs on, but in no way related to CAT removal vs I just wanted a little more heat reduction.

 

Its not possible to run a rod into a Rushmore bike to see if the CAT is there. You would have to unbolt and remove the right side muffler which no cop is going to do or would be authorized to do.

 

Based on your post, I think you would LOVE the sound of the stock OEM mufflers with the CAT removed.
I (and my wife) love the sound of the bike, stock with no CAT. Nice, deep, throaty but not loud at all, just more gusty, sounds great.
You can buy a set of OEM take offs anyplace and on ebay as so many people change out the mufflers.

 

So removing the cat reduced the low end torque??

 

Living in the desert, it is always hot. My 14 triglide just ate my right leg and foot up, and the wife was also catching a lot of heat. I had the dealer do a stage 1 with 4" round reinharts, still to hot, ran better but hot. After researching I decided to follow Kevin, at DK Customs Products, a HD Forum sponsor, and bought all parts from him. This is what I did to cool the trike down. Bought a takeoff header and cut open and removed the catt. Installed a Dual cool kit which relocates the oil filter to the underside of the passenger left floorboard, and added a 6 row jagg oil cooler inside the left lowers. Raised the gas tank 1 1/2" at front and 1/2" at the rear, lets the air flow under the tank and cool the heads. Removed the left side heat shield, that air has to go somewhere. Installed trike wind deflectors and put more air down on the engine and slow down the head buffing. Extended the rider floor boards 1", takes the foot away from the heat. I have ridden about 700 miles since all the mods and it is doing great. I can now ride without extra heat from the trike, the desert is always hot. The next thing is to add a tuner, should be next week. I do love the trike, especially after the mods. My 07 ultra classic was a heat beast, I did all kind of things to cool it down, still hot but a nice ride. Jim

 

Yes i know that. But as u know if theres no baffles. U can stick a rod down.
If they did u either got a ticket for too loud and a emission summons.

 

Alarmdoug, could you elaborate on some details how you did this please:
Did you remove the crossover pipe from the header?
Did the product come out from drilling, vacuum it out? Grab it with something? start the engine and blow it out?
Does the product come out as shavings, ribbons?
Did you remove the o2 sensors?
Did you run the smaller bit all the way through first and then "chip" away and then the larger bit all the way through?
I assume a 110v corded 3/8 drill?
did you do this on the floor or a full lift?
Any tips or suggestions I will thank you for!

 

I hear that with decatting there is a chance for O2 sensor cross talk. From what I am seeing here, not the case, but still hear some folks mention.

 

1. Yes, you have to remove the crossover pipe, its a must. As you drill a lot of shavings will come out of that opening.
2. Just like when you drill anything, the drill will push the shavings out. As I was about done, I started the bike to blow out anything left in the pipe and again, once I was finished, I started it again to make sure all shavings were out.
3. The CAT will come out in shavings and chunks.
4. No, I didnt remove the O2 sensors, but I most likely would recommend it, it is possible I guess if a large enough chuck was to move forward, it may be able to hit the sensors.
5. I used the 1.25 inch bit as much as possible the entire time, until I was sure I got everything possible with it. Once I was sure, I put the 1.5 inch on and finished it up to a nice clean finish.
6. I used a standard 110V black and decker drill, *L* a few decades old too.
7. Once I was all done with the 1.5 inch bit, I verified, over and over again, with an angled piece of metal, in this case a tent stake and scraped up and down the inside of the pipe to make sure I felt no resistance. I know I got it all.

Suggestions? Just take your time, its not a big deal if you dont rush. I did measure carefully and determined it was not possible to hit the O2 sensors but as an afterthought when I was done, I did think to myself that it maybe possible to hit the sensor with a chunk of the CAT if you get unlucky.
I also, I am pretty sure (but not 100%), used a torque wrench to tighten up the exhaust connections when I was all done. I pretty much use a torque wrench on everything with this bike.

Hope this helps ...
You will notice one photo with the drill bit next to the pipe, you would have to actually stick the end of the drill into the pipe to hit the O2 sensor, what I didnt think of at the time, it may be possible for a chunk to break off the CAT and move forward and hit the sensor. I have no idea but just letting you know, it was a thought after I finished. I didnt remove them.

















You got some nice riding up there, we go up to the Smokys every summer for the last 5 years, Maggie Valley, Tail, Robbinsville, Cherohala and lately, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. In Fact, back in 2014 while on vacation with our Vstar 1300 tourer we stopped by Maryville Smoky HD and fell in love the with RK, last day of vacation in the pouring rain we rode from Gatlinburg to Pigeon Forge Smoky Harley, left the VSTAR 1300 behind and Rode Home from Smoky Mountain Harley in Pigeon Forge on the new RK. Wow, what a memory, pouring rain, never on a Harley before, never rode the bike before, mountain roads, kept telling myself take it easy and we made it though, sun came out in SC and dried off by the time we got home, just about ... )

 

Alarmdoug, thanks for timely reply. I'm going to tackle this next rain weekend. I may PM you, down the road when I think of anything else.
My wife and I relocated here from Wisconsin 20+ years ago after riding our Honda's down here for several years before that. Haven't found a bad road to ride on yet. I bought my first Road King in 2005 from SMHD, and then a 2007 Ultra, then a VTX 1800, back to Harley in 2011 with a Heritage, now gone full circle back to a 2011 Road King I bought 3 weeks ago, with 2800 miles. Back on the FL, I feel at home. Good memory for you from back in 2014. Ride safe.