I had mine set up like that (big shots staggered, not big radius) for a little over a year and never had any problems. Just don't change the air intake without a fuel controller.

 

Have 15,000 miles of V&H big radius 2-2 and no controller etc. In fact when I bought the bike prior to buying pipes I asked 3 different head mechs at 3 different dealers in 2 different provinces and all said "if pipes only, no worries, if doing air filter, need a tuner" . And not a problem to speak of to this point, that being said I will be completing the filter/tuner in a few weeks as funds have become available lol

 

Craig, I appreciate you giving your opinion and trying to help, that is why I posted in the first place, and again, let me apologize for sounding pissed. I do appreciate the comments.

You said don't waste money on the dealer download. I now live in Virginia Beach and there are 3 HD stores near me. I have only been to two of them but both of them are the 2 of the 3 that have told me I'm damaging the engine. Bayside is supposed to be ranked 4th in the nation for HD dealers (not sure what they are 4th in, just saw the sign yesterday) and I have had a lot of luck there, but they advertise one thing sometimes then do something different, I'll give an example; I was told by one service writer that military gets 10% off on mondays of the entire ticket so i scheduled a service and then that particular writer wasn't there and the one i was left to deal with told me it was only off the price of parts and fluids, not labor.........10% off was the whole reason i went to them!!! They have told me they prefer the Power Commander, that they can get more out of it, not to waste money on the HD tuner, but I have also talked to other dealers that say the exact opposite, what are your thoughts on that, I mean, should I go with a Power Commander or HD Tuner or possibly Vance and Hines Fuel Pack?

There is another shop in town that has told me it would run about 250 dollars less than going to the dealer doing a power commander, I don't know if he is a "Certified Harley Mechanic" or not......I haven't heard anything bad about him and in fact the Dealer I mentioned above told me he was pretty good, that they haven't had any issues with people bringing in their bikes because of him.......

I need to stop rambling, maybe when i get to work, if noone has posted, I'll edit this to make more sense........

Thanks again to all for the help!!!

 

How many miles in on it in that time frame?? I've already got over 6000 miles on mine....

 

Your dealers said the exact same thing that my original dealer said, that was why I didn't buy the breather and stuff then.......

 

You can ask 50 people and I am sure you will get different responses from them. I was told you need to map it becasue you would get some backfire and stuff if you do not tune it. So, my advice to you is do whatever will give you peace of mind. If you are too worried about damaging something, go and get the tuner and A/C. If you feel comfortable with just the pipes, just keep riding and enjoy.

 

Well I don't feel comfortable with either now, I've been told by the local dealer that because it has vance and hines pipes on it that it would not be covered under warranty. I BOUGHT IT FROM THE DEALER LIKE THIS! I'm just frustrated with the whole thing.

 

I put slipons on my 2010 streetbob and 2010 wideglide and was told the same thing - have to have stage I - from 2 dealers in my area. I, like you, asked around on the forum for info. One guy - don't remember who - said something that just made sense. If you're willing to spend close to $20,000 on a bike, it's worth it to do the whole stage I. I called fuelmoto and it didn't even cost $1000 to do both bikes. Since you don't need pipes, Jamie will set you and your bike will be a monster and I believe - don't quote me - I paid around $359 for SE air cleaner, black backing plate(extra) and EFI. They were at my door in days and put on my bikes w/in minutes. Call them. They're worth the time and the $ can't be beat.
Sorry for the unpopular opinion but that is why we all use this forum - different opins from all over the globe.

 

the 2007 and 2008 bikes will adjust themselves a little because of the efi system with the 02 sensors.you can go to american iron or nightrider they will both tell you that if you only due minor modifacations.such as air or pipes that the ecu will adjust itself.

 

It's funny you should say that. My dealer told me that Vance and Hines was the only aftermarket exhaust that would NOT void the warranty. That Dynajet was the only aftermarket programmer that would NOT void the warranty. But that is probably because they are a dealer for both of them. The fact is you are going to get different stories wherever you go.