It's not worth having a dyno tune done for Stage 1. You can do everything yourself and have a better running bike than stock. You need all the stuff from Stage 1 to get to Stage 2, and Stage 2 is a much much better than stock, but it will cost more money.
I would do Slip Ons only and save the money, unless you know you are going to end up with Stage 2 in the long run
I have asked in other threads, suggestions on slipons? I am not interested in Street Canons. S&S have decent reviews, RC's are good but I have yet to hear anything on an M8, stock head pipe. If you stopped at adding slipons and are happy with sound/performance, which ones did you install? Not looking to redline the Low or travel 100 mph either.
I've been considering going on to stage 1. I currently have RCX 4.5 slipons and they sound good enough for my taste. They have a nice low rumble just a bit louder than stock at idle and a decent bark when you hit the throttle but quiet a bit at cruising speed so they aren't intrusive, you can talk to a passenger and hear the radio just fine.
I'm not sure what to go with for A/C. I don't really the like the look of the heavy breather, the stock one looks ok to me. I also want something that works well in the rain without needing to carry around some kind of sock for it. I live in Ohio so I ride in the rain quite a bit...lol.
The difference between a stage 2 and a stage 1 is a cam and pushrods. That's about $700 if you do it yourself, $1400 having it done. For the coin, you'd be better off going with a stage 2 for the significant difference.
You won't notice a drop of performance increase with just a stage 1, but you will have the majority of the expense paid for to perform the stage 2.
Wasn't satisfied with Stage 1. Stage 2 still isn't all that great, but I'm running all SE parts as I don't want to void my warranty. I am currently riding about 80 miles every day, sans when I need my truck for something, so I want to be covered in the event the dreaded first model year issues strike.
The difference between a stage 2 and a stage 1 is a cam and pushrods. That's about $700 if you do it yourself, $1400 having it done. For the coin, you'd be better off going with a stage 2 for the significant difference.
You won't notice a drop of performance increase with just a stage 1, but you will have the majority of the expense paid for to perform the stage 2.
Just my 2 cents
That is what I've said all along as well, the M8 runs so well as it is, the Stage 1 just doesn't make hardly any difference over stock. We do have one member that had some special "top fuel expert" tune his bike with the SE tuner and swears it's a lot better with just Stage 1, getting close to Stage 2 dyno numbers, but his Dyno sheet shows he ended up practically identical to HD's published numbers (you can do that yourself without a "top fuel expert")
I have the Street Cannons, they sound good to me, but they took several thousand miles to break in, then they started sounding louder when getting on it. I also stayed with the stock AC with the SE upgrade, I like the look of it and don't have to worry about the rain.
I ran the RCX's, they have a great sound! I thought I gave up a little mid range torque, but that was just my personal opinion, no dyno sheet to back that up. The S&S MK45's and the Jackpot High Rollers are on my short list of slip ons to try
I was going to wait for the "real" stage one not Harley's. This is my sixth Harley and have always upgraded. While in Sturgis and at a weak moment I had the V&H people do Power duels. (Cat Delete), slip ons , air and FP3. I know warranty is toast but you only live once. It was a big improvement from stock. I did not do an Auto Tune because V&H did the complete install with their program. Two days ago I did the Auto Tune and I could not believe the increase in power it was like a different bike again. A lot less heat and tons more power very happy.
10-26-2017, 11:12 AM
