Well after 5k miles of totally stock riding on my 17 RGS, I bought the SE Street Tuner, SE breather and a set of Rinehart Motopro 45 slip ons from the dealer all at 30% off Friday. It's the longest I've ridden any bike I've owned without at least slip on mufflers by now. I couldn't resist the huge discount, particularly on the Rineharts. I have absolutely loved the stock performance, quietness of the motors top end and smooth fueling with the stock tune of this bike, with the only complaint being it gets a bit flat at about 3500rpm, so hoping everything with the stage 1 and Rineharts just gets better still.
I did go back and forth for weeks regarding the 4" vs 4.5" Rineharts. At end of the day I ended up thinking the 4.5's had more of the sound I was after and think the big fat look and new 4.5 end caps look great. I'm hoping they perform.

 

Given the overwhelming popularity of this thread, I thought I would update it
I installed the Rineharts Sunday and have about 100 miles on these slip ons. At start up I was very impressed. They sound very nice and rich at idle. Going through the gears and at 70-80 mph cruise they emit a very deep bass with no rasp whatsoever. I'm not sure that is the sound I was going for. I'm also not sure, and mind you, this is without the stage 1 I have/had planned, but while nothing significant I think I detect a bit of torque loss. I'm honestly not sure but that's my sense. The sheer weight of these monsters could have something to do with it at 26 lbs.
They look stunning and absolutely are top quality in finish.
I'll admit that I never minded and actually thought the stockers sounded pretty decent. I absolutely can attest they perform very very well. That said, I'll do another 100 miles and see if it's a matter of getting used to the new sound and feel before deciding if go back to the stock pipes and forgo the stage 1 plans for now.
Obviously the other option is to go forward with the download and breather and see if that addresses my perceived slight sluggishness. Last thing and not sure here either but I may have seen a dip in gas mileage already.
I'll know in a week or so if these go up for sale.

 

I would recommend going to the stage 1 upgrade. Not sure I noticed any loss of power when I got my slip ons installled, but I only rode the bike about a week stock.

When I did the stage 1, I did initially noticed a bit of a loss. Did a couple of auto tunes with the SE tuner and that seemed to clear it up.

Also, the more miles I put on the stage 1, the better it seemed to run and sound.

As far as sound, you wont get that "harley sound" you might be looking for without at least a good cam upgrade along with better, cat-less headers.

 

Thanks but see there is the problem for me. I would never expect an "upgrade" such as stage 1 to ever be associated with any noticeable loss of power, pre auto tune or not. My reference point at 4500 mikes on the stock pipes/tune. Is pretty solid. I also am not looking for the "Harley sound" on the M8. On previous Harley's ive had Thunderheaders, True Duals, D&D Fatcat and various slip ons, not to mention ported heads, displacement bumps and cams. The difference was most of those 88 or 96" motors needed those upgrades for my taste. The M8 really doesn't. In fact the bar is raised very high for real over the very nice stock configuration. I think after several built Harley'smy instinct to "mess with it" took over. I really would be happy with the stock performance with better looking mufflers and a tad richer sound vs the deep bass the motopros provide.

 

Just giving you what I experienced with the stage 1 upgrade, which I thought you said you were getting ready to do.

Perhaps, since the SE tuner is so limited and basically all you can do initially is load a canned map regardless of which slip ons you're using, then there lies some little nuances in how well the stage 1 performs initially with said canned map. Maybe it was just me and I did something wrong that caused me to notice a bit of loss in power. Either way, now the bike runs really well for the investment of the stage 1 upgrade. Better than stock I'd say. No difference in sound since I already had the slip ons on well before I did the stage 1.

 

I agree with you on liking the stock exhaust on the M8, just wish it had a "Little" more sound. I've also had Thunderheaders, new head pipes and slip ons, etc. on my other bikes, but decided to go with just Street Cannon slip ons on this one to see if I can get just a little more sound.

 

I understand and thanks for the feedback. I didn't intend to sound arguemenative. I've just been down this road many times and wrestled with any changes to the M8 so much that I think I'm being picky. One thing for sure, the Rineharts are gorgeous pipes with a deep baritone and I could possibly be just adjusting to the increased sound while riding. I've just never noticed the difference as much with other bikes and configurations. Maybe I'm just getting old and not as tolerant for changes on something that works, subtle or otherwise

 

Interesting Glock. Exactly what I really wanted...a little more sound....with the the same crisp brijsk performance of the stock pipes. I strongly considered the cannons for the same reasons as you. Did you already get them or are you getting them?

 

I've had the 4.5 SE cannons on my 17SGS for 6000 miles now. Love the sound and no low end torque loss.
Rode the bike stock a while when I 1st got it and it felt strong. Went with V&H 4.5 Titans and lost some torque while not gaining any more sound over stock.
I liked the look of the SE cannons with the slash tips so I went for it.
Bike runs strong and the sound was is just what I wanted.

 

I went with the Tab performance 4" with zombie baffles....they arrive this week and I can't wait. Had rineharts on my 09 rk . So I am really looking forward to hearing these pipes in person.