First off, understand that I am not a certified mechanic. Instead, I am an average Joe with an eye for quality, and I take pride in my work. I am also willing to pay extra for quality, and when I pay good money, I expect quality.

So, with that being said, my review of the S&S Teardrop Kit on my 2013 Sportster 72!

First off, the instructions are junk. Not even applicable to my model, even though they claim it will fit. Toss out the instructions, as they will be of no use. Two pages of "home photo copied" bad instructions and even worse pics. FAIL S&S.

OK... My Sportster has a bracket that runs from cylinder to cylinder, and in the center of this bracket is bolted the throttle body. Should I remove this bracket? Should it stay? The instructions don't say! Either way, the bracket has to come off. S&S FAIL! Only when I installed the rest of the kit, did I realize that the supplied brackets would have to be bent further than I would like to bend them, should I keep the stock inter-cylinder bracket.

So! Found out the bracket should go... Now, time for the breather hoses and clips! But wait! The hose clamps S&S supplied wouldn't actually clamp the hose! They were too big, and slipped down! S&S FAIL! And on the adapter end, they provided Zip Ties to clamp the hose! S&S FAIL! Zip ties? You know how much I paid for this kit?

So... I tried to compress the hose clamps with pliers, so they would actually hold the breather hose on. It snapped with very little force. No big deal, since I had to go down to the store anyhow to replace the included zip ties with proper hose clamps for the other ends also. S&S FAIL!

That problem is now solved. I should also mention that I have NEVER seen such shitty quality formed rubber hoses in my life. If they didn't need to be formed in a certain way to work, they would have gone right in the garbage. I still don't trust them to stand up to riding and heat, and will toss them eventually. S&S FAIL.

Now the brackets. They are meant to "support" the backing plate. What a joke. The instructions said to shim 'em up. I had to bend it back so the backplate could actually form a seal onto the adapter. I feel bad for people that think their systems are sealed if they follow the directions. I can assure you the housing is NOT sealed if you do not bend back the mounting bracket. S&S FAIL!

Now for the good news? It looks good, and does come with what looks like a K&N. However, even my local Indy is stymied as to what the K&N replacement filter would be, since it doesn't match up with any other existing S&S filters.

 

Either way, the installation is a "one size fits all," which usually ends up fitting nothing properly.

This kit should not be advertised as a "bolt on" for new Sportsters, as it is not. The cheap hardware also leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The fact that I had to borrow a vehicle to get some 99 cent hose clamps to replace the **** from S&S is a joke.

It looks nice from the outside... S&S, fix up your **** now, or don't cry when others soak up market share, and you're wondering why nobody is purchasing your slapped together junk.

 

Damn. That's bad news as I love the look of that AC. Thanks for the honest appraisal though.