Hello everyone. I am a little bit of a new rider. Just bought a 2005 Sportster XL1200C with about 26k miles on it about 8 months ago. I'm looking to do some upgrades to my bike. Nothing too major and hopefully not too expensive for me. I started by ordering a set of Vance and Hines Short Shots because I really love the way they look. They also sound great on a friends Sportster '72. Anyhow, while researching the installation of the short shots, I read about the o2 sensors that need to be removed from the existing exhaust and put on the new short shots. Well, my exhaust doesn't have any o2 sensors on either pipe. Is this normal? I'm a little confused. I don't even see a spot where you could put them if I did have them. Forgive me but I'm new at all of this and I may not have given enough info. Any help would be appreciated. Many more questions to come...

 

Congrats on the bike! And I'm pretty sure, just double check, but 02 sensors are for fuel injected models. Anything carbureted, '06 and earlier, won't have the sensors.

 

Yup! What he said ^^^^ 04-06 xl1200 use crank sensor, map sensor and ignition module. But no o2 sensors. That didn't start till 07'

The 06 has a different tranny than the 04-05 and the 05-06 use 1in axles

Other than that the 04-06 1200 had the best heads ever put on a sportster... They are straight from the buell XB

 

As stated above, you don't have nor need O2 sensors. If your new pipes have sensor holes then you simply need blanking plugs, to fill them. Better still would be to swap them for a set without O2 holes.

Having said that I have a set of pipes on my old carb Glide that have O2 holes, because with a modified bike my dyno shop uses them to set up the engine. So if you have long term plans to modify your bike, the O2 blanks may be useful later on.

 

Well that explains everything. I'll double check that. Thanks alot!

 

Thanks for the quick responses! It feels good knowing I have somewhere to turn for answers. Much appreciated.

 

Here's my sporty now...

 

Man, I used to have that exact bike, just with saddlebags and a different seat. Had a lot of happy miles on her before she was totaled. If yours has 26k, keep an eye on the clutch. Sportsters are known for the brass rivets in the spring plate deteriorating around 25k-30k.

 

Thank you. I'll look into that for sure..