Has anybody replaced their stock pipes without doing an FI remap? Does the bike still run okay? Is the dreaded "remap" an extremely costly procedure? Is the sky falling? (Okay, that last question was not in earnest, but the others are.)
I do not claim to be a mechanic, nor do I play one on TV, I just want to know the inside scoop on this subject.

 

I'm planning my Stage I right now, so I cant comment on how your bike might run without a remap, but my understanding from talking with a couple dealers is that if you put on HD accessories, they have EFI maps they'll download to your ECM without throwing the bike on a dyno and tuning it. A buddy did this on his fatboy and it runs great. I was quoted $150 from 2 seperate dealers for the download. The cost goes up dramatically if you buy a SERT / Power Commander / etc, and have to have dyno tuning.

 

I am no mechanic either but this is what I was told by an indy that worked at a dealership and is HD certified from MMI.&nbsp\\; He said that since the new EPA regulations that the new bikes are already running very lean.&nbsp\\; He said that just doing slip ons without changing the A/C and putting on a fuel control module would be asking for trouble down the road.&nbsp\\; Bike will run way to lean and eventually burn something up.

 

He recommends changing the A/C and putting on a fuel control module regardless of whether or not you change the pipes.&nbsp\\; Is this true, I have no idea.&nbsp\\; Made sense and he didn't have any real reason to B.S. me because I wasn't even talking about changing my pipes. His words were that he would be surprised to see a new bike that was left bone stock last past 20000 miles.&nbsp\\; Again I personally am not sure but he seemed to be.&nbsp\\; Hope that helps.

 

A remap is only necessary if you change out the stock AC for a high flow AC. If your only changing slipons, its not necessary. The aftermarket slipons will only change the sound. No performance gains without high flow AC and remap.