Been thinking about doing a stage one on my 04 Ultra. Not trying to spend any more than necessary to achieve a good result. Suggestions?

 

..... i had similar motivations and went straight to the flea bay
.... got an aftermkt a/c, new, for $50
.... got a pair of SE pipes for $100 shipped
.... and one'a them vintage 'Stage 1 cartridges' for $25
........ installed all myself & had the dealer install the cartridge tune when I was in to have some other work done.
.... worked for me

 

What is a stage one cartridge?

 

Cartridge is basically a stage 1 download

 

allows you to change fuel injection

 

Air Cleaner, Pipes, Tuner (TTS, Power Vision or the like) and a good tune; canned tunes or a stage 1 download is ok, but a good tune really helps the performance & overall ride-ability of the bike. Do some research & find a good (dyno) tuner in your area & see which tuner they prefer; I didn't pay attention to your location, but good tuners are hard to find. You'll have a little change$ tied up in the tuner & the tune, but a good tuner can really do wonders while taking away the heat, improving the mileage & the performance. By the way, watch out, once you start, the HP bug may bite you, then things get pricey!

 

I forgot to ask, how many miles on the bike? Depending on this answer, have the cam tensioners/shoes been checked/replaced, not unusual to see failures between 35,000 & 50,000 miles and failures can be catastrophic! If you are in this window, the best bang for your buck would be to replace the tensioners/shoes (you should be able to find someone to do the cyco shoes only) & do a cam replacement while you are in the cam chest. While you are at it be sure to replace the cam bearings with full comp bearings, they're cheap insurance and it gets rid of the stock ones that are more prone to failure. Again, a competent tuner can help steer you in the right direction with the cam work if you are in the range I listed above; remember to be honest with them about your riding style, cam changes can get you the power in the range you need it in most if you convey your riding style properly. Either of the Tuners (programmers; TTS, Power Vision) will still be able to handle the cam swap too.

 

. The bike has 26 k on it. Tensioners have been checked, they look good. Just trying to find out what folks use on these older bikes.

 

Hey Cozz, went thru this a few years back, while deciding to keep my paid off 2004 Glide. I planned my "upgrade" a year out, replaced everything..... cams, plate, oil pump, etc...already had the true duals, AC, plus did the SE BB, while at it and had a great dyno with it....Air fuel ratio was perfect and those Andrews cams shine with giddy up power...Still smile when passing these newer Rushmore scooters. Now, you're on a budget will limit what hp/trq you can achieve. My 2cent, if you going to keep the bike, invest...Do it right the first time, change spring tensioners to hydraulics, either S&S or Andrews 21/26 cams, New pushrods, SE 95 kit, had my heads deck and check, and a good dyno will achieve the 100hp/trq club. You'll be amazed how these twinkies can easily pass by a stock CVO'S....Good luck.