I live in northwest Indiana about 15 minutes from RUSH. I have the RUSH slipons with 2 inch baffles. I stopped in one day and spoke with them. (Very nice people) I spoke with the president (Lou) and he another gentlemen. I was informed that there was no need to do Stage 1 or power commander if your slip ons had 2 inch baffles or less. This is with the stock headers. If you go with a larger baffle you would need to make adjustments due to the lack of proper back pressure. Just my 2 cents.

 

speck,

you can save a lot of money by doing it yourself and not paying the 85. per hour labor charge to hd. if i read your first post right, it seems you have no fuel management except for the stage 1 download (which is still epa compliant)? if so, then yes, your bike will run hot, is it going to self destruct? i doubt it, but might be a little uncomfortable if you're stopped. (look into rjs originals heat shields, they work great and look good too)

there are quite a few folks who have purchased their bikes and have done absolutely nothing to them and enjoy the heck out of them. still others have just added slip ons, others further.... all the way up to those who just can't stand to leave an engine stock and have to bump it up to warp factor 10 (not that there's anything wrong with that lol) just different strokes for different folks. if you don't mind the heat (and you should know by now if you do in this la heat), then i suggest not worrying about it and just enjoy the ride. and remember, the dealer is not looking out for your interests, she is trying to make her next building payment!

next time your in the area, give a shout, we'll go have a beer and compare notes...

 

if u dont want to spend it ride it stock (but its not quet as fun).

 

You don't have to spend any more than what YOU think you need.
For me that was a Big bore kit 255 cams and Power comander. It got 42 mpg and had great power. It lasted 70k before was it was taken by a car.
So now I am starting over with 2000 Road Glide.
Tuna

 

mine the engine is bone stock and i'm quite happy with it. I can keep up with everyone in the group because we're not riding 100+mph. everything i'm doing to mine has been strictly cosmetic. i'd rather ride slow and look good....just my .02

 

A stock bike runs perfectly fine. Lots of guys leave 'em that way.

You can blame the relative quiet of the stock exhaust and the engine heat on the EPA. They mandate those things. At least the MOCO and the aftermarket provide "race" alternatives to change those things if you want. That's not possible with most other marques (which also run lean and quiet).

 

There are some beautiful metrics out there,might be a lot easier on the ticker.Some even look a little like a Harley,all you need to do is make believe you are hearing that unique sound only a Harley can make.

 

I bought my SG, put on Rush 1.75 slipon's. And ride! Just another day in Paradise!

 

I love my 08 Ultra. I did pick up a set of XIEDs to help with the heat as I sit in a lot of stop and go traffic and after 15 minutes the exhaust gets brutally hot. I then picked up a set of the original Scream'n Eagle pipes to make it sound like one of my old Harleys. Funny thing happened, I found it was too loud for the way I want to ride now, read cruising. I just put the stock pipes back on and am enjoying the rides much, much more. But that's just me.