Been thinking about a 2010 Ultra or Streetglide but just read a couple of different posts talking about the catalyst in all of the 2010 headpipes. Can these be easily removed?

 

dyno testing on '09's showed no performance difference between bikes with the cats and those without until modifications were beyond stage 1. for info on removing the cats search fullsac.

 

Here's what Jamie at Fuel Moto said in another post about the 2010 cats.

"All 2010 touring models now have a catalyst in the headpipes for all 50 states, I can already note that this headpipe is VERY hot compared to the 09. There are also heated O2 sensors which are now located in the lower collector just before the catalyst. These new sensors are not only inconvieniently placed, they are also very small at 12MM compared to the 09-earlier 18MM sensor boss."

I'm no rocket surgeon, but more heat can't be a good thing. Don't know if they can be removed or abated without any damage to the headpipes.

 

Why can't you change the pipes?
Marsh

 

good question

 

cut the pipe open and remove the catalyst, then re-weld. Pretty straight forward. Best part is the heat shield will hide the weld.

Adam

 

I wouldn't let a cat deter me from buying a new bike

 

Yes, all of the touring bikes have catalysts in the collector. From the testing we have done so far on our 2010 bike the exhaust system runs over 100 degrees hotter at the collector over our 2009 bike. This is a problem, and lets just say we will have an excellent alternative this that will be released with the rest of our new products the end of the month.

 

It depends on your skill level. If you remove the pipes and look at the section which is oval behind where the 2 pipes come together, that is where the cat is located. You can actually see the area with the pipes on the bike. Anyway it is between the 2 into 1 area and in front of the cross over tube.

Remove the pipes from the bike
cut the oval section out on the factory weld marks
Using a drill, gut out the cat
Following with a chisel and files, smooth the area out
Weld the sections back together and reinstall the pipes
Total time if you know how to weld = 3 hours
If you can't weld do the rest then have someone weld them for you. Worse case it will cost you a few bucks for the welding.

 

As hot as these bike were already, it is hard to understand why Harley would do something that added 100 degrees to the problem. This dampens my enthusiasm toward my still planned purchase. It looks like I can count on several $hundred extras for heat management (fuel management, pipes, etc.) on my Ultra Limited 103. Maybe the thought was most folks make these changes anyway but I was hoping to avoid that by getting the extra power/torque by stepping up to the Limited 103 and leaving it stock.