06 Road King Custom With Cracked Y Header
#1
06 Road King Custom With Cracked Y Header
I have a 2006 Road King Custom, and as I was riding today and thought my bike sounded a lot louder and crappier. I got off the bike and noticed that the Y exhaust pipe on the back cylinder was cracked, so I have a couple of questions.
First off, what kind of pipes are good replacements? I would like duals if money can support them, but as I am short on funds, are there any pipes that I can put on without having to get a tuner for the FI? I had originally planned on doing all this over the winter with a tuner, new pipes and possibly new air cleaner, but this is kinda unexpected. The mechanic I usually work with recommends Vance and Hines or Thunderheader, but will either of these work without a tuner? Can I retain stock mufflers with new pipes, or are they usually matched sets?
Secondly, I have a friend with an 08 Road Glide. He replaced his pipes and has the stock ones still. Being that his bike is a 96 and mine is an 88, will those pipes work until I can get some new ones in? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
First off, what kind of pipes are good replacements? I would like duals if money can support them, but as I am short on funds, are there any pipes that I can put on without having to get a tuner for the FI? I had originally planned on doing all this over the winter with a tuner, new pipes and possibly new air cleaner, but this is kinda unexpected. The mechanic I usually work with recommends Vance and Hines or Thunderheader, but will either of these work without a tuner? Can I retain stock mufflers with new pipes, or are they usually matched sets?
Secondly, I have a friend with an 08 Road Glide. He replaced his pipes and has the stock ones still. Being that his bike is a 96 and mine is an 88, will those pipes work until I can get some new ones in? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
#2
Cracked pipe
Hard to say about the pipes requiring a tuner. Some say you need one, some don't. I can say that a Y-pipe off of the '08 will fit your 88". I replaced my buddy's '03 pipe with my '07 pipe. His was cracked really bad. All you need is the plug for the o2 sensor and new gaskets.
Last edited by wink2206; 07-11-2010 at 10:04 AM.
#4
Hard to say about the pipes requiring a tuner. Some say you need one, some don't. I can say that a Y-pipe off of the '08 will fit your 88". I replaced my buddy's '03 pipe with my '07 pipe. His was cracked really bad. All you need is the plug for the o2 sensor and new gaskets.
#5
I have a 2006 Road King Custom, and as I was riding today and thought my bike sounded a lot louder and crappier. I got off the bike and noticed that the Y exhaust pipe on the back cylinder was cracked, so I have a couple of questions.
First off, what kind of pipes are good replacements? I would like duals if money can support them, but as I am short on funds, are there any pipes that I can put on without having to get a tuner for the FI? I had originally planned on doing all this over the winter with a tuner, new pipes and possibly new air cleaner, but this is kinda unexpected. The mechanic I usually work with recommends Vance and Hines or Thunderheader, but will either of these work without a tuner? Can I retain stock mufflers with new pipes, or are they usually matched sets?
Secondly, I have a friend with an 08 Road Glide. He replaced his pipes and has the stock ones still. Being that his bike is a 96 and mine is an 88, will those pipes work until I can get some new ones in? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
First off, what kind of pipes are good replacements? I would like duals if money can support them, but as I am short on funds, are there any pipes that I can put on without having to get a tuner for the FI? I had originally planned on doing all this over the winter with a tuner, new pipes and possibly new air cleaner, but this is kinda unexpected. The mechanic I usually work with recommends Vance and Hines or Thunderheader, but will either of these work without a tuner? Can I retain stock mufflers with new pipes, or are they usually matched sets?
Secondly, I have a friend with an 08 Road Glide. He replaced his pipes and has the stock ones still. Being that his bike is a 96 and mine is an 88, will those pipes work until I can get some new ones in? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
#6
Well, I started digging into it. The pipe not only cracked, it came out in two pieces. I took the pipes off the 08 Road Glide, plugged the hole for the O2 sensor with a bolt and got them up and running. it sounds and runs so much better now it's unbelievable. I have only had the bike a few months now, and I have a feeling that this was a problem when I got it that just got worse and worse over time.
So now that gives me some time to actually do the new pipes right. I had planned on getting a Power Commander or something of the sort when I got new exhaust. I will still do that over the winter and for now I can still spend all my money on riding it. :-)
So now that gives me some time to actually do the new pipes right. I had planned on getting a Power Commander or something of the sort when I got new exhaust. I will still do that over the winter and for now I can still spend all my money on riding it. :-)
#7
I had the fullsac conversion on my bike, and just eliminating the y-pipe made it sound so much better, I can't believe I waited as long as I did. If you go that way, you'll keep most of your stock head pipes, and if you buy the fullsac on ebay, they can be had for about $150. Harley Goodies now has a 24" straight heat shield for the right side, and you can have the whole thing done for not much more than 200 bucks.
Alternatively, you can watch the classifieds here on the forum, or on ebay and get a complete dual exhaust or 2-1 system for not a whole lot more than that if you get lucky.
Alternatively, you can watch the classifieds here on the forum, or on ebay and get a complete dual exhaust or 2-1 system for not a whole lot more than that if you get lucky.
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#8
#9
Happened again
Just an update to my earlier post. After replacing my buddy's pipe with the one from the '07, it has cracked again. I am thinking a motor mount is bad or something. The mounting bracket for the y-pipe attached to the bottom of the engine was cracked as well before the change. I welded that too. Just keep that in mind before changing to another y-pipe. I am sure that true duals will take care of that problem.