I just bought a new bike with a cat and I don't plan on spending a ton of money to remove it and re tune mine either. I really don't believe it will shorten the life of the motor any. The cat is just behind the motor under the trans. anyway so all the extra heat should be going to the rear and away from the bike except when idling. The 103 has an oil cooler to help dissapate engine heat too. This is just my non scientific real world oppinion.

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with leaving your bike stock and riding the crap out of it.

In stock form the bike is basically choked off and run lean to pass EPA emmission standards. Most will open the bike up with a free flowing air cleaner and a better flowing exhaust ( no cat ) and a tune. The bike will be less restricted and then will run cooler and have a little more horsepower.

It's all a matter of personal preference.

 

Yes leave it alone and ride it for at least a year. You change the pipes then the a/c then a tuner trying to get more power out of it then you ride it at the speed limit and cant hear for days after

 

I rode in 108* temps today in stop and go traffic for 15 miles like I do every day and the bike (with the cat) was flawless..

 

Don't worry about the heat, no big. I've got my stock Street Performance duals on my 2010 103 Stage II. I'll wave bye bye to the loud pipe crowd. Do what you want.

 

The catalyst pipe doesn't make the engine run hot, the O2 controlled lean AFR is what makes it run hot. The catalyst just retains the exhaust heat, thats how it works, it has to be super heated to function. The big chunk of super heated catalyst material in the pipe by your foot tends to "feel" hot. It sounds like you're happy with the performance of your stock configuration, so the only other reason to remove the catalyst headpipe is for your personal comfort. If the heat doesn't bother you, don't mess with it. Personnally I do everything I can to improve the comfort of my bike for long rides, but thats just my preference. You said you haven't ridden it long range yet, so you have not personally experienced the heat. Wait and see, it may not bother you enough to "fix" it. When you do decide its too hot, the cheapest way out is probably to swap out for the Fuel Moto head pipe. It will probably work fine without remapping if you aren't changing mufflers or air cleaner.

 

True, the cat and stock setup will not hurt your bike. But why would you want to ride a scooter that is so hot it is a pain? Thats like saying you don't need air conditioning in your house, it is hot but it wont hurt you. That is a bunch of bolonga. Get nsome pipes that allow the air to pass, get a air cleaner that breathes, run some full synthetic oil (mobil one, redline, amsoil) and your engine will run cooler, it will run better, and it will not cook your legs. Or if you want, since "it wont hurt anything" ride it hot and burn yourself up. It is a no brainer. 90% of all HD riders I doubt are wrong. It is not about if you "have to", its about doing what makes sense. Even though the engine can take it, runing that hot is a result of the EPA, not what makes sense. Go get the stage one.

 

I'm looking at just replacing the header pipe for now and keeping the stock mufflers. My ears ring enough to really want any more volume plus my neighbors will continue to like me at 5am

My main goal is heat reduction and not more power or noise...I would have kept my F4i if I wanted power

 

I cut, drilled, punched out the cat, and had the collector rewelded. Cost $20
Wrapped the rear cylinder pipe and the collector with 2 inch X 15 ft. header wrap. cost $14. on my 2010 103 Limited. Low budget fix, like we did in the old days.

 

James, Got pics of it 2010 103 limited with wrapped header pipes? Just want to see it.

The bike can take it as long as quality oil is in it, and with EITMS enabled will manage fine. It's the meat cooking on top of all that heat that matters.

I am in the middle of making the switch. Yea I wanted a little more rumble and really wanted to let my 103 be able to breathe. Last week, took my bike on a little road trip with the wife, and the heat off the thing is crazy. First thing to do if the heat bothers you is remove the lowers. But really the heat on the passenger shin area is an issue.

I know a couple peeps with trikes, and their passengers have had their lower right leg turn red (as in minor burns) when riding pillion. I guess the air flow is bad on the trikes for the passenger because of the rear wheels.