My 2010 Road King came with a catalytic converter, plus the factory tune is very lean, it has to be to meet emmision standards. Both of these issues together makes a lot of heat. I could sit through a long stoplight and the heat was just about unbearable, especially to the wifes right leg.

The dressers got rid of the converter and the Fuel Moto tuned Power Commander V corrected the very lean fuel mixture.

I now have a much cooler, better running bike. I could not believe the difference. Heat is not an issue at all anymore.

I went with the full Fuel Moto stage 1 kit and installed it myself. It was the best upgrade I have done to the bike. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

Gotcha....so it sounds like the V&H Dresser Duals are more so for Function and less so for Performance. I'll see how the heat issue is for the 2011 RGC 103 I have coming my way in a few weeks. If not terrible, I'll probably pass and the headers.

 

I have an 11 with a 103. I can guarantee that a stage 1 and header change is necessary to solve the heat issue. In fact, mine ran so hot that it was pinging badly. My right thigh was so hot I had to wear chaps on a 100 degree day.

Better start saving your pennies now. My total system, pipes, AC, muffs, and TTS came in at just under 2K.

 

Wow.....that bad with the stock headers huh?
Anybody else have similar excessive heat issues?

 

I did even after a stage one. I kept the factory headers though. Got rid of them for dressers and took the bike in for a dyno tune and all is great. Heat issues are ling gone and the bike runs fantastic.

 

rode my 10 flhtk for a year stock. wasnt bad in new england, but my road king has a stage 1 setup and you can feel that the bike just runs better.

i have dual dressers, monster ovals, SEAC and SEPST waiting for installation before the spring. may do cams too, se255's. then im done - haha

 

This is my second Road Glide. The first was an 07. The heat was bad on that bike even without the cats on the right side until I did a stage 1. On that bike, there was a hot pipe on the right side and also one on the left for the passenger. Dresser duals cured that for both of us.

On the 11, there is no pipe for the passenger thanks to the new design.

Keep in mind, the pinging happened on our annual Sturgis trip. It was hotter then HELL there last year and of course we were going slow at time. I may have gotten some bad gas for a while there but the bike pinged pretty much the whole time we were in SD and WI. I attributed that mostly to the heat. Other guys on the forum with the 103 have complained about pinging too.

 

Do youself a big favor, go ahead and do the stage 1 upgrade. You will be amazed at the difference in the bike. It will eliminate the heat issue and the bike will be more responsive with more power.

I recommend you call Fuel Moto, Jamie and the guys over there will put you a system together. They will also give you lifetime support on your PC-V.

If you upgrade cams ect., just call and they will send you a new dyno proven map.

Like I said, it is by far the best upgrade I have done to the bike.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I did a little more homework after reading this thread and think I found a complete Stage 1 package (below) that looks good, has good performance gains, and addresses the heat issue. It comes out to about $1400 shipped, which is within the $1500 budget I have at the moment. Since the headpipe has no catalyst, and there are no lowers on an RGC, I'm thinking I should be good on the heat issue.

Fuel Moto Jackpot 4" Dyno Tuned Slipons (slash up)
Fuel Moto 2/1/2 Headpipes w/ Heat Shield (no catalyst)
Dynojet PCV
Harley Screamin Eagle A/C

 

Good choice.

Make sure after installation you let us know how you like the changes.

You will be amazed at the difference in power, throttle response and less heat.