I appreciate the responses and the info on the mods you used. Does anybody have good recommendations about who you bought your parts from? I'm retired and I can take my time this winter and do what I decide to do myself, I think, and go slow and do it right. I also gathered from what most of you said that the mods with a good tuner kit will reduce heat which in turn will make the engine perform better thus last longer?

 

my ness big sucker came from easternpc on ebay= $114 shipped.

Mike

 

That's a great price compared to stuff I've seen from V&H, Dennis Kirk and other places!

 

The Powervision comes from Fuelmoto, as does the headpipe. You might get lucky finding the pipe in the classifieds. For the air cleaner and mufflers, definitely cruise the classifieds.

 

I always check the classified, ebay, craigs list. What is your bike but used parts? Great deals out there. Fullsack header, Fatshotz, Powervision all used off forum. Bigbore, cams, A/C new off Ebay. New Harley parts from Lake Shore. The internet and being patient are your friend.

 

I'm guessing when several of you say the "classifieds" you are talking about the classified ads here on this forum?

 

Correct. I got a screaming deal on my Fatshotz there.

 

My intention was to leave mine stock as long as I could, apparently that's about a month.
I tried to do practical mods first, I removed the cat to decrease heat felt by the rider which it does but for me not the end all be all that some say it is.It really does more for the passenger.
I installed Flyin Hogs saddle bag and tour pack paint protection covers to cover up the scratches I put in my saddle bag and make my overall cleaning easier.
I put on highway pegs for comfort as well as further reducing felt heat there is none when my feet are on the pegs but that's not really practical when you need it most in stop and go traffic.
VIEDS further reduce heat now pretty much to the point where it's a non issue.
Stage 1 I've been down this road before and resisted starting with it for as long as I could, about 3 months..I went with a Thunder header on my Dyna and ended up spending a bunch of money trying to get it to run right so I went conservative this time around. American Customs mufflers look exactly like stock and can be made as quiet as stock with interchangeable baffles if need be.Arlen Ness Big Sucker mainly because it's cheap and can be made to look stock simply by using the stock cover.I have about 600 into my stage 1.
I tried to keep it looking stock because that might keep me out of trouble if they ever start checking these things. They never have where I live in CA. but I've heard of them cracking down in other areas.If that fails I still have the complete original intake and exhaust in the garage.

 

When I got my bike, all I wanted to do was change the pipes, which I found out is a major deal and a very costly one. I don't regret it but good grief, $$$$$ just to change the pipes?

 

I got my MC license in 1973. Since then I've owned a bunch of bikes. I've left a few stock as they came from the factory. In my opinion they ran fine. But I have swapped a cam, and had one run on a dyno. They both ran better then before the work was done. I guess its about how the bike you have at the moment does it for you. The ones I did work to didn't raise the sale price any, and for 95% of the time, I wasn't able to utilise the added power. I guess that depends where you live. Latest bike is 100% stock and it works for me. New Jersey did away with MC inspections 3 years ago. So you can pretty much ride what you want. Too extreme will get you pulled over, and possibly towed if its really over the top in some cops opinion. Car inspection has been scaled down to just a check that your service engine soon light is not lit. The thinking behind that is that, too many cars weren't failing what they used to check ,and the state felt it was a waste of time and costly doing them. I feel it won't be long before they do away with car inspections also.,,