Ok, so as mentioned, last week I installed some items to help cool the bike down:
* Vance & Hines true dual head pipes.
* Vance & Hines FuelPak "performance fueler".
* Harley-Davidson mid-frame heat deflectors
I am pleased to say - it all works. It continues to piss me off that I had to spend this much, but the results are nearly a night-and-day difference. Like any bike, it still gets hot while sitting at traffic lights and such, but not immediately and not to nut-roasting proportions. While in motion, I feel no heat at all from the engine or the pipes. These 'true duals' have no cross-over pipe to build additional back-pressure and they are routed lower than stock. The ceramic-coated heat shields have got to be helping, too.
All in all, I give this 'fix' 3 out of 4 thumbs up.
The overall cost, and the need for this work in the first place, keeps the score below perfect.
In addition to the heat fix, I also (finally!) installed the Sta-Bo bushing I ordered MONTHS ago. A quick bit of info: the FLxx series (the touring frame) Harley bikes have a rubber-mounted swing-arm that pivots on a conjoined frame/transmission axis. The engine floats in the frame on rubber engine mounts and linkages. There is no hard point of connection between the engine/trans, swingarm and frame. It's all rubber isolated. This allows the swing arm to move laterally under stress; most notably when heeled over in a high-speed turn. The bike will hinge and walk to the outside of the turn during a weave. As the speed/lean/weight increase, so does the weave. It can be... exciting.
There are numerous 'fixes' for this problem in the after market. Everything from Rube Goldberg linkage kits that bolt to the bottom of the transmission, to full shaft & bushing replaces, to the Sta-Bo bushing stiffeners. These are simple center-offset bushing inserts that slide into the center, open area of the frame-side bushing (aka 'cleave block'). They fill in the open area and restrict pivoting by literally not allowing the pivot shaft bushings to deflect (as much). This keeps everything more in line, or so the story goes.
The bushings install in just a few minutes by removing the outer swingarm pivot shaft overs, greasing and sliding these Delrin bushings in, then reinstalling the caps (and passenger floorboards/pegs - these need to come off to get to the pivot cover bolts). That's all there is to it. I installed these last night after checking and retorquing the previous exhaust system work, after taking the bike for a nice lengthy ride yesterday afternoon.
I rode the bike in to work this morning and again, the difference is night and day. The bike tracks like it never has before. Gone is the in-turn weave that was always there and I had one hell of a fun, spirited ride in this morning. The Harley forums are full of people whining about the additional transmitted vibrations, and with good reason. You can FEEL that V-Twin pulse now, to an initially annoying degree. But after the 40-ish minute ride to work, I really wasn't bothered by it. it's there, you feel it and the whole bike now receives the vibes, but I don't think it's that bad, so far. It is said to diminish quite a bit after a few hundred miles. I'm skeptical that it does. Rather, I just think people grow used to it. I'll keep a close eye on this; I'm very sensitive to vibes and buzz. It's the reason why so few I4 bikes are keepers for me.
Considering that the Sta-Bo bushing stiffeners are 1/6 to 1/4 the price of the big, complicated linkage kits that are in the aftermarket for this problem, I felt they were worth trying. So far, I give them 2 out of 4 thumbs up. The price is right, if even a little high considering they're just Delrin bushing inserts, and the results are fan-freaking-tastic in regards to the swingarm flex, but the addtional vibes *are* intrusive and *are* quite noticeable. If you're the type to enjoy a good twinny pulse, you may not be bothered at all. Each person varies. Had they been half the price and/or didn't transmit so much more vibration, I'd have given them better scores. I'll trade the bike in before I buy one of the $500 linkage kits.
But man oh man... I like the way it tracks now.
