He had spent a lot of money on a big-inch performance kit for his Heritage, complete with 95-inch cylinders, cams, heads, the works. It was supposed to make 112 horse power, but when his dealer ran the finished bike on the dyno it only generated 87
“That’s not why I spent all that money,” he told me. “For that kind of cash, I expect to get what was advertised.”
I could certainly understand. Who wouldn’t?
John’s Harley already had the right stuff, and he was proud of the way it looked. It had a very subdued yet provocative paint scheme in black and subtle grays with faint blue scallops that swirled along the tank and fenders. The bike also had some nice CNC-machined billet pieces and just enough chrome to accent the outstanding paint scheme, along with a pair of long straight pipes that stretched all the way back to the rear axle….
Hmm. Long drag pipes with small-diameter baffles? Looks cool to some folks, but straight pipes cause weak midrange power, and those tiny baffles restrict top-end output. That’s not cool.
Exactly how a Harley is supposed to look is a matter of opinion, usually based on preconceived notions. To some bikers, a 2-into-1 system looks dorky. After all, real choppers have really cool drag pipes, don’t they? To me, drag pipes look inefficient and inadequate, because I know they won’t allow an engine to achieve its potential on the street. A 2-into-1 system, on the other hand, looks powerful and proper to me, maybe because I’ve seen too many dyno charts. I’ve seen those pathetic power curves produced by straight pipes that almost always have flat spots below 3,000 rpm (where Harley engines spend most of their lives). And I’ve also seen charts that show an early build-up of torque and the broad, flat power curve that results from having a large muffler canister connected to a 2-into-1 header.
“Your Heritage’s pipes could be a big bottleneck,” I suggested. “If you really want all the power you can get, you’ll probably need to install a 2-into-1 system like a SuperTrapp or an E-Series Porker.”
John glanced at me with a sympathetic look on his face, as if my doctor had just pronounced me mentally insane. He patiently explained how those kinds of pipes don’t look right, don’t have the right sound, and they simply wouldn’t be cool.
But didn’t the company that offered this kit recommend a 2-into-1 system? And didn’t his mechanic who installed the kit suggest it? And didn’t Joe Minton, AR’s tech editor, pronounce in his The Limits of Power story in the June ’97 issue that when it comes to getting the most from a Harley engine, straight pipes basically suck?
At this point something happened in our conversation. See, John really likes the look and sound of his drag pipes. And he really, truly does not like the 2-into-1 systems. Suddenly a strange psychological mechanism seemed to click into place. Suddenly everything was just fine.
“Well,” he hesitated, “the engine runs absolutely great and I like the power it has. And I really love the pipes. Maybe I’ll just leave it alone.”
Now John is happy. He likes the engine and loves the pipes.
I think John’s been smoking something wacky from a pipe. U
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