Pipes or mufflers, an air cleaner, and EFI tuner are typically the first things people change when they get a new bike or even a new used bike. These three items are the starting points to gaining more torque and horsepower and making any bike much more fun to ride, or listen to if exhaust sound is high on your priority list.
Our friend Johnny had an '08 Road Glide he had just picked up and aside from a few cosmetic upgrades like chrome wheels (23-inch up front) and a wraparound front fender, the bike was pretty much stock. He was interested in keeping the dual exhaust look but wanted something a little throatier in the sound department.
Thunderheader is known for both its distinctive exhaust note as well as its performance gains with its 2-into-1 pipe design. For the bagger crowd, Thunderheader offers its Falsie System ($916 for the system, $198 for heat shields) which has a 2-into-1 head pipe design, with a spigot coming off the rear head pipe to mount a false crossover and muffler on the left side. With this setup you get the balanced look of dual pipes baggers are known for and the benefit a 2-into-1 exhaust system can provide.
To go along with this quick hop-up and to get more air into the engine, Johnny picked up one of K&N's RK Series High Flow Custom Intake kits for '08-09 Touring Models ($249). And to make sure everything was in tune and the bike was running in top shape, Johnny got a hold of a Power Commander III EFI module ($379.95). To test out the results of this setup the bike was taken to Horn Cycle Works.
1. The RG with its new Thunderheader...
1. The RG with its new Thunderheader Falsie System, K&N air Filter, and Power Commander.
2. Johnny's bike on the...
2. Johnny's bike on the lift at Horn Cycle Works with its stock tomato can mufflers.
3. Horn Cycle Works Tech...
3. Horn Cycle Works Tech Nolan, started the swap by removing the air cleaner cover and stock air filter. Here you can see the difference between the stock unit and the K&N air filter. The pre-oiled high-flow K&N unit is a bit larger and provides an extra large filtration area, is washable and reusable, and provides longer service intervals compared to stock.
4. Along with the high flow...
4. Along with the high flow filter, included in the RK Series kit is an oversized, cast aluminum backing plate with an internally-run breather system, a bolted-in, dyno-tuned velocity stack, and all the mounting hardware. The breather system directs heat dissipation directly into the throttle body and the velocity stack increases airflow. The cool thing about this kit is that it will all tuck nicely behind your stock air cleaner cover.
5. With the backing plate...
5. With the backing plate installed, Nolan then secured the air filter to the backing plate and replaced the football cover.
6. Next, Nolan moved onto...
6. Next, Nolan moved onto installing the Thunderheader exhaust system. The head pipes feature 02 sensor bungs (red arrow) to fit the stock O2 sensors. At the back of the image you can see the spigot (yellow arrow) to run the Falsie on the left side.