Stage 1 with approved escape for Harley-Davidson

There is an ever increasing demand for Escapes homologated for Harley-DavidsonAt the same time, they have some system to increase or modify the sound and not be excessively restrictive with the power.
It seems that American manufacturers are finally checking that there is a market in this segment, and some of the most important ones, such as Vance and Hines, Supertrapp or S&S, already have "Euro compatible" versions approved for the old continent.

The challenge
It is clear that an approved exhaust will not emit a satisfactory sound for the majority of users and at the same time the power will be especially depleted in engines with large cylinder capacity (remember that the engine power goes according to the air that is capable of entering and leaving the same), so that the manufacturers will sharpen the ingenuity to offer "legal" solutions that at the same time allow an increase of sound if the user requires it.

The system
In this case we are going to proceed to the installation of a Vance & Hines escapes approved for Europe with a system of detachable internal baffles that allow to vary the sound.

This operation will be performed on one of the Rushmore models, specifically on a Street Glide.
It should be noted that in these models the catalyst is inside the collector, so if we want to observe a significant increase of torque and power this element should be replaced by the same component but for the American market, totally free.

The operation
We begin as always unmounting the original queues, loosening the 3 screws that hold them.

Then we extract the collector, first disconnecting the Lambda probes and the active exhaust system, the latter will not be reused.

Next we can already install the probes into the new collector,

mount it at your location

and fix it to the rest of the system.

We continue to slide the new silencers in place, for placement we will use the media provided in the kit

and always with new clamps, to obtain optimum gas sealing.

With the fully assembled exhaust we can see how it is left with and without the "dB killer".

As always it should be remembered that the whole process of dismantling-assembly has to be carried out following the letter of the manual of the workshop, respecting the pairs of tightening.

Completing Stage 1
The installation of a less restrictive escape is never complete without a air filter that allows for a greater input flow than the original, both for its manufacture and for its size.

The replacement is direct, being "camouflaged" under the original cover.

It is absolutely essential to reprogram the control unit to provide the new air inlet-outlet values, adjust the ignition to the new conditions and inform the system that it no longer has an active exhaust engine. In our case we do it through the software TTS Mastertune, one of the most versatile on the market.

This phase will lead us to perform several tests on the road, so we can enjoy from the first moment the new look and sound of our brand new escapes.

Frank Burguera

#mecanicaharley