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[Jim Kerr]

Jim, THANK YOU for the great instructions and pictures for removing the catalytic converter.

You are very welcome. 

FYI, I just posted a how-to on installing Fullsac baffles.  Figured that was another topic folks were interested in. 

http://www.cvoharley.com/smf/index.php?topic=28086.0

I am quite pleased with the results.  I blew away a crotch rocket this evening.  Went through 100 mph in seconds.  I seriously left him in my dust.  Not bad for an 850 lbs bike 

[Carlos Silva]

...aaaand another...got mine out today, I didn't like the ground down 5/8 rod since I couldn't get a perfectly square docking so I used a 27mm socket with a socket adapter in the drill...I'm glad I bought a new heavy duty corded drill for this, I've always needed one in the work shop...then I used the 5/8 rod to extract the goodies   ...wonder how much I can get for the cat at the metal salvage place

thanks again Jim

[SPIDERMAN]

I can't help but wonder how many of you doing and following this thread were riding in the days before you could buy aftermarket exhaust or Screamin Eagle products ?  Reading the thread and all of the ideas and responses brought back a lot of 30 year old memories for me.

B B

[Carlos Silva]

I can't help but wonder how many of you doing and following this thread were riding in the days before you could buy aftermarket exhaust or Screamin Eagle products ? 

...cut my teeth doin' this stuff in 1975 on my first Honda...modified pipes and 8" extended forks...got me many a fruitful date...ahhhh, the memories

[Jim Kerr]

I can't help but wonder how many of you doing and following this thread were riding in the days before you could buy aftermarket exhaust or Screamin Eagle products ?  Reading the thread and all of the ideas and responses brought back a lot of 30 year old memories for me.

I hear ya Spiderman, me too.  Customization is what Harley riding is all about.  Goes back to day one when they started customizing old war bikes.  They didn't have Rinehart true duals back then.  If they wanted duals they made them.  Getting your hands dirty is all part of the experience. 

[SPIDERMAN]

The old factory exhaust had the internal baffles spot welded into the core. Rather than remove the entire core, we'd take an old fork tube and ram the muffler down over it until we broke the spotwelds and the baffles broke out. Of course nobody had a dyno (handn't even heard of em ) so it was all seat of the pants tuning. Fiddle with the carbs with some spare jets and screwdrivers, the old S&S that stuck waay out or SU seemed about the only choices. Some of us didn't like the look of the inside of the cylinder head castings so we'd grind the seams out of the welds figuring it had to help. Trial and error you know. What a huge deal it was the first time I got my hands on a V-Twin parts catalogue. Seems like two lifetimes ago but you know, that's how a lot of really great friendships developed and in the old days was a big part of being in an MC. This thread has brought back a lot of memories and also pointed out that no matter what the MoCo does to try to keep us from modifying our rides, we'll find ways around it - - - - - hint hint, this is a part of the answer to the question WHY which most people answer with "if I have to tell you, you wouldn't understand"

B B

[Robmay]

Jim,

Are yo saying the bikes NOT in California DO NOT have the CC's in the muffs or the header pipe altogether? I would assume you mean the mufflers since you and the others that have done this do not live in Cali.

Rob

[Jim Kerr]

Jim,

Are yo saying the bikes NOT in California DO NOT have the CC's in the muffs or the header pipe altogether? I would assume you mean the mufflers since you and the others that have done this do not live in Cali.

Rob

Rob, I haven't taken one apart, but it is my understanding that the standard 09 NON-CA bikes do NOT have cats in the headers.  The CVO 110's are the ones that have cats.  The 110's apparently take the emissions over EPA limits.   

[Robmay]

Rob, I haven't taken one apart, but it is my understanding that the standard 09 NON-CA bikes do NOT have cats in the headers.  The CVO 110's are the ones that have cats.  The 110's apparently take the emissions over EPA limits.   

Ahhhh, that makes sense now. ALL CVO's have them in the headers (09's that is). Any idea on the 08's? I have a friend that has one.

[Jim Kerr]

Ahhhh, that makes sense now. ALL CVO's have them in the headers (09's that is). Any idea on the 08's? I have a friend that has one.

Yeah, the 08 CVO's had em as well, but I believe they were in the exhaust pipe instead of the header.  An exhaust change was all it took on those.  We had to buy a coring drill bit!

[Sparky]

Jim

Do you remember how much the 2009 96inch header cost? and maybe a part number? I dont feel comfortable about doing the work myself. Also someone said that dealers cant tune a motor that has the CATS removed. That cant be true can it? A super Tune should work fine as it has in the past.

Sparky

[Jim Kerr]

Jim

Do you remember how much the 2009 96inch header cost? and maybe a part number? I dont feel comfortable about doing the work myself. Also someone said that dealers cant tune a motor that has the CATS removed. That cant be true can it? A super Tune should work fine as it has in the past.

Sparky

I don't have an parts catalog for the standard 09's, but you should be able to call a parts department and ask them.  I believe the cost was about $3-400, which was a lot more than my $30 drill bit.  If you can't find it anywhere let me know and I'll look it up for you. 

Anyone saying they can't tune if the cat is removed is full of BS.  In fact, having the cat in the header makes it more difficult to tune the bike.  To do it right, the dyno operator needs to connect an Exhaust Gas Temp (EGT) probe to the bike to validate that the fuel/air mixture is right in open loop mode & WOT.  It shouldn't run over 1450 degrees.  They will have to drill a hole in the header if the cat is in it to get an accurate reading.  Good tuners also use wide-band O2 sensors that are worthless unless they are inserted before the cc's. 

The dealer you are working with is probably telling you this stuff so they don't get in trouble with the EPA and local authorities.  H-D is also pushing everyone to stay legit as well.  Shops that regularly tune for racing applications will help you no problem.  They just generally have you sign a waver, which releases them from liability. 

[Sparky]

Thanks Jim, I will call my dealer to get the part and the cost.

The dealer you are working with is probably telling you this stuff so they don't get in trouble with the EPA and local authorities.  H-D is also pushing everyone to stay legit as well.  Shops that regularly tune for racing applications will help you no problem.  They just generally have you sign a waver, which releases them from liability

Actually someone in hear said that, I didnt think was true.


Sparky

[SixGun]

Another cat bites the dust....I went to work on the exhaust last night and followed Jim's instructions to remove the catalytic converter. I used a 1.4" silver braised drill bit from McGills Warehouse since that is all I could get my hands on at the time. It probably took me an hour to drill out the catalytic converter and then.......music to my ears. I love the sound of a straight pipe Harley without the restrictive catalytic converter.

To anyone considering this project, let me tell you that anyone can do it with the right tools. I ended up renting a drill from Home Depot since the drills that I have were too small, that cost me $7.00. I also bought a bench grinder in order to grind the 5/8" rod to fit in the drill, that was $44.00. I already had a hack saw to downsize the 5/8" rod. I attached a motorcycle tie down to the drill so I could keep forward pressure...this was after I was getting fatigued from using the drill (I wish that I would have thought of this sooner). The catalytic converter material is some hard chit, but it is gone now.

I returned the drill to Home Depot first thing this morning and now I am going to begin the job of grinding down the welds on the muffler core and replace it with the 2.0" Fullsac core. I expect this job will be a lot easier and take less time than drilling the catalytic converter.

Jim, THANK YOU for the great instructions and pictures for removing the catalytic converter.

It's not EXACTLY a straight pipe! It still does some loopdy do's in there!

[Hoist!]

I don't even see how you'll get the individual probes for tuning for each cylinder separately, with that cat installed in the main pipe! Not really sure how you'll do it with that crossover underneath either. Some other things to think about! When we tuned my bike with the FatCat, we had 2 probes stuck in the exhaust, both going thru the muffler and into each separate head pipe for each cylinder's measurements.

Hoist!