OK, I have heard a lot of talk about "possible" crosstalk of O2 sensors created by removal of the cat's from 2010 and above bikes due to the location of the sensors. Personally, I consider this akin to stories about Little Red Riding Hood and the 3 little pigs. However, knowing a lot of people here have removed the cat's from their bikes....has anyone actually experienced this phenomena personally? I don't want "I heard of" or "Someone told me" stories please.
I am
NOT DISAGREEING with anyone who has replied to SteveFLHTK on this subject but only posting my results. My current bike is a 2010 Street Glide. When I bought it I was hoping to keep it stock but like every bike I have owned I could not resist making a few mods.
The first mod was a free flowing AC and TTS Mastertune. After some VTuning the bike did indeed run better but still too much heat from the Cat. Then I added a 4" Rinehart slip-on muffler and did some more VTuning. Once again I liked the results but the heat from the Cat was too much.
Last winter I read about every post I could find on this subject and decided to do some experimenting on my own. So, I bought a takeoff header (cheap) on Ebay, cut it in half, removed the Cat, and had it tig welded back together. When Spring arrived and before I did any VTuning I took it for a ride. My initial impression was that the exhaust note seemed a little beefier especially when cranking the throttle but the heat from the Cat was gone. Overall ridability seemed the same. Next, I did some VTuning. Most of the VEs stayed within 2%. Some changed by as much as 3.3% - 3.5%. I have now run this setup for about 4,000 miles.
My results:
The bike starts and idles just fine.
Steady cruising at low and high RPM produce no surging, hesitation, etc.
When you snap the throttle it pulls hard.
Average MPG is 45 -46.
I do run the idle circuit in open loop (that's what I want to do).
After idle I run closed loop up to 4,000 rpms. Then it's all open loop.
If the people that tune for a living say there is crosstalk within the O2 sensors then I believe it. However, I cannot detect any abnormalities in the way my bike runs.
Once again, I'm not challenging anyones facts or opinions. Just reporting my results.
Is it possible that there could be less crosstalk with the 2-1 as opposed to the 2-1-2 header?