Moving from a 2001 Heritage experience to my 2012 CVO SG - The difference in engine noise is significant. The 96 was smooth & quiet compared to the 110 bucket of shaking bolts experience. No - I didn't test ride the 110 prior to purchase.
I took the bike in early at 680 miles to have the 1000 mile check up done because HD sent me the newsletter saying they REFORMULATED the SYN3 oil.
R I I G H T t t t... The engine had Driveability problems from the start - i.e. spitting & popping on cold start & stalling on pull-out. My ALL-Stock 110 also ran HOT - the rear cylinder cooling routine would always kick in at traffic lights if ambient temp was more than 75F. It also pings on full throttle acceleration running SUNOIL's 93 octane. No pinging with 100 UL octane
My 110 sounds\ed like a coffee can filled about halfway with pennies - being shaken lightly while the engine was running. Not satisfied, I remembered that lubricant could make a difference.... I called Gene Smith at AMSOIL in York PA. We agreed, based on his discussions with his numerous clients running 110s that we would switch to 20-40 wt Synthetic AMSoil.
After this one change, I noticed several things.
1. Upon startup - It QUIETED down my shaking bucket of bolts significantly!
2. Even when riding in the 95F +, the temperature management systems Rarely comes on at lights.
3. I notice a cooler running engine between my legs.
4. When I merged onto RT 30 (always full throttle) I noticed a Big improvement in power and smoothness. Specifically, the wind screen rose much higher between gears - I thought, what the... Now the 110 pulled like a tractor! It was smoother & quieter.
5. The spitting & sputtering lessened, but didn't go away. I have a feeling the catalytic converter is not helping - but I like the no-smell feature this brings.
I also changed to 75-90 AMS oil gear oil, with slightly quieter & easier shifting vs the SYN3.
Summary, the 110 is a lot of big heavy metal flopping around. Next, I'll swap the chain case oil & see what happens.
DL