you are going to be bummed going from a 2 into 1 to a true dual..........
it takes a master tuner to get the dip out with straight pipe duals - and sometimes its impossible.
to
That isn't always necessarily the case. My 07 Softail Deluxe 96CI is stock other than the V&H True Duals and High Flow Air Cleaner. I am running a ThunderMax with Autotune on it though.
While I have never Dyno'd this bike, I can attest that it runs far better and much cooler than it did from the factory. My seat of the pants dyno doesn't detect any dip or hesitation anywhere (pulls strong from idle to readline). It also pulls stronger and is more responsive than my buddies softail with stock motor running a two into one with a ecm update from the dealer.
While I have not dyno sheet to prove it, I think it is producing more power across the whole range than it did with the restrictive exhaust and air cleaner.
The thunderMax base map I'm using is for an identically configured bike except that I have V&H True Duals with Fish Tail tips and the TMAX base map was build for a bike having Samson True Duals with Fish Tail tips.
I do agree with you though that if you are chasing power, you'd be better off with a different pipe (2 into 1 or 2 into 1 into 2).
Everything is a trade off / balancing act...I love the look and the distinct sound of true duals on the Softail Deluxe. If I sacrificed a little power here or there to achieve this look, thats OK with me. On the other hand, my engine build goals are completely different for my 2010 CVO Ultra.