Stage One Upgrade and the Power Commander

Debbie asked "Why?". "We have a perfectly outfitted '07 Ultra Classic that runs flawlessly, so why mess with it?"




My reply: "Well, umm, uh....".

I love it when my intelligence shines through.






There are, however, reasons why certain improvements are beneficial. The main issue with the new 96 inch motor is heat. No I'm not whining about it but it is very real. Our Sportster generated heat but no where near the volume of heat that radiates from the Ultra. The main culprit being the lean condition from the factory to meet the EPA requirements. Several bike mechanics agreed that the heat could be borderline to causing actual engine issues under certain conditions so my first step was to determine how to cool the bike.



Much research from web sites to newsgroups and forums to folks at local Harley shops came up with the solution. An engine is an air pump so if you allow it to take in more air and allow that same air an easier escape route then it will run cooler and perform better. If at the same time you can optimize the air/fuel ratio across the board you have an even larger performance gain and an additional engine temperature decrease.





Both Debbie and I agreed early on that the Ultra ran hot so my first goal was to tone down the engine heat and if I obtained a real performance gain then that was a plus. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.






A more free flowing air system was obtained through the H-D parts catalog with the Stage 1 Air Cleaner Kit. I went with the SE model simply because it is mentioned time and time again on many sites and I wanted to keep the stock air filter cover. This was easy to install and the included instructions were accurate. They even included Loctite with the kit. Total time to install was about thirty five minutes.

Part number 29773-02C





At the other end of the bike was where I really researched. I wanted a less restrictive exhaust but learned that back pressure was important and I wanted a deeper and slightly louder exhaust tone. The available SE slip-ons were too quiet and the previous year SE's were no longer available since H-D has adopted a certain stance on exhaust audio levels. A very knowledgeable local parts guy gave me the inside track: The older SE slip-ons were manufactured by SuperTrap/Kerker and were available. Do I like the Kerker slip-ons? Oh yeah, I like them a lot. I went with the model 128-78020 and the turn down end caps. I also learned something about billet end caps: Chromed machined aluminum will flake off after repeated exposure to heating and cooling. So go with non-aluminum end caps if possible. Another good thing about the Kerker slip-ons is that you can remove and/or repack the actual muffler insert. You will have to acquire three nuts per side if you remove the insert since the inserts are threaded to allow the outside screws to hold it and the end caps in place.

Installation was easier than I thought, Chad told me that early on, and I was quite satisfied with the result. The Kerker slip-ons are slightly smaller in diameter than the stock ones and the end caps extend the perceived pipe lengths about two inches over stock. Since the supplied muffler clamps threaded portion was longer than stock I rotated them more downward so as not to protrude past the pipe on either side. When I first thumbed the ignition switch and the 96'er roared to life I grinned so hard my cheeks hurt. Install time was about one and a half hours. On an Electra Glide you will need to remove the saddle bags which takes all of sixty seconds.



Of all the parts required for this endeavor Debbie's favorite was the insert for the air cleaner cover. I have to admit that I like it as well.





With all this done there still needed to be a way to "modify" the stock ECM to take advantage of all the performance enhancements the new parts had to offer. Again I turned to the Net and a few knowledgeable individuals. The Screamin' Eagle Race Tuner software writes directly to the bike's ECM while the Power Commander is written to directly and in turn modifies the instructions being sent to the ECM. I have been around computers and software used to alter communications and network gear for a long time so this was right up my alley. I settled on the PC because if there is an issue I simply relocate the connectors and we are back to stock in two minutes. One other good reason is the large amount of freely downloadable maps available on the Power Commander web site and the fact that Chad has a PC on Bad Bob. If you are looking to save some bucks then be aware that the SERT is a hundred bucks on the heavy side when compared to the PC. The local HD shop is also a tuning center for the PC so if I have an issue they could help. The PC mounts under the right hand cover and installation took about twenty minutes. I emailed the guys at PC for the best map to start with since the Kerker slip-ons are not listed. I received an email a couple of days later that said to use map 812-009 since the flow characteristics were very similar between the two set ups.

I will add to this on Saturday since Chad and I plan to try some different settings and maps on both bikes.