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Old 6th April 2011, 13:24   #1
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The Story Of My Harley Tune Up

It all started off on the 9th of the October when I got the brand new Harley Davidson XL 1200 Nightster.

I started working on my kustom nightster getting tips from all the famous tune ups around the world.most of my research is from the web and I definitely need to thank John from Harley Service USA for providing some good tips.

Stage 1

The First Mod I started on was the Exhaust system,The stock exhaust of the Sportsters are Quiet. I have done some research around on different systems available,of them the first and foremost is from the Harley itself "Screaming Eagle Exhaust" which is a slip on and it does provide some great note.I looked up online and found out most of the harleys "sportster" in and around usa are hooked up with full exhausts like vance & hines , bassani , bub and lot of other custom makes.

There are mainly two types of exhausts as i have understood, either the shotshorts(Shorter Exhaust pipes) or the (big shots) long exhaust pipes.As per the performance the bigshots or the longer exhausts are best and as for the great sound the shotshorts or the smaller exhausts are great to go with.

I some how liked the way the shotshorts looked and also for the sound i preferred those.most people online recomended me to go with vance & hines and also most sportsters i have come across had those.i have checked out a lot of videos ,heard different exhausts online before making the decession,but trust me what you hear online and later in real can be so different,coz after we installed the exhaust and fired up its way too loud to imagine and simply awsome,just no words to explain.

To perform a complete exhaust mod, the bike needs to have a Stage 1 Air Cleaner (Air Filter) + the Fuel Management System ( harley can do a custom map or can buy a piggy back ecu).so i have got the screaming eagle stage 1 air cleaner and have gone with the vance and hines fuel pack.there is an option for power commander as well but again people recommended me to stick with vance and hines.I have imported the parts from a Harley Dealer in Ohio.Paid the 26.8% Customs Duty,It was done in different stages.

The First set of mods have the Vance & Hines ShotShorts Exhaust + Screaming Eagle Stage 1 Air Cleaner + Vance & Hines Fuel Pack.

My Kustom Nightster is basically designed on the lines of harley bobbers and cafe racer concepts.borrowed some tips from the RSD Roland Sands Design.

Stage 2

The Second Stage of Mods are a Harley Rear Seat,Silencer Style Grips,the Paint job and Local Fab stuff.

I have the original seat and got the rear seat if ever I need to ride with a pillion,which i hardly do.I liked the silencer style grips from the Harley,they have a complete set(foot pegs,shifter peg).I wanted to Paint my Head,Push Rods,Disc Calipers,Air Filter Cover,Rear Pulley and the Engine Covers.I have decided to go with the matt black finish on the covers, the heads and the rest with the harley orange.This is a tough job to find the right painter and also the heads and covers require heat resitant paint and the heads/pulley are chrome finish,so they had to sand blast it and paint it back,luckyly i have found a good one around in Hyd with the help of harley people.

The fab work consited of a custom number plate, drilling of the exhaust cover, drilling in the levers to get a raw look to match the hand grips.everything was done locally here in hyd and i am quite impressed with the quality of work.

Stage 3

The Third Stage of Mods are to move the Speedo below the Fuel tank and to raise the fuel tank about 2 inches to give that tall look and move the ignition coils and wiring to the left.I liked the drag bars,i went with the broomstick type with stock risers initially,but it went too low and not so comfortable to ride long distances ,so i got a 3.5 inch risers which are more comfortable now.i liked the solo spring seat from the harley so got the solo spring seat and the spring seat kit as well,i really felt that customising harleys can be real expensive than customising any jap bikes.i have also moved the front signal lights to the fork and got clear lense with visors.the mirrors are mounted under the bars just like the harley forty – eight , i feel they are pretty cool.The mods are performed in the harley workshop (Hyderabad) by their technicians with my guidance.They have been amazing,the work is quite outstanding.we have sent it to the Harley USA and they have been impressed.


Those are the mod's for now and the stage 4 mods to come are the custom paint job,lower rear shocks,change the front forks to have dual disk brakes.change the headlight mounting to the fork,change to 5 3/4th billet head light.

Here are the Stock vs Final Pictures after all the Mods
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Old 6th April 2011, 13:29   #2
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Re: The Story Of My Harley Tune Up

Very nice ! Have you gotten together a group of HOG's to ride with? Planning to get one myself but not sure if I should wait for a Fat Boy to be locally assembled or just pickup the VFM new versions just released
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Old 6th April 2011, 13:39   #3
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Re: The Story Of My Harley Tune Up

Quote:
Originally Posted by DKG View Post
Very nice ! Have you gotten together a group of HOG's to ride with? Planning to get one myself but not sure if I should wait for a Fat Boy to be locally assembled or just pickup the VFM new versions just released
Thank You , Banjara Harley haven't started their Rides Yet and also I have heard the HOG's going to start off from May here.currently I have couple of friends who I ride along with.Personally I liked the forty-eight,Street Bob & Fatboy Low. But in India looks like they are not launching the fat-boy low.they have the new fat boy here,it looks pretty cool.if you have enough to spend just go for the fatboy....!

Frk
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Old 6th April 2011, 13:56   #4
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Re: The Story Of My Harley Tune Up

My work station got a new wallpaper, the yellow one.
Nice photographs & the best ride dude.
Have happy and safe miles ahead.
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Old 6th April 2011, 14:40   #5
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Re: The Story Of My Harley Tune Up

Quote:
Originally Posted by freakrz View Post
Thank You , Banjara Harley haven't started their Rides Yet and also I have heard the HOG's going to start off from May here.currently I have couple of friends who I ride along with.Personally I liked the forty-eight,Street Bob & Fatboy Low. But in India looks like they are not launching the fat-boy low.they have the new fat boy here,it looks pretty cool.if you have enough to spend just go for the fatboy....!

Frk
Looks like we have similar tastes ! My heart is set on the Fat Boy but 19 lacs is a stretch for me right now. I don't want to settle for any other Harley. Have waited for decades to treat myself to a Harley and I want it to be the one I lust after !

Until then I have my trusted VFR to cater to my horsepower needs

Lets meet sometime, will eventually become a HOG !!!

Last edited by DKG : 6th April 2011 at 14:43.
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Old 6th April 2011, 18:06   #6
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Re: The Story Of My Harley Tune Up

Congratulations Freakrz! That's a sensational looking bike u have there. Owning a Harley is one of the most important things on my bucket list. I pray that this dream comes true. Meanwhile I drool!
regards,
Ashok
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Old 6th April 2011, 20:34   #7
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Re: The Story Of My Harley Tune Up

@freakerz

Thats a seriously awesome-looking bike! what was the total cost for sprucing the bike up? those exhaust pipes look stunning!

I have been trying to mod my swift, after checking out ur swift-pics in ur garage

please add more pics of the harley!

Cheers!
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Old 6th April 2011, 21:44   #8
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Re: The Story Of My Harley Tune Up

Really worth a second look. Congrats buddy! Hope you have safe miles ahead. Its like a dream riding that bike. All the best.

Cheers
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Old 7th April 2011, 05:01   #9
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Re: The Story Of My Harley Tune Up

@Freakrz dont wanna hijack your thread but stage2 & stage3 you got it all wrong

Stage2 is whatever you mentioned in stage1 but going big bore kit (103")

Stage3 is whatever you mentioned in stage 1 plus big bore with changing the cams from stock to SE 255 or andrews or whatever you want.
Depending on whether you want low or high end TQ you can go with different cams..

You pipes looks awesome but just for future buyers (2-1 pipes doesnt look good but they are for performance whereas 2-2 pipes like the one you have looks good but they arent for performance)

2-2 pipes like the one you have dont have enough back pressure but 2-1 has enuf back pressure...

Mods I did on mine
Opened the engine to 103
changed cams to andrews 26s
went with AN-BS II air cleaner
V&H big radius pipes

Search under my name and you'd find my bike but actually I've done many mods lately so will post new pics soon
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Old 7th April 2011, 09:04   #10
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Re: The Story Of My Harley Tune Up

Thank You Everyone for comments & suggestions.

@rajoy123

I will add more pics soon,as for the swift now I have moved everything from my old petrol swift to the new diesel swift.I currently have my FFE lying in the garage.there is not much to do with the diesel swift compared to the petrol one.

@shrini78

I am not referring stage 1 ,stage 2 and stage 3 as you talk in the levels.its just like in different steps I mean,nothing of performance sort.

I am currently not looking on the high side of performance,I feel the bikes got enough torque for now.

Yes 2 to 1 makes some difference in power ,but I am not looking for power so I m happy with the pipes,they sound amazing.

I would like to get more inputs on the performance side if you have any.also post some pics of the work and bike if you have.my bike is still work in progress.
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Old 7th April 2011, 09:23   #11
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Re: The Story Of My Harley Tune Up

I know u got V&H fuel pack but it is recommended that you go with PC-V and you can download maps for it and you'll see a considerable jump in your ponies.

It is easy to maintain and also recomended that you can get a K&N washable & reusable air filter.Screamin Eagle has their own brand but hey its still made by K&N.
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Old 7th April 2011, 10:18   #12
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Re: The Story Of My Harley Tune Up

@freakrz - Your bike looks awesome. The exhausts somehow remind me of the mask of frankenstein .
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Old 7th April 2011, 11:42   #13
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Re: The Story Of My Harley Tune Up

@freakrz: Mods well done. The bike is a visual treat and do try and put a youtube clip to treat our aural senses as well. Cheers!
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Old 7th April 2011, 12:21   #14
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Re: The Story Of My Harley Tune Up

Thank You For all the comments and inputs

here are some more pictures
Attached Thumbnails
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Old 9th April 2011, 12:45   #15
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Re: The Story Of My Harley Tune Up

Congrats on the american tourer .Looks mouth watering.One doubt Does it have a tail lamp?.Great pics.Which camera do you use?
Drive "him" safe.Mods well done.
Sreehari
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