Dave Mathis shows us how to install some basic bolt-on performance modifications on this customer’s Harley Davidson V-Rod.

Once the bike is prepped and on the lift, with the old pipes and brackets removed – Dave will show us how to install the slip-on exhaust and check for correct fitment. Once the correct fitment has been established, tighten the clamp while making sure to avoid striping the threads. Power tools are optional, but will certainly speed up the process and make things easier for you!

After the clamp has been tightened, we move to the mounting bracket which uses OEM location – tightening these bolts to the included specs, make sure that everything lines up correctly and finish torquing the bolts.

With the exhaust installation completed, we can move our focus to correctly tuning the motorcycle’s fuel map to reflect the increased air flow allowed by the new exhaust system. We can do this by connecting a power commander tuning system to the bike’s power commander ECU and picking the closest map, or editing existing maps for further fine-tuning depending on how the bike ends up running out on the road.

After the tune has been uploaded and the “sent successfully” prompt appears, we can put everything back together and take it for a spin to see how everything works. 99% of the initial tunes work very well, but bikes with more extensive modifications can take more time to fine-tune for optimal performance.

Feel free to drop us a comment in the Tech Talk Forums if you have any questions on this episode!

-Dave Mathis

Head Tech – Hardcore Choppers