Jick,
You've come to the right place for information. I have learned many things from reading the different Threads on this site. That said; keep in mind some of what you read is merely ones opinion and it’s sometimes difficult to separate that from facts.
I have had so many different motorcycles over my 35 years of riding I have lost track of the number of them. However in just the last 3 years I’ve become a Harley owner. The first Harley was a 2007 Low Rider and finally a 2009 Street Glide. Like many here, my main objective was simply to free up the intake and exhaust to get the most practical potential from the engine. I first need to say, that I’m not interested in making large horse power numbers. I prefer reliability and enhancements that will improve the engines efficiency. Now that I have opened up the air intake a bit and exhaust, my interest is with the valve train set up. I would like to install a roller rocker lifter set up, and gear drive cam on the mild side. Knowing this is costly I’ll most likely put it off for a while and just enjoy what I have.
When it comes down to fuel issues the subject is wide open for opinions. Everyone has their own justification for product brand names and the amount of cash they are willing to spend on different brands. Something to keep in mind is wither you have intentions on making significant engine modifications especially regarding cam changes where timing and fuel delivery issues become more important. At the present time based on the minor enhancements I’ve made with the exhaust slip-ons (Vance & Hines standard ovals) and a Screaming Eagle air filter set up I felt comfortable simply trying out the Screaming Eagle flash download. It amounted to having the Dealership have the bike for about 20 minutes at a cost of around $150. Though at first a little apprehensive, I was pleasantly relieved to discover how nice and responsive the engine felt. I have no flat spots, no sudden surges, no annoying backfire and my engine idle RPM is dead smooth at about 900 at idle. An added bonus is that my fuel mileage is great averaging about 280 plus miles between fill-ups. In fact on a recent trip to Montana I saw at one point 300 miles calculated after filling up. I have had no engine heat issues even in 90 degree extremes other than heat increasing at prolonged waits. This is not surprising with any engine that relies on air passing over it as its only means of cooling. Even so, I have not experienced the engine going into parade mode. The download was inexpensive, no hardware added, no messing with, Dealer installed product and no dyno time.
When and if I make more critical engine component changes, I’ll consider more advanced tuning possibilities.
Good luck to ya!
