Night-Rod Break In
- Thread starter israguard
- Start date
Probably because he knows that's when he'll have some pipes in stock to sell you! 
Seriously, I have no idea why he would say this. Every dealer seems to preach a different break in routine and some of them are ridiculous.
Good info here:
Engine Break In For New Motors - Archive - Harley Davidson Community
Seriously, I have no idea why he would say this. Every dealer seems to preach a different break in routine and some of them are ridiculous.
Good info here:
Engine Break In For New Motors - Archive - Harley Davidson Community
Chopper
Senior Member
Congrats on the new bike. Have installed 100's of new pipes on bikes before the customer picked up, never a problem, can't say why you're dealer is shying away, I would jump on the sale, especially this time of year. I would tell you (before you shell out 100's of dollars) that the stock pipes on V-Rods are tuned very well to the engine and it's hard to find a better pipe for the machine, but I run stright pipes on my EVO, I like the sound, it's the sound track of life to me, don't need no radio, so I can relate. I thing I have found the V-Rod engine is more like a race engine then a Twin Cam engine, you have to keep the rpm's up high for a proper break-in. Don't baby it, it takes more to seat the rings the the average bike, I have seen a few smoke for quite a while and have tried to get the tech dept. in Milwaukee to ok a teardown on one (under warranty) with a couple of thousand miles on it, still smoking. They would not let me touch it untill it hit 5,000, they said they have had a few take that long to get a good seat on the rings. I have a hard time swallowing that, but harley's tech dept. is usually right on. They said keep dino oil in it, don't up grade to syn till after complete break-in and tell customer to ride it like he stole it, try to keep rpm's above 4,000 when riding.
It's a great machine you bought, enjoy it.
It's a great machine you bought, enjoy it.
A less radical option is to put slipon mufflers on...that way you are not changing the tuning nearly as radically, and if you use SE ones, they are EPA compliant and may provide the slightly louder exhaust note you want while offering free'er breathing within the calibration range of the existing stock fueling and begin Stage I level mods which do not impact longevity just the enjoyment factor!
Well Gentlemen,
I took delivery yesterday and I am still on cloud nine. Shazaam what a wonderful machine. Now down to business:
1) At delivery time and with no pre-notice dealer says "i'll save you some $$$... you dont need the PC that goes with the vance & hines pipes". I would greatly appreciate your input.. is this electronic device a must or can I do without it.
2) Only big shocker for me frankly was the noise. I am used to BMW's and not Harleys. My head felt like it would explode inside the helmet. I guess its earplugs from now on.
Thats it for now... hope to hear back from you.
I took delivery yesterday and I am still on cloud nine. Shazaam what a wonderful machine. Now down to business:
1) At delivery time and with no pre-notice dealer says "i'll save you some $$$... you dont need the PC that goes with the vance & hines pipes". I would greatly appreciate your input.. is this electronic device a must or can I do without it.
2) Only big shocker for me frankly was the noise. I am used to BMW's and not Harleys. My head felt like it would explode inside the helmet. I guess its earplugs from now on.
Thats it for now... hope to hear back from you.
Lex87
New Member
Crocker
Active Member
Congrats on your new bike , I am sure as you get used to it you will find the Vrod is great bike, As far a your qestion about your exhaust and needing some type of fuel managment system. Take sometime here and do some reading on What and why on this topic .you will get a better understanding of your fuel injecion systems operation . all HDs are set up to run very lean at the factory because of EPA regulations ,when I say lean I mean the fuel and air mix that your engine is taken in is hindering the engines full potential , by changing the exhaust to a more free flowing you are running a more lean condition even though the bike can make some adjustment to correct the fuel and air mixture its still not enough ,if you change your air filter to a more free flowing filter you will be running even more lean . When I first bought my DX I asked the question of why when I go down main street in first or second gear at 25 mph does my bike not run rite it has a surge , I was told that Vrods like to run in higher RPMS that was the answer by many people and my dealer .And yes give it a try you will know what I mean ,you can not run a stock Vrod at 25 mph with out the engine surge , after much research I found a fuel management system that made the surge go awey and also a overall smoothness of power the bike has a lot more get up and go through out the entire rpm range and I am very happy I can run a lower speeds with out the engine surge ,but maybe Im too picky and notice to much.If you are happy with your bike as is then nothing needs to be done as the dealer stated to you. Good luck and enjoy your new ride.
Hi Gentlemen,
Well riding weather is finally here in Montreal and slowly but surely I am adding the miles on the Nightrod. A beautiful machine and I enjoy it more & more each time. BUT !!!! There are a few small issues/questions I bring to you this week. I hope me continuing on this thread is o.k.
1) Gas Mileage: Three Rods went out for a ride today. Two with slip on Vance & Hines and one with original pipes from factory. The one with original pipes is approx 3 years old so engine size may be slightly smaller than my 2010. We all left Montreal with full tanks and rode for +/- an hour. Tops we did 80km (58 miles). Both bikes with slip ons had to fill up & one with original pipes still had 3/4 tank. Coming home... again... 40 minutes on highway (after fill up) at speeds +/- 55mph and tank is almost at a quarter. Is this normal or is this due to the slip ons ? Do I need to spend the $500 and insist dealer install the fuel management on the bike ? Yes, bikes are new and definitely in break in period.. but this doeasnt seem normal in any way.
2) On the highway at around 55mph & a 3500-4000rpm.. with wind noise as usual (full face) it "seems" like there is a certain up & down to engine RPM though my throttle hasn't been touched. At first I thought it was all in my head & just wind noise... But my Friend with identical bike said he sensed same. Mind you... you dont feel it in the ride in any way.. just audible.
Thats it for this week guys.. Whatever you can throw at me will as always be much appreciated.
Loving the HD and all that comes with it. So much so... shopping around now for a 2nd HD.. Road King.
Rgds, Shawn
Well riding weather is finally here in Montreal and slowly but surely I am adding the miles on the Nightrod. A beautiful machine and I enjoy it more & more each time. BUT !!!! There are a few small issues/questions I bring to you this week. I hope me continuing on this thread is o.k.
1) Gas Mileage: Three Rods went out for a ride today. Two with slip on Vance & Hines and one with original pipes from factory. The one with original pipes is approx 3 years old so engine size may be slightly smaller than my 2010. We all left Montreal with full tanks and rode for +/- an hour. Tops we did 80km (58 miles). Both bikes with slip ons had to fill up & one with original pipes still had 3/4 tank. Coming home... again... 40 minutes on highway (after fill up) at speeds +/- 55mph and tank is almost at a quarter. Is this normal or is this due to the slip ons ? Do I need to spend the $500 and insist dealer install the fuel management on the bike ? Yes, bikes are new and definitely in break in period.. but this doeasnt seem normal in any way.
2) On the highway at around 55mph & a 3500-4000rpm.. with wind noise as usual (full face) it "seems" like there is a certain up & down to engine RPM though my throttle hasn't been touched. At first I thought it was all in my head & just wind noise... But my Friend with identical bike said he sensed same. Mind you... you dont feel it in the ride in any way.. just audible.
Thats it for this week guys.. Whatever you can throw at me will as always be much appreciated.
Loving the HD and all that comes with it. So much so... shopping around now for a 2nd HD.. Road King.
Rgds, Shawn