Ok, i have an 03 1200. It had the stage one SE intake, rejetted carb, and harley slip ons when I bought it. I took the baffles out of the slip ons, and am getting ready to build some custom pipes. I was thinking of putting torque cones in when I build the new pipes. The new pipes will not have a muffler. Good idea? Also, what else could I do to get some more power. Different air cleaner? Cams? Ignition? Where would you guys recommend I start that will give me a good improvement, and will be compatable with other mods down the line? Most bang for your buck I guess....

NRHS did a dyno test on torque cones and found NO appreciable benefit to them. www.bigcitythunder.com has something that, according to my research, does work. Also have heard that Cycle Shack slip ons give good performance and sound.

I am goin to make my own exhaust, and do not plan on using any mufflers. So that would rule out the slip on's. I have seen, and heard about the baffles from big city thunder, will prolly get a set of those when i make my pipes. Wanted to find out other then the exhaust, what would give me the biggest improvement in performance.

I am goin to make my own exhaust, and do not plan on using any mufflers. So that would rule out the slip on's. I have seen, and heard about the baffles from big city thunder, will prolly get a set of those when i make my pipes. Wanted to find out other then the exhaust, what would give me the biggest improvement in performance.

The best bang for the buck will be a 2 into 1 exhaust...Probably a D & D,
Supertrap, or Thunderheader. Consider this when plan on making your
own pipes. Big companies with lotsa bucks and an R & D Dept. can still
turn out a poor performing pipe. There's plenty of them out there.

If you go to the NHRS website, they will tell you, first and foremost, that
all the goodies you could possibly throw at your bike, like cams,ign., headwork, ETC. will result in a total pkg that will only be as strong as the
WEAKEST piece. Pipes are a critical link in performance and should not
be taken lightly. A quality 2/1 will increase power substantially and
straight pipes will suck out the mid-range and lose you power overall.
If you aren't that concerned with power and looks/sound are more
important then by all means make your own or run straights.

If you are making your own pipes why would you consider spending $80 on a pair of Big City Monster baffles? You can make them yourself for about 1/10th the cost.

http://www.bigcitythunder.com/media/baffle.jpg

Look at them, they are just a smaller diameter pipe expanded to fit your application with not much more than a washer on a threaded rod.

At least Kromewerks HP+ baffles appear to have more R&D and cost $30 less.

My local muffler shop even made me similar type baffles while i waited for less than $30.

J & P has some 4" mini baffles if you want to go that route. I have a set that I'm going to try in the spring. $3.99 each. At that price I can mod them up without worrying about destroying them.

*** link to baffles *** (http://www.jpcycles.com/productgroup.aspx?GID=A67257FC-6B50-4AE7-BD9F-D3EA94B1376D&search=4%22%20baffles&store=All&page=1)

If you're going for performance, fabricating drag pipes would be your worst option.

You can find excellent advice on bolstering performance in "The Sportster Performance Handbook", by Buzz Buzzelli. Good luck.

Guess I have to pick. Cool looking pipes that I design and build, which apparently wouldn't do a thing at all for performance, or deal with a cookie cutter exhaust that will? Will pipes that I would build, with some kind of baffle mentioned in the previous posts be at least somewhat close to the performance from an aftermarket exhaust?

stright pipes dont work ! a stock system with cycle shacks or seIIs or get a 2 into 1 is the best http://www.bigcitythunder.com/pages/exhaust_dynamics.html

http://www.sportster.org/tech/exhaust-gc/ read this before you decide !

Actually, if you pick Aaron Wilson's brain, there is a way to make open pipes work. They may have to be 8 feet long but it's all about tuning the timing of the reversion wave.

For peak HP 30-32" is best. But that kills low and mid range power. I remember talking to Aaron about this. And he did say that EXTREMELY long pipes can make good mid range power.

OK, get the point with the pipes.......how about anything else besides the pipes.

Getting the max power out of your engine requires matching components that work together. Synergy is what you are after.

For example, if you have a stock 9:1 compression engine and throw certain cams at it, you may very well cause worse performance.

If I started with a 2003 stock or stage 1 1200 and wanted more performance, I would do a 1250 upgrade with stage 2 rubbermount 1200 heads and a set of 536 cams. Then put the baffles back in the slipons on the stock pipes. I would add an ignition to the list of goodies so you can increase the rev limiter to 6800 along with a better igntion curve.

Your SE air cleaner will be fine. Just rejet the stock CV carb.