Vance & Hines Big Radius 2-1 Pipes

[Jimbo]

Back in July I posted a message stating I installed the Big Radius pipes on my bike. I also installed the recommended Fuelpak at the same time. I've been testing that combo all summer and up until a week or so ago. I've been real happy with the pipes but the Fuelpak is another story. I was getting quite a bit of off-throttle pops with the Fuelpak installed and some were pretty loud. The Fuelpak is a quality made product, easy to install and adjust plus it fits real sweet under the seat. It's also easy to uninstall back to the stock system. Knowing that the header gaskets weren't leaking and the pipes torqued to specs I alternated with the Fuelpak installed, then uninstalled at each tank of gas. I did it this way to try and keep a fair run, street, highway and temperature to be as close as possible. Each time the Fuelpak was out of the equation, no pop. Installed, it pops. As I said, I've kept this up for quite a while. There is no doubt in my mind the popping problem was being caused by the Fuelpak. Quality wise, a solid product but unfortunately there are 33 adjustments to cover the throttle range and no documentation detailing what each adjustment covers so you can do some tweaks. The Fuelpak website does say the version 12 (the version I have) was designed to eliminate decel popping and that mode 23 cuts off fuel on throttle release for that reason.

The only performance gain with the Fuelpak installed that I noticed was a smoother throttle response roll-on from first gear. Also there was no fuel mileage difference between the tanks with and without the Fuelpak.

So for now with the stock air filter I would not recommend spending hard earned money on the Fuelpak with the V & H Big Radius pipes. In the spring I'll put in a K&N air filter and see how the Fuelpak does with that combo but until then it stays unplugged.

[gman]

Just got my Big Radius and Fuel Pak. So, I will be trying the combo. Have you contacted V&H about this issue? I will post with my results, but likely won't have enough riding time to see the difference till spring now.

[RuneRaider0508]

This may seem a dumb suggestion but one you might want to try. Disdconnect your battery and allow your ECU to go to sleep!
Do your K&N filter change and AirBox mod (if you plan doing that) reconnect your battery and ride your Raider like you stole it.
What that does is re-sets your ECU to except all your new demands on the engine,i.e. the new pipes,more air in ,more air out, the new fuel pac, etc.

Just a suggestion. The popping sound you are getting is un-burned fuel that remains in the chambers and exhaust after you decellerate
while on the fuel pack.

Jusy my two cents worth.

[gman]

I haven't got my FuelPak installed yet, but according to V&H the FuelPak can add or remove fuel from the mixture. That leads me to believe a setting will reduce the fuel thus reducing the pops.

[Jimbo]

Just got my Big Radius and Fuel Pak. So, I will be trying the combo. Have you contacted V&H about this issue? I will post with my results, but likely won't have enough riding time to see the difference till spring now.


Nope, I haven't contacted V&H. I might as well contact Ford or GM. The Fuelpak is not their product.

The install is pretty much monkey proof. It's very straight-forward and simple to do. I hope your setup works for you as advertised.

[Jimbo]

This may seem a dumb suggestion but one you might want to try. Disdconnect your battery and allow your ECU to go to sleep!
Do your K&N filter change and AirBox mod (if you plan doing that) reconnect your battery and ride your Raider like you stole it.
What that does is re-sets your ECU to except all your new demands on the engine,i.e. the new pipes,more air in ,more air out, the new fuel pac, etc.

Just a suggestion. The popping sound you are getting is un-burned fuel that remains in the chambers and exhaust after you decellerate
while on the fuel pack.

Jusy my two cents worth.


Sorry Rune, I must have missed your reply the last time I was on here.

The battery was disconnected as part of the installation process. I figured the decel pops were because of being too rich which is why I'll wait for the K&N air filter before hooking the Fuelpak back up. They give settings for an after market air filter but I think I would just leave the current Fuelpak settings alone to see if the problem goes away after better air flow is introduced.

Laters...

[gman]

I now have my Fuelpak installed and the bike is running real nice. The popping is not completely gone, but minimized. I'm happy with it so far.

[skuch65]

How do these pipes sound on the Raider? I'm thinking of purchasing a set but not sure of how they will sound. Thanks.

[Jimbo]

They will make your bike sound like it's got a pair.

[skuch65]

Jimbo did you ever install the K&N filter with the V/H exhaust and did it take care of your problem with the fuelpak

[Jimbo]

Jimbo did you ever install the K&N filter with the V/H exhaust and did it take care of your problem with the fuelpak

No I haven't. It's on order right now from Direct Line, but the shipment was split into two so I'm not sure if it's going to be here on the first shipment or not. According to the tracking number I'll find out on the 17th. That is an answer I'm anxious to figure out.


Jimbo