Tailgunner Exhaust - Rob`s Dyno Service

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TAILGUNNER EXHAUST
These spinning slip-ons hit the mark
T
1
Our opening shot
shows a stock
2007 Road King
on the lift, ready
and willing to get
a new set of mufflers.
he term “weekend project” means differ ent things to different people. Some guys can change out an entire engine in a
day or so, ride th eir machine to work on Monday, and rath er
th an make watercooler small talk about what th ey did over th e
weekend, casually show off in the parking lot during lunch hour.
Oth ers can tackle a project and a 12-pack at the same time, finish th em both, and still not have leftover parts lying on th e
g arage floor. (I hate those guys.)
Most of us, howev er, need to take all mitigating factors into
account, estimate how many hours a part i c u l ar task ought to
take, and th en budget approximately twice that amount of time.
It doesn’t matter if it’s something as painless as bolting on an
accessory to dolling up our bike’s appearance or making a technical upgrade to improve performance, a weekend project
m eans it’s got to be done — completed correctly and out of our
hair — before the alarm goes off on Monday morn i n g .
So today we’re going to take a route th a t ’s somew h er e
b e t w e enthose two types of chores: We’re going to bolt a goodlooking and performance-enhancing Ta i l gu n n er Gunship 4"
slip-on exhaust system to a bran d - n ew2007 Road King, courtesy of the kind folks at New Roc Harl ey - Davidson in New
Rochelle, New York. Now, to refer to anything as good looking is
purely subjective. Some folks at the dea l ership felt that the
Gunship’s Gatling gun-style rotating tips were nothing more
th an a novelty, while oth ers who saw them on the bike marveled
at th eir appear ance. But th er e ’s nothing subjective about perf o rm ance, and that’s why we called in Rob’s Dyno Service. Rob
brought his dyno down to New Roc from his base in
Massachusetts to help us find out if Ta i l gu n n er (#FLGS-201,
$995) pipes really improve a bike’s output.
As far as being a project that could be accomplished over
a weekend, Tailgunners fit that bill perfectly. In fact, insta llation was a breeze. Dave from New Roc H-D’s service
department managed to pull off the Harley’s stock pipes
and bolt up the Tailgunners in a couple of hours, using
simple hand tools and en c o u n t ering no unforeseen problems
82 • AMERICAN IRON GREAT WEEKEND PROJECTS • 2007
(and no parts left over). The pipes
went right on, using all the stock har dware as suggested by the manufacturer.
Dave, however, pro that he is, was
quick to point out that you should
always check all hardware, especially
the clamps, for wear and corrosion
before reusing them.
Installation complete, it was time to
roll the Road King up onto the dyno
and find out whether the Tailgunners
are true to their claim and provide an
increase in power and torque. The
results proved that the Tailgunner technology, in which the spinning motion of
the turbine tips creates a siphon which
2
Dave begins the job by unscrewing the
locking pins inside the saddlebags, so
he can lift the bags up and remove
them from the bike. Be sure you set
them aside on a blanket, so they do
not get scratched.
3
Using a 9/16" socket, Dave loosens
the clamp that holds the exhaust
pipe onto the header.
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4
He then uses a 1/2" box end wrench to
undo the two bolts that hold the rear of
the stock muffler to the rearmost
mounting bracket.
5
The muffler can now be pulled off the
header pipe. You’ll probably have to
shimmy (rock) the muffler slightly from
side to side a bit before it’ll break
loose from the header and slip off.
6
Remove the clamp from the stock muffler. Be sure to inspect it for wear and
corrosion. Replace it if a crack or other
damage is found.
Slip the stock clamp onto the new
Tailgunner muffler. Note the alignment
of the clamp to the muffler. You may
want to rotate the muffler, so you can
hide the clamp.
8
Now carefully slide the Tailgunner
muffler onto the stock header pipe the
same distance as the stock muffler
was. Do not force the muffler on or
rock it hard from side to side.
9
Starting with the stock 1/2” bolts at the
rear of the muffler, Dave fastens the
pipe onto the mounting bracket but just
lightly snugs the bolts down for now.
84 • AMERICAN IRON GREAT WEEKEND PROJECTS • 2007
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Dave then measures where the pipe
bolts to the rear bracket, so he can
make both mufflers stick out the
same distance. Once he has the
muffler where he wants it, he
tightens the bolts to spec.
Dave then tightens the clamp bolt to
H-D spec using a 9/16" socket. He does
the same for the other side of the bike.
12
Once he’s done, Dave makes sure he
cleans all the dirt and fingerprints
from the pipes before firing up the
motor and heating up the pipes.
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13
Dave can now reinstall the saddlebags using the stock mounting
screws, which are on the inside
of each bag.
draws exhaust out and thereby increases
flow, did indeed improve the Road
King’s power output, although not substantially. Take a look at the accompanying chart and you can see for yourself
what Rob’s dyno told us.
A couple of horses and a few more
pounds of torque are always welcome,
however, particularly on a bagger,
especially considering the amount of
time these tips took to install. So if
you’re looking for a weekend project
that not only delivers a bit more power
but also gives your ride a lot more eyeball, Tailgunner Gunship pipes, available in show-quality chrome or a
stem-to-stern Stea lth Black finish,
with or without full-length baffles, are
exactly the kind of project for you.
They won’t chew up the whole weekend, and you might even be able to
squeeze in a couple of cold ones
before, during, or after. GWP
Extreem
SOURCES
Tailgunner Rotary Cannon Exhaust
PO Box 1265, Dept. AIM
West Tisbury, MA 02575
508/693-1944
www.TailgunnerExhaust.com
New Roc Harley-Davidson/Buell
8 Industrial Lane, Dept. AIM
New Rochelle, NY 10805
866/632-NRHD
www.NRHD.com
14
Here’s how the finished job looks!
Our Road King is ready to run on
Rob’s dyno, spinning exhaust and all.
www.AIMag.com
Rob’s Dyno Service
978/895-0441
www.RobsDyno.com
2007 • AMERICAN IRON GREAT WEEKEND PROJECTS •
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