[rootintootin]

Welcome.

Judging by the winged bar and shield medallion on your tank, your Softail Deluxe is actually a FLSTNI Heritage Special Nostalgia model. If you look at the VIN on your frame, the 5th and 6th characters should be the letters JD. If they are something else, then you have some other model.

Ronnie's Harley-Davidson | MODEL INFO (onlinemicrofiche.com)

That is an online copy of the parts book for your bike. Practically the same thing the dealer uses in their parts dept. But these online copies have been known to show errors on occasion, so don't get in any arguments at the parts counter. If you plan on keeping this bike, you should hunt up an official Factory Service Manual. Especially if you want to do your own wrenching.

You say pipes and ECM have been changed, but do you know of anything else? A Thundermax system seems like way overkill for just a set of pipes. Since you say the stock ECM is on back order, I take that to mean you didn't get one with the purchase? If a set of pipes is the only modification, you might be better off with the stocker.

Did the prior owner have these problems you are experiencing? Did the bike sit for a long time before you got it? 7K miles spread over 17 years isn't even 10 miles a week. That isn't even enough to get the bike up to operating temperature.

You ought to be knee deep in studying the Thundermax system. Have you been to their website? They have lots of info scattered all around and they do provide some tech support.

 

[rootintootin]

5th and 6th letter on VIN are J and D, so does that make it a Deluxe?

That little $20 nameplate on the front fender makes it a Deluxe. Of course, you could get that nameplate from the nearest Harley Davidson boutique and install it on the front fender of any bike and call it a Deluxe. And you wouldn't be the first person to come up with that idea. If you went to the parts counter at the dealership and said you wanted so and so part for a 06 Deluxe, I can guarantee you would get a blank stare out of the parts dude or dudette. Then they would ask you for the model designation.

That JD buried in the VIN is shorthand for what model it is. If you went to the link provided above, right at the top center of the page is the official model designation. FLSTNI. I don't see anywhere it says Deluxe. If you can decipher that, you know just about everything about that motorcycle. At least the way it came from the factory.

Once someone has had time to rub their dickbeaters all over the motorcycle, parts start changing. Then the pretty shiny chrome pipes the bike came with are gone. Or maybe the stock ECM gets replace with something more better. If you're lucky, you buy from the original owner and get a box full of takeoff parts that were replaced down through the years. Or maybe the second owner who got the parts and hasn't gotten around to selling them yet.

Did you get the Owner's manual with the bike? Every bike came with one. If not, then you should be searching for one of those too. It would be especially important for you, since you don't have a long history of motorcycles in general or Harley Davidsons in particular. Basic operation, maintenance, specs. Lots of good info in one. Most of the time, those get lost. Left in a drawer somewhere. Bike gets sold and it's not important to the sell, so who will notice?

32534-11* ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE, BASE LEVEL - DOM/INTERNATIONAL ONLY*

386.99

32534-05A ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE, BASE LEVEL - DOM/INTERNATIONAL ONLY

429.65

These are 2 OEM ECMs for your bike. The one on top is from that parts link I gave you before. They sell parts online. Notice that the part ends in -11A. If something has been superseded, Ronnie's only shows superseded parts numbers, not the original number.

The bottom number is from another online dealer that shows the original number. That is the number for the part that came on the bike when it was brand new.

Usually, when a part has been superseded, the original part is no longer available.

They both have prices, so that means they have something to sell. Or they can order it. Otherwise, they would show the price as 0.00.

Mods on a Harley can be visible or hidden. You can't look at the motor and tell what parts have been changed inside. Lots of people like that stock look, but don't think twice about hopping up the power to wow their friends and riding buddies. Nothing worse than getting spanked by what looks like a stock 60 HP Harley when you have put all that time and money into your ride.

 

[rootintootin]

I had to look that Viclas thing up. Never heard of it before. But I've led a pretty sheltered life.

 

[rootintootin]

There is a magazine. Maybe online only. Vatos and Viclas.

 

[rootintootin]

.... does that make it a Deluxe?....

Well. nothing like talking out my adz. I guess you and lots of others do have a Deluxe. Even if it's not the official name. If you haven't looked around here, in the Softail forum, there is a sub-forum for Softail Deluxes. But there are only 92 pages or slightly over 1800 posts in it.

I read a few posts and I like the other name for the bike. Skunk.