Vance and Hines Big Shots

Hey D Price
Thanks for the timely response. Im real excited about the Big Shots. Im happy to know that the big shots will sound great with the baffles in, as I dont want to totally P off my neighbors. I live in a real expensive quiet neighborhood, that probably wont look kindly on me unless I exit the neighborhood at an engine speed much higher than idle.LOL.......
In any case Im looking forward to "opening" up my rear disk and installing the HD swing arm axle cover in chrome. I think its gonna look sh*t hot with the Big Shots and the Swing arm axle cover. My bike is in this quarters custom paint Mint Green/Dark Navy Metallic Two Tone. Its so amazing the emotional response from people who come up and literally stand beside the bike for many minutes wanting to know all about it. Older men, that were teenagers in the 50's are especially overwhelmed by it. Its too cool.

Big Shots and Long Shots

I'm not suprised you didn't find any power increases with the long shots. No crossover and the long design tends to reduce lower end torque.

They will sing very nicely at higher RPM's and may make a little more power up top.

If you are looking for "the look" these are great pipes, you may see some performance gains on the Big Shots due to the shorter length of the pipes.

They will be loud, just keep the throttle down. My Longshots are twice as loud as the ThunderHeader I put on the bike.

Occassionally I remove the baffle in order to "Increase the sound quotent" for bike night. Can't be loud enough then.

How about a 2 into 1

if you are serious about everday street riding? I have the V&H Pro-Pipe (swapped out the Thunderheader) and love the off the line throttle response. If I keep my shift points at low revs, I can ride in my residential area without annoying too many neighbors. I travel a lot and find that it's not too smart to announce that you have expensive toys in your garage just waiting for someone to help themselves to.

I disagree with people who believe that loud pipes save lives. Most of these guys have a set of drag pipes and maybe some hiway pegs as the only modifications to their bike and justify the increased noise since their 600 lb scoot with only 70 ponys couldn't get out of the way of the soccer mom in a minivan with a load of groceries and screaming kids. Once you get a few real horsepower tweaks to your scoot and can ride the MSF course in your Big Twin (and not the 250cc commuter bike), then you have a few more skills under your belt to save your life while riding.

If you group ride a lot, I can guarantee that you will be in the back of the line with all the Sportys if you have loud pipes. While a deeper rumble is nice, the loud as hell pipes do nothing but annoy the rider immediatley behing you. Keep this in mind unless you ride solo.

Loud bikes at the back of the line

It's not so much the bike as in the case of the Sportys but rather on the skill of the rider. Most everyone in a group ride is relying on the skill of the ride captain to lead them and to ensure that the group doesn't get spread out too far. The most experienced riders are usually at the front and at the back of the line with everyone in between. As it turns out, most of the experienced (and usually older) riders are on their 2nd or 5th or nth bike which is usually not a Sporty but rather something larger so that they can carry 2 up.

We try to fit the rookie riders in the middle of the pack riding single file whereas everyone else rides 2 side by side in the lane. What always happens is that the bigger, faster, bikes always seem to pull away from the smaller, slower Sportys especially when we have less than 2 miles to go to the watering hole and you want a good seat with a bird's eye view (or is that bald eagle?).

Bikes that spew blue smoke and leak fluids automatically end up at the back - no one wants to ride behind 007 with the smokescreen and oilspray.

Not sure if I hit a nerve with the Sportster riders

I do agree with the fact that a Sportster has a higher hp to weight ratio than most any factory big twin. They accelerate and brake quicker and handle more nimbly than a big twin. So what is it that makes a big twin better for hiway group riding? I believe (my opinion only) that the very pluses for the Sportster also work against itwith a rookie rider in a group riding situation where there are 2 very different sizes of bikes. The same features above can be described as jerky or abrupt and twitchy in comparison to the slow roll on of a higher torque (and heavier weight) big twin which also has a longer slower braking distance.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is easier to follow a slower transition bike with an experienced rider than a quick responsive bike with a rookie. This is sorta like following a semi with the family car - he aint gonna pull away like any new driver with big block Mustang, he's not gonna stop on a dime in front of you and he's not gonna do any fancy zig zag lane changes which makes for an easy ride when you are following. The analogy of following a quicker responsive Sporster is like following that same road racer Mustang, you may have to brake unexpectedly or roll on the throttle to catch up with the pack or watch for sudden movements to avoid road hazards.

Another take on this may have to do with the powerband of the Sportster. That same easy freeway speed in the sweet spot powerband on your big twin may be like riding a mechanical pogo stick on a Sportster. The Sportster rider then slows down to avoid the vibrations and then speeds back up to to catch up the the group meanwhile annoying the big twin riders behind. To me this is like having to play with the cruise control on the Benz while following a smaller car on the freeway.

75mph - That's only at night on the island

For most of the day, the H-1 out of Waikiki all the way to Pearl City is a commuters nightmare slowing down to a crawl and then up to maybe 50 before the next entrance and more cars merging in from the right. I do travel to the mainland and can understand where most of you are coming from. For anyone who hasn't ridden on the island, I'd invite you to rent a bike from one of the many rental places and enjoy cruising around the island. Hawaii is a non-mandatory helmet state and while most people from the mainland shake their heads when they see locals riding with just a T-shirt, board shorts, and sandals, it's just a normal day on the island.

Most of the group rides meet near the airport (where the dealerships are located) and consist of a cruise along the waterfront towards Waikiki dodging rental cars, tour buses, and taxis followed by a rideup the Pali Hwy through the mountains. If you have loud pipes, they sound even louder when you squeeze between the tour buses in the concrete jungle of Waikiki. I'll admit that a Sportster is a better vehicle for weaving in heavy traffic while the torque of a big twin is better for a group ride through the mountains.

Mahalo

P.S. Make sure you use sunscreen if you do come visit. The wind in your face may feel cool but the sun still shines on the back of your neck.

What Pineapple?

You better believe it has changed. The pineapple is long gone from Oahu although there are a few plantations on the Big Island. The Dole Cannery is now more of a office than a processing plant. It is actually a movie theater/office building with Dole occupying only part of the building. The so called Hawaiian pineapple now comes from the Philippines and is processed in Hawaii before shipping to the mainland. I think that they have a plant down at the free trade port so that no duties are paid until the finished goods reach the mainland.

What has become of the plantations? The whole area around Waikele, Waipahu, Pearlridge, Mililani where the H-2 meets the H-1 is now a big subdivision intermixed with golf courses, the Waikele factory outlet mall, CompUSA, Lowes, Costco, and a Wal-Mart. Even though you can buy a one bedroom for under $200k, it is still leasehold land. There are fee simple properties but they are typically on the Ewa side and quite run down.

You mentioned K-Bay? I take that to be Kaneohe MC Base. You can now take the H-3 from the airport to the base in less than 20 minutes if you don't get stuck in the traffic around Salt Lake. The little towns of Kailua/Lanikai near the base are growing and are still somewhat affordable by Hawaii standards.