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Air filters...

Air filters...

Mesmer
4 years ago

Apologies if this has been asked before. All things being equal is there any advantage (other than aesthetic) to having the SE Heavy Breather over the standard air filter on the 114 Fat Bob?

wello
4 years ago

Quoting Mesmer on 25 Feb 2020 02:24 PM
Apologies if this has been asked before. All things being equal is there any advantage (other than aesthetic) to having the SE Heavy Breather over the standard air filter on the 114 Fat Bob?

is the bike completely standard ? .. ive got the the 107 sportglide .. its got stock air filter but full bassani exhaust system .. it runs fine and i dont feel the need for any extra performance so for now i will leave as is .
however i have also just bought a 114 ultra limited from phd ..had se air filter, slip on rineharts and a tune.. as i listened to many views on installing these prior to delivery, the main one being that the standard pipes and filter choke the engine so obviously it breathes easier with a basic stage 1 and runs better and more efficiently .. i never rode the bike before the changes so cant really compare but im pretty sure it would have been pretty average as standard . i hate it when they give me a loaner when servicing and its standard .. feels and sounds like shite ! .

WideglidingNZ
4 years ago

Quoting Mesmer on 25 Feb 2020 02:24 PM
Apologies if this has been asked before. All things being equal is there any advantage (other than aesthetic) to having the SE Heavy Breather over the standard air filter on the 114 Fat Bob?

Quoting wello on 25 Feb 2020 03:12 PMedited: 25 Feb 2020 03:14 PM
is the bike completely standard ? .. ive got the the 107 sportglide .. its got stock air filter but full bassani exhaust system .. it runs fine and i dont feel the need for any extra performance so for now i will leave as is .
however i have also just bought a 114 ultra limited from phd ..had se air filter, slip on rineharts and a tune.. as i listened to many views on installing these prior to delivery, the main one being that the standard pipes and filter choke the engine so obviously it breathes easier with a basic stage 1 and runs better and more efficiently .. i never rode the bike before the changes so cant really compare but im pretty sure it would have been pretty average as standard . i hate it when they give me a loaner when servicing and its standard .. feels and sounds like shite ! .

My Lowrider S has the same airfilter set-up as your Fat Bob, I just had a stage 2 done (cams, exhaust & tune) and I just swapped the airfilter element for a K&N one, not sure if it flows better than an aftermarket heavy breather, Dyno result 108 hp with 118 ft/pounds of torque, A cam & tune seems to make a big improvement to these M8's

paulybronco
4 years ago

Major benefit is that you can reuse a K&N filter after a wash and re oil the std is in the bin. They do flow better than std but no huge gains on a stocker

JFE
4 years ago

Looks better - 5hp there already.

tussuck
4 years ago

Quoting JFE on 25 Feb 2020 08:10 PM
Looks better - 5hp there already.

at least!

gary c
4 years ago

I am certainly no expert but value reading people who know. Just a couple of points that have been raised on here and the US forum on the 114 Filter vs the K&N Filter.
The STD 114 filter uses a high flow backing plate as the upgraded SE Filter set up minus the K&N filter. The STD filter is synthetic and is deigned to be washed out like a K&N only not oiled (I have washed mine to no ill effect), and is in the workshop manual. The K&N is subject to letting in more smaller particles and users are reporting drying up and having to re oil every 1000ks. I cannot verify this myself, only what I have read. As for Stages they say from Stage 2 upwards where a greater amount of air is mixed a high flow filter should be introduced, think they quote from 124hp. I looked at the K&N as I have used them before but the M8 motor with the 114 Air Filter set up is very suited to the synthetic filter they have used, if you need to replace it, cost is only $64. Hope this helps

WideglidingNZ
4 years ago

Quoting gary c on 25 Feb 2020 11:06 PM
I am certainly no expert but value reading people who know. Just a couple of points that have been raised on here and the US forum on the 114 Filter vs the K&N Filter.
The STD 114 filter uses a high flow backing plate as the upgraded SE Filter set up minus the K&N filter. The STD filter is synthetic and is deigned to be washed out like a K&N only not oiled (I have washed mine to no ill effect), and is in the workshop manual. The K&N is subject to letting in more smaller particles and users are reporting drying up and having to re oil every 1000ks. I cannot verify this myself, only what I have read. As for Stages they say from Stage 2 upwards where a greater amount of air is mixed a high flow filter should be introduced, think they quote from 124hp. I looked at the K&N as I have used them before but the M8 motor with the 114 Air Filter set up is very suited to the synthetic filter they have used, if you need to replace it, cost is only $64. Hope this helps

Seems a bit strange as the K&N is a SE replacement (not that it means a lot) but personally I've never had a problem with K&N filters (on both bikes & cars (as long as they are serviced correctly), I didn't want to spend $500-600 bucks on another set-up for a couple of Hp

Mesmer
4 years ago

So,...the concensus then would be that the SE setup is maybe worth maybe 2-5hp? Would that be a reasonable assumption? Given the price of it (currently $620) I'm thinking maybe hard to justify other than from an aesthetic perspective?

FXDF08
4 years ago

The SE hi-flow air filter is a replacement for the standard filter and sits behind the standard cover. The Heavy Breather is a different looking piece of kit and arguably flows a little better due to back plate? Don’t confuse the two, as they look completely different and the prices are very different too.

FXDF08
4 years ago

... so I’m led to believe

Mesmer
4 years ago

Quoting FXDF08 on 27 Feb 2020 09:52 AM
The SE hi-flow air filter is a replacement for the standard filter and sits behind the standard cover. The Heavy Breather is a different looking piece of kit and arguably flows a little better due to back plate? Don’t confuse the two, as they look completely different and the prices are very different too.

Appreciated. I was of-course definitely referring to the Heavy Breather.

Mesmer
4 years ago

Many thanks for the info guys, much appreciated. Can I also ask then is the Heavy Breather the go to filter for performance, or, is that just what HD shops would like to sell? And are there other better filters out there to be considered before the Heavy Breather?

Phatty
4 years ago

I've had 2 different ones ( Screamin Eagle Ventilator and a Roland Sands Turbine ) then put the Heavy Breather on my Fatboy and won't use anything else now. I gained 6flbs of TQ and 5 HP. Runs better too.

Mesmer
4 years ago

Quoting Phatty on 29 Feb 2020 04:00 AM
I've had 2 different ones ( Screamin Eagle Ventilator and a Roland Sands Turbine ) then put the Heavy Breather on my Fatboy and won't use anything else now. I gained 6flbs of TQ and 5 HP. Runs better too.

Very much appreciate your answer. Decision made :-)

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