RPW Thor on a 2016 Vegas, Installation tidbits

I recently received an RPW Thor V-868 for my 2016 Vegas.



The V-868 is the "No frame cut" version, as compared to the V-870 which requires cutting of the right lower frame extension. You should be able to see the muffler offset, allowing it to clear the frame.

A snap of the fingers, and... *Poof*.



For those of us without the magic fingers, a little work is involved. I won't go into the actual installation as that's covered in the kit instructions. What follows is a few tidbits that may help with installation. May be helpful with other exhaust installs...

 

Removing the stock exhaust can be done without separating the front headpipe. Loosening its clamp allows for some twisting and loosening to get it outta there.

The stock exhaust weighs (*grunt*) 36 lbs!


The RPW Thor V-868 weighs in at 14 lbs.


A welcome 22 lb weight reduction...

 

One thing to check is the fitment of the exhaust clamps to the headpipe flange.

I found weld blobs that prevented full and flat seating of the clamps.


Some Dremel dressing work with a thin/flat cutoff disc, got the flange backsides flat.

 

Heat shield clamps.

The kit comes with stainless steel hose clamps for the heat shields.
A bit long, I don't like having protruding, dangling ends.


The ends can be trimmed down a bit.


Being shorter helps with installing the heat shields on the pipes, since you don't have to bend/flex the clamps so much to get them on and started.

Much better.


The clamps should be hidden, yet accessible for future tightening.
I used this arrangement of the clamps.


Arrows pointing to the screw heads.

Leave the clamps a little loose, to allow adjusting/shifting the heatshields after exhaust installation...

 

An old-dog, new-tricks thing.
Wish we had this stuff 50 years ago.

A couple coats of VHT Hi-Temp sprayed *into* the headpipes helps to prevent, or reduce, heat bluing of the chrome.

 

The instructions talk about loosening and rotating the right footpeg mount to gain clearance for the installation.

I have the 2" extensions, not sure if it makes a difference.

It's only 2 bolts, much easier to just remove the whole thing.


The left footpeg mount also has to be removed to gain the clearance necessary to work the oil cooler out of the way.


I also experienced clearance issues with the clutch cable, had to unbolt/loosen the thing and pull it rearward to clear the rear headpipe...

 

The area behind the speedo sensor was a jumbled mess of wiring. A lotta things want to co-exist there at the same time and place, making installation of the rear O2 sensor difficult. After the rear headpipe is off, disconnect the speedo sensor, re-route and tidy the area, try to get everything further back and out of the way...

 

Exhaust gaskets.

There's many postings in here about recommended exhaust gaskets.
I found a Honda (Vesrah) crush gasket that should be a good fit.

So, here's some Victory exhaust gasket options and their dimensions.

-- ID -------------------- OD ----------------- Thickness
1.713" (43.5mm) - 2.085" (53.0mm) - 0.122" (3.1mm) -- Polaris 5246008 (used/crushed)
1.735" (44.1mm) - 2.070" (52.6mm) - 0.123" (3.1mm) -- Lloydz HOH-100 (square mesh)
1.740" (44.4mm) - 2.064" (52.4mm) - 0.162" (4.1mm) -- Vesrah VE-1012 (Honda 18291-MM8-880)
1.691" (43.0mm) - 2.005" (50.9mm) - 0.150" (3.8mm) -- Fel-Pro 60569

And, a couple of Harley gaskets for reference.
1.625" (41.0mm) - 1.875" (48.0mm) - ????? ????? -- Harley 65324-83
1.750" (45.0mm) - 2.000" (50.8mm) - ????? ????? -- Harley 68534-68A (66-85 Shovelhead)

Header flange dimensions.
--- ID ------------------- OD
1.750" (44.5mm) - 2.055" (52.2mm) -- 2016 Victory Vegas (OEM)
1.620" (41.1mm) - 2.000" (50.8mm) -- RPW Thor



I chose to use the Honda (Vesrah) o-ring type of crush gasket. It's thicker, giving a greater crush region, which is better at accommodating uneven, non-squared, fitments...

 

After the pipes are (*grunt*) installed, the oil cooler is refitted.
Watch for interference with the front headpipe's heatshield clamp, twist outta the way as necessary...

 

For this kit, the threaded extension of the swingarm bolt is no longer used.


I suppose it could just be sawed off.
I turned an aluminum cover for the thing...


Another view, also showing the muffler offset to clear the frame...

 

And, to go with the new exhaust, A K&N filter kit.


How 'bout a little bling for the filter covers...

 

Now for some tuning sessions.
I'm using a TechoResearch Maximus, in mobile dyno mode.


After the first run, let everything cool off and retighten the head clamps and heatshield clamps...

****** End of Report ******

Anybody else have any tips, tricks, trivia, please feel free to add them in here...