Like you said, the difference could well be the difference in testing conditions. Having said that, I bought my first new car in 1975. The model I bought was available with or without a cat converter. Since no one back then was looking forward to the added pollution controls and the advent of unleaded (read: more expensive) fuel, I opted for the non-cat equipped car. It was definitely running lean most of the time and I was not happy with it. Disabling some of the pollution equipment took care of that. I later got the chance to drive the same car with a cat converter and it ran noticeably better. My impression was that it was set with a richer mixture, just enough to improve performance and driveability, and then they let the cat converter take care of the excess pollutants. I'm wondering if something like that is happening with Harley on the 2010 models?
Just a thought!
Ride Safe,
Steve R.
PS: Jamie, thanks for all your input on this forum. It's very much appreciated. I haven't made any final decisions yet on what I want to do with my bike. I'd like a "little" more performance and less heat but I don't want too much more noise. I imagine I'll be talking to you or one of your people sometime before the end of the year! All the best!