First bike, and I'm now starting to do incremental upgrades to it. I had Screamin' Eagle® Street Performance Slip-On Mufflers - Dyna® Fat Bob® Model put on my bike last week because I wanted to be able to be heard on the road, and I wanted the bike to sound more like the HARLEY it is. Besides, I've had the bike 4 months and needed to add new chrome to it! Not as deep a sound as I expected, but none the less better sound than the OEM mufflers had put out (Which I'm looking to get rid of). Didn't do a breather upgrade yet, so no engine download was required either.
I tossed around putting new pipes on as well, but decided just to replace the mufflers for the time being.

What is the real advantage to also replacing the pipes? Or is there any advantage to doing that? I'm eventually going to upgrade the breather, but money is tight right now so it's gonna have to wait. I ride the bike to work a lot, so performance that kills gas mileage is not something I am looking to have happen. Thanks.

 

With money being tight you might be happy with a different set of slipons. I had the V&H mufflers, which I liked and were pretty loud. Then I installed a pair of Cycle Shacks which I like even more. Not quite as loud but loud enough and nice and deep. They list for $190 and can be bought for less.
You can get a performance advantage with a 2-1 system but it will cost more. Lots of choices out there, including 2-2 pipes. Not to mention all the different styles. If you decide to go that way later on you can always sell your used mufflers.

 

I've got a new FatBoy with a stock exhaust and was thinking about the Screaming Eagle slip on mufflers. I like medium loud, but not deafening. I think the stock pipes are almost loud enough. How much of a difference is there in volume and also depth of sound (low pitch)?

 

There is a definite difference between the Screamin' Eagle and the stock mufflers. Not so loud that you need earplugs, but loud and deep enough so you can be heard. My bike was just too quiet for the type of traffic I ride in to and from work.

 

Thanks! I know the Street Bob has a very different exhaust than the Fatboy. I wonder how similar the conversion would be with my bike. Ideally, I'd like a pipe that is quiet at low revs, but opens up at higher RPMs. I live in a VERY quiet neighborhood, and I'm the guy with the Harley and the drum set. I often go for early a.m. jaunts, especially on the weekends, and am known to roll down the driveway in 2nd gear and putt out of the development to keep things friendly.

 

Give your SE slip-ons some time. After several thousand miles I think you'll find that they sound louder and deeper; mine do. Your next step should be a SE air cleaner with a K&N filter along with the Stage 1 download; given a tight budget for now.

 

I think you'll be OK in the interim. I expect my pipes to deepen as I put more miles on. Right now I LOVE how they sound, and look.
I'm the one that lives at the end of the street in the culdesac that has been branded the "trouble maker" for some reason. Guess out of everyone on the street that has a bike, I'm the only one that actually RIDES mine! I put the upgraded mufflers on it to not only make me noticed for safety, but also to P!$$ OFF the ASHWIPES on my street. I was gone for 2 years on overseas Navy deployments until I retired recently and the jerks here did all they could to harass my Wife and kids. WELL, payback is a bit@h, and I plan to have fun at it in the meantime!!!!

 

Several thousand huh!? Well, then I've got roughly 6,950 miles to go! Been raining ALOT this week here so I haven't been able to ride much. Rain don't really bug me, but the lightening sure does. Our afternoon thunderstorms here in Florida are really bad this time of year.
Thanks for the advice, especially on the air cleaner. Getting there slowly, but surely.

 

Thank you for your service to our country. I hope someone somewhere realizes that while they were having fun (as I was) you were defending the country where HD is (largely) made. You have earned your time on a nice sounding ride...enjoy it!

 

You will get a difference of opinion here. It is not a simple trade off as you may think. You can get good sound with either method, that's your subjective judgement. Oh by the way, forget about achieving that old potato-potato lope sound, you need an old carb bike for that. Not going to happen with a modern bike. You can get louder, however.. you can get obnoxious too.. You can get better style one way or another, that's your subjective judgement.

First the HD exhaust in any configuration is too short to be very effective. When you make it louder you lose back pressure which can increase high rpm HP (if you also tune) but decreases low end torque and makes the exhaust susceptible to decel pops. The 2-1 full exhausts can be tuned to get some of that torque back, but they also have holes in the power curve, and don't max your high rpm HP.

Except for D&D, the full exhaust manufacture seem to pay little attention to proper O2 sensor placement (old school was to disconnect them anyway) so there is potential to mess with your street drivability or kill the closed loop capability (not recommended).

Currently, for near stock bikes, the best recommendation for street performance is to keep your HD head pipes, put some slip ons on that you like the sound. I know rush makes a quality product, I hear Krome Werks and Fat Cat also, oh V&H maybe, and get a proper tune for your driving style.

The difference between the pipes are not going to be felt in your rear end until you are well into displacement and cam changes. The tune will put life into the bike and improve street drivability, performance, mileage more than any pipe or AF. If you are a DYIer, look at the TTS kit. If not look for a good tuner (which may or may not be the dealer).

Gotta go, good luck sorting through all the info and advice here.