Hi everyone,

Before some of you start cursing at yet another person asking about the right exhaust, please be assured I have been scouring bike forums and websites for weeks looking for answers and am still uncertain.

I have a 2008 Fat Bob with S&S slip-on mufflers. They're fantastic but I'm yearning for something with a big more rumble. I started looking at a new exhaust. Vance & Hines Big Shots look fantastic and are at the top of my list at the moment.

Which brings me to the very unoriginal issue of noise

If I went for Big Shots I'd probably go with V&H quiet baffles. Some people on forums said they make the bike too quiet, others say they're still too loud and more again state they notice no difference.

I've been eyeing off the V&H Double Barrel. Nobody I know has ever used them and there isn't a lot of talk in cyberspace about them. What I do read is they're far too quiet. Whether this is the opinion of a bunch of riders hellbent on riding as loud as they can, I don't know.

The idea of a staggered aftermarket exhaust also appeals to me as I have a Kuryakyn control extension kit that will fit my bike if a staggered exhaust is installed. At 6ft 3in it will be most welcomed.

At the end of the day I want something that sounds great, performs well and I can at least start up without causing pictures to fall from their frames in my neighbourhood. I can manage loud, it's ridiculously obscenely what-was-I-thinking loud that I'm worried about.

Basically I'm after any advice, personal experiences, etc, on what path I should go down. Do I go the Big Shots? Are quiet baffles worth it? Is the Double Barrel a decent halfway point between good slip-ons and a neighbourhood-shaking shotgun exhaust? Is there an alternative I'm unaware of? Or am I wasting my time chasing an unachieveable goal? I'm stumped - smother me with your wisdom oh wise ones

 

on my stock fatbob first exhaust was bassani road rage b1 exhaust it looked nice but did not have the sound i wanted. a friend had the big shots on his fatbob and they looked very nice and the sounded great at idle and you could here them as he headed home at nite. so i put a set on mine. did purchase the quiet cores and install them it changed the tone and the sharpness of the pipes. after installing the 107 kit and cams had it tuned on the dyno. we ran the standard baffles vs quiet baffles.the quiet cores made 2 more tq and 3 less hp. so i switched back to the standard baffles they sounded the best to me in drive by comparisons of the both baffles. imho i would not buy the quiet core baffles. there is only a few decibals different. i have heard the double barrels they are quiet. go to you tube u can hear alot of different exhaust.

 

I have the black v&h big shots on my 09 fat bob with an Arlen ness big sucker. I lover the sound and have no complaints from them!!

 

I have the straight shots, which many reviews said were insanely loud. I think they are about perfect. Thing is, with the stock baffles the sound is fairly controllable. They aren't super loud at idle or slow acceleration...just a nice rumble that shouldn't annoy the neighbors. Now, crack the throttle hard and they roar real nice. "Thunderous" as one of my co workers described it. I'm guessing the big shots should be fairly similar, so I wouldn't worry about the quiet baffles or annoying the neighbors.

 

Thanks everyone for your reply, greatly appreciated

Deuce I considered the straightshots as I reckon they looked fantastic. Nice and simple, but with a helluva lot of style.

I ended up going for a Big Radius, as they were one of the few pipes I could find readily available for interstate postage. This is one of the few un-joys of living in Australia - good aftermarket Harley parts can require a lot of research and hunting. Also I found a couple of places that sell quieter baffles for the Big Radius.

 

i have the SE double barrel staggard which is the same as the V&H double barrel * they are made by V&H too*
heres a vid of them installed

 

aussielad

your neighbors will love those pipes, they are louder than the bigshots with more of a higher pitch sound.

 

I like my BSS. The neighbors who matter have never complained. My mexican neighbor at the back fence shrugged his shoulder in a ( it's a little bit noisy fashion)when I was trying to talk to him, but blank em probably here illegally anyway.

 

I have the double barrel, they sound good. Nice rumble, not too loud until you lay into the throttle heavily. I have the standard baffles in it.

 

I can't say how the sound differences are for the pipes you mentioned. However, I installed the quiet baffle in my V&H Prop Pipe.

At idle and low RPM neighborhood crawls, it is noticeably quiter. Once I'm in the throttle, it still booms really nice. It is exactly what I wanted. Appease the neighborhood, but make some noise around town and on the highway.

I also noticed that the higher RPM boom got louder as the pipe broke in.