So I am looking for pipes for my fat bob. I know this has probably been discussed many times... Hoping to not **** anyone off by discussing it again. I had the short shots on my sportster and I really liked the sound of the bike. They arent to expensive, around $430. I really like the Big Radius 2 into 2 but those pipes are around $730 (OUCH!!)

I was thinking of just going with some slip ons but I want to get black ones but I think it would look silly with black slip ons and chrome header pipes. Let me know what you guys have and if you have pics of your setup that would be good too. Thanks.

 

First, congrats on choosing the FB - great bike! Might not be quite as nimble in the twisties as your 883, but handles pretty decently for a Big Twin and gives a much better ride on the super slab compared to the Sporty.

If you want to stay with the 'dark' look, here's a pic of my FB (no cat) with 1.75" Rush muffs in black - good fit, good sound, good performance. If you have a cat in your header you may want to get the 2.0" version. Hope this helps.


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oPINIONS ARE LIKE a-HOLES = EVERYBODY HAS one, trust your own judgement. Lots of guys have black slip-ons with chrome head pipes.
If you want my advice go for the best pipe you can and really want the first time, that way you don't end up with parts on a shelf. Don't bother with slip-ons.
My opinion - I'm not a fan of V&H pipes every second rider has got them. And i find them too noisy for the performance they put out.
PS check ebay there's always sales somewhere, GooGle is your friend.

 

My experience has been this; I bought a used 09 FXDF which had a set of V&H Black Side Shots with Fuel Pak tuner. Liked the noise, didn't like the way the bike ran. Bought a used stock exhaust off of ebay and some rush 1.75 slip-ons and it sounded good, ran better than the Side Shots still using the V&H Fuel Pack set to their specs. I then bought a SEPST and self tuned the bike and it ran even better. Threw on an old set of Python Staggered Duals and re-tuned, the bike now runs real good. I'm not a fan of V&H pipes or their tuners. That is my opinion. I love drag pipes (loud and old school cool) but will probably go with an LSR 2-1, D&D Fat Cat or Thunderheader for the performance aspect. You do your research and find out what you like. Many times you may like the looks of a set of pipes but they might not perform well and some of the 2-1pipes don't look so hot but perform well. And yes, this type of thread has been hashed over so many times, but ultimately, make sure the decision is yours and if you like a certain pipe, then get the damn thing and quit pinching that damn penny.

 

V&H Short Shots, Decent Deep Sound I Like The New Look And Sound Of My Fat Bob

 

For Slip'ons, can anyone weigh in on Rush vs V&H? I got a set of V&H on order. Someone told me the V&H sound "tinny". I listended to some YouTube clips but the sound is only as good as camera and my speakers.

Also, how hard is it to get the baffles out of Rush? For the V&H, since I have had a few, its one hex nut and the baffle slides out.

 

i opted for the v&h propipe chrome. looks decent. sounds good. still working on my map to cut out some decel popping,.

 

The Rush muffs have a 'grab bar' near the back end - after removing the retaining nut, you can use a slide hammer to yank out the baffle, or you can take off the muff and punch out the baffle from the opposite side. Some of the glass packing tends to stay on the sides of the muff after removing the baffle, so it helps to clean the crud off before installing the new/old baffle. A shot of Wd-40 allows for easier placement/alignment of the baffle as well.

 

I'm pretty happy with the look and sound of my Python - Throwbacks. They are not common on the road (at least in my area). I think they sound good. Only drawback is that they are LOUD. However, they are easy to put baffles in.
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This below YouTube link seems to provide some useful info. They did not mention Rush in the video. Surprised that "glass packing" would be in a non-quiet baffle. I would expect that all slips-on would basically use the same steel-louvered design without packing.

Check out the vid