Ok, before you get mad, no pics YET! I haven't had the time to clean her up and get a good snapshot...will post soon. That being said, I just swapped out my V&H straightshots (which i really loved) for some Bassani RRII B1 pipes on my 13 SB. I have always been a 2-2 fan and always thought the 2-1's made harley's look like sport bikes. That was, until I saw the Bassani pipes. I just couldn't stop looking at pics of them online, so I finally just said screw it and bought them. I plan on doing a cam swap and some head work later down the road too, so general consensus is to go 2-1 to make the most of it. Anyway, installed the other night and have had the last day and a half to run them through the paces. Here are my thoughts so far:

Looks: LOVE THEM! The B1's with the non-tapered muffler is just what I was looking for. The fact that the headers wrap up around the cam cover were what sold me on them...just beautiful in my opinion. Very happy from a looks standpoint.

Sound: Well, coming from the Straightshots (with BCT baffles), these were a bit quieter and I wasn't sure if I liked it at first. However, these were noticeably deeper and more of a mean growl to them....LOVE IT!! I don't even notice the volume anymore...it's all about that deep roar when i'm accelerating. I thought I would be switching back at first, but no way...I so love that deep sound...and once my cams go in, I'm thinking it will only get louder! Can't wait.

Performance: I always thought my straighshots with the BCT's performed pretty well considering being 2-2...and I still feel that way. Was there a performance boost going to the 2-1....nothing stupid, but maybe a slight increase. I'm guessing that the real boost will be once the cams and heads are done, then these Bassani's will really soar. But, the SS's were awful good IMO, and if I HAD to go back to them I wouldn't feel like I was missing out on too much.

The Downfall: Well, Day 1 and I already scraped the Bassani's on a tight right turn that I took fairly fast. In comparison, I made that same turn many times with the SS's and only scraped my peg...never the pipe. The bright side to this is that the scrape is under the pipe at the bend by the cam cover and you really can't see it unless you get on your hands and knees and look for it. Either way,that was the spot where I thought I may have issues, and sure enough it didn't take long for it to do so.


overall, I totally love the looks and DEEP sound these Bassani's make....other than the underside scrape, I wouldn't change anything about them. Very happy with everything up to this point, and for those wondering if the B1's will work on a stock 103....absolutely. I confirmed this with Kurt at Bassani and he said the 103 is fine with these, but they will truly perform with cam and headwork. To say I can't wait is an understatement!

 

Awesome man, can't wait to see the pics. Sucks you just scraped your pipes tho... oh well, used and abused!!

 

well, the good thing is like i said, you really have to get down to see it. i'm just wondering if i need to worry about that area rusting or anything.

 

Well, when I got scratches on mine, they did start to rust... I took them off a couple weeks ago and sanded them down a bit and repainted them. They look pretty damn good if I say so myself...

 

Those are nice pipes, looking forward to the pics. They should perform well for you, stepped headers, 2 >1, etc. I like mine, they don't scrape, but probably perform less as far as dyno numbers. Congrats and enjoy!

 

Cool pipe. Just wait until you break it in.

One thing I really like about a 2-1 is that the noise is behind you. It makes a difference on a long ride.

 

That's very true, I've noticed that already when cruising. I just love the low rumble...just mean sounding.

 

While not the traditional Harley sound most are going for, I really prefer the sound of a 2-1. Yes, the ground clearance sucks on most of them. What are you using to tune the bike? That might be why you're not feeling much of a difference. After the motor work the 2-1 will make much better bottom end than the straight shots. The straight shots MIGHT have out performed the 2-1 on top but most wouldn't notice that. Now you just have to get used to calling it a "pipe" and not "pipes".

 

Lol, good point. Right now I'm using a micro tuner, however I just got a power vision that I haven't swapped out just yet. I was too anxious to fire it up and take it for a ride. I'll most likely swap it out tomorrow, as well as give it a bath so I can get some pics.

 

Congrats, man. That sucks about the scrape. I'd hit it with a little VHT black so it doesn't rust...unless you plan on scraping it some more.

Personally, I love the sound of a 2-1. If you do cams next, the sound will change. Mine got deeper and growlier.

Looking forward to pics.