Here's the deal: I have a completely stock 2007 FXSTC.I'veacquired a second, stock exhaust system to play with. I'm looking for a little more "Harley sound", but am not in a position at this point to godown the preferred aftermarket route. By having two sets of mufflers, I can try a baffle modification and still return to stock if not satisfied.

I have searched this forumand read most of the posts on this subject. It is obvious that there are two factions: Those whomake the caseagainst such mods, and those who have actually performed and experienced them. It is not always easy to evaluate the results that have been posted as often there are missing elements of information.

I would like to ask for some additional feedback from those who have modified their stock HD exhaust baffles:
1. Year and model of bike.
2. Type of muffler mod (to sleeve or plug, drill or punch, size of hole(s), etc.).
3. Effect on sound.
4. Effect on performance.
5. Any other mods that may have been made to engine (air cleaner, fuel management, etc.).
6. How long have you used this mod, such as approx. miles.
7. Additional comments you may have on this experience.

I am aware of the concerns about possibly running lean, as well as the opposing view that the '07 may adjust itself if the mods are not too radical.

Sorry for posting another thread on this subject, but I'm just trying to get a better handle on it fromfolks with hands-on experience.

Later! -stef

 

2007 Fatboy punched out the plugs with this big drill bit I found at the Pawn shop for a couple of bucks. This thing was about 5/8 in dia. and three feet long , looked kinda like a big masonry bit. Anyway I like the sound much deeper tone and cant beat the price. from what I understand as long as you dont increasetheairflow in ie. high flow air cleaner. No other mods neccesary.
Hope this helps,
G.

 

Let's see;

1. 07 FXSTC
2. Punched out baffle plate.
3. Deeper amd louder sound output, a very nice overall effect.
4. Zero, at least as far as I can tell with my uncalibrated seat of the pants. But it do sound nice.
5. Nothing other than a set of tripple platinum Screaming Eagle plugs.
6. about 6 or 700 miles now.
7. Its an easy mod with little or no effect on the engines performance either for good or ill. I can't detect any increase or decrease in the heat output, fuel economy, or HP. But it does sound soooo much better. Especially when you take off from a light with a handful of throttle. Has a very authoritative bark without the annoyinghigh pitched bite that some mufflers and pipe sets have.

Its a very easy and cheap way to get the "Harley" sound my bike should have had from the factory.I spent under $5 for the parts I used to do it right.

Heres' the tools I used to take it 'out';



I didn't have a hole saw that would fit all the way down to the plate so I used a hammer and screwdriver, unfortunatly it leaves a bunch of ragged edges. So I came upwith these parts, under $5 at the local Lowes plus a 21mm socket to clean things up.
1 piece of 1/2" X 3' long threaded rod, three nuts to fit and four washers.



Put two nuts the socket and a lock washer together like this at one end.





As the socket is certain to get jammed in there when you hammer it through, don't go in too far. It only has to go in about 1/2 to 3/4" to work. If you go in too far you might have trouble getting it out without removing the muffler from the bike.

Anyway you can use the rest of the washers and the last nut to prevent it from going in too far, and as a bonus it can be used to "jack" the piece back out. Cause you will almost certainly not be able to pull it out by hand.



Have fun playing.

 

I took the mufflers off of my stock exhaust system and just used the headers with some little drag pipe baffles installed then I wrapped them in black heat wrap. Sometimes I really miss that sound. It also performed pretty well too. You might need a remapping if you did this. I don't really know. My bike is carburated so I had it rejetted shortly after doing the mod. If you hate it, you can always put the mufflers back on.

[IMG]local://upfiles/32967/76D31AFD740744CE9C8E5B2BF9BE7932.jpg[/IMG]

 

There are 2 differnt mods that can be performed on the stock mufflers to get more sound.
#1. Remove the "plug" from thecore baffle , very simple and Citoriplus explains it well.
#2 Remove the core baffle, You will need a hole saw that just fits insude the rear of the muffler. On the Evo's the hole saw dia. was 1 3/4", this will also work on Twin cams, however the Twincam mufflers are are slightly larger and longer. Anyway, saw thru the weld bead inside the exhaust hole of themuffler and the baffle tube, core, whateveryou wish to call it, will slide out.This results in a louder exhaust than knocking out the plug,but not too loud andthey sound good, IMO
I did tube removal mod to my wifes bike (05FLSTNI) and it runsbetter now than with the stock mufflers.

 

I have an 06 fatboy. When I got it, the exhaust was totally stock, so I took out the baffles (core I guess) with a hole saw. I didn't like the sound at all. It sounded like really dry fart, so I ordered the big shots about a day later. I rather would have kept them stock.

 

To all: Thanks for the feedback so far, good information.

Citoriplus, Yours has to be the most complete answer I've ever received to a question. Good job!

mplecha, Did you completely gut the baffles out of the mufflersor just remove the center plug that separatesfront and rear of the muffler?

Thanks again. -stef

 

Glad you liked it, I can sometimes be a littletoo detailed in my answers. And while it amy seem abit excessive to a lot of the old guard.
I think we should always consider that there are new people showing up around here all the time who are not quite as "up to it" as you or I may be. So for them a bit more information is not a bad thing and helps to avoid confusing them any more than they already are.

 

Citoriplus, you can never be too detailed. I've always like your posts!

 

when I had my vrod, Hogpro did and incredible job on modifying the stock exhaust... better sound and performance than most aftermarket pipes and just needed the SE flash from Harley to perfect the fuel ratio. You might want to give them a call and see if they have something similar for your pipes.