I have a couple questions that I hope can get answered. I want to get slip on mufflers for my nightster. I'm looking at cycle shack, python, and bassani slip ons. I don't want to spend too much on them however, I want to get rid of that black pipe that connnects the two stock mufflers together. First question, what is the purpose for that under lying connecting pipe? Second, is it better to have that connecting pipe or not? Third, does anyone know of any other brands of slip ons? I like the look of the slash cut outward and I want them to be loud. Thank you in advance for your replies.

 

Without that muffler support your entire exhaust system weight would be pulling on the head studs...I promise you they can't take it.

 

the connecting pipe is something called a the crossover , you need to keep this & replace the the gaskets when you change your slip ons , it taps into place and makes an air tight fit , you will affect the back pressure in the pipes without it , which reduces your mid range torque , all sportster slip on mufflers will or should come with this , if you replace the whole system ( short shots), it goes , and all though the bike will run , it will run ruff and will loose mid range pull , thats when its a good idea to do a fuel mod .
so if your only doing the mufflers , keep it ....
i like rush mufflers , they a pretty well priced and sound great (nice deep rumble ....no crackle n pop ), check there web site (video,s and different sound for each baffle size) they will tell you the correct size baffles for your year of bike if you take there advice ( via email ), you will not need to do any other mods ...
its a bit long winded , but i hope this helps... i bought V&H straight shots for my nightster and hatted every ride till i traded up

 

I have two '07's and both use the same bracket, but I have not seen a Nightster. What I was saying is the crossover/muffler support is all one piece...I took the OP was wanting to do away with it completely. Maybe I misunderstood.

 

sorry rick , ive edited my post
i miss read what he was saying , you are correct , the nightster uses the same system ,
i thought he wanted to use mufflers without a crossover , i didnt realise he wanted to do away with the support brackets completely ....lol ...
what would he fix them to ??
i bet someone has worked something out though

 

I just pimped these slipons in another thread, but I'll post here too...

I've been real happy with the KhromeWerks slipons I have, I have the slash cut 2.5s. You mentioned not wanting to spend a lot and wanting slash cut, and these fit the bill. I get a lot of questions and compliments on them, there's no logo on them, people want to know what they are.

They don't do away with the crossover tube, I don't know if any that do, I would think you would need a full 2 into 1 exhaust if you wanted to do away with it.

I attached a pic showing them, but they all pretty much look the same.

 

Thanks again everyone for the replies. This has helped me a lot. Going to check out Rush and Khrome werks slip ons. I also gave more thought to Vance and Hines Short shots. I plan on doing the remapping with whatever exhaust change I do. Any thoughts between which would be better between slip on muffler or the Vance and hines Short Shots?

 

The Rush slip-ons have a good deep sound. They Cycle Shacks are also a good slip-on...not as deep as the Rush, but they do produce more low and mid-range than the Rush.

Can't speak to Khrome Werks.

Here's a vid of what some cycle shacks sound like-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWenm0J9Jug

 

short shots look great ... every body and there dog have em though , with the short shots you get a load of noise , and no mid range , so you have to do the fuel mod to get the mid range back ,
Rush , say there is no need to do a fuel mod with the right sized baffle in there slip ons , and you should get a small power improvement (about 5%) this i know to be true
at the end of the day , you can spend a lot of money on a stage one tune and get very little real improvement in torque or power for your money ...
or you can fit a set of slip ons(with the recommended baffle size) & get the sound you and your neighbours will like
then , spend the money you have saved on some nice progressive shocks and front springs ....you will feel the benefits of that on the longer rides ........... in your ears and on your **** ....lol

 

Any set of slips will retain the crossover pipe. A full set of pipes will remove that crossover. This includes 2 into 2 and 2 into 1 systems. I put some python slips on my bike instead of SS to get the crossover back and get a better sound. I really like the sound of the Python slips and would recommend that you look at those for a lower cost option.