I was crusing the IGs and saw this:

looks like Mopartbrent has gone to a thunderheader from the TBR and the RR.

It sounds way better than my RR2MP. Anyone have thoughts on the TH vs the RR in terms of power, sound, etc? I dont care for the long look of the TH but, that sound....

 

I've heard that the TH doesn't perform like it should but I don't know that for a fact. It does sound great. I don't care for the looks unless you do the twist mod and then it looks awesome.

 

From what I've heard/seen thunderheader quality is so-so these days. Friend of mine ran one on his built TSport, sounded great, but totally fell apart after 6 months and TH wouldn't do anything about it. This guy doesn't abuse his bike like I do mine either...love my Bassani, feels solid, sounds good, looks good, and they stand by their product.

I'd take quality/performace over sound any day, but I'm with you - I love the sound of a thunderheader....

 

agreed the quality advantage is clear just from looking at the two. i love my RR, even mote now that it doesn't have that black contrasted endcap.

 

Describe "totally fell apart". As in 1,000 little pieces? You got pics of the pieces, and any type of evidence that TH was unwilling to do anything?

Thunderheader is making the same product they always have, guys. They were never the best quality, or the best performer. Their chrome always turned, black faded, rusty brackets, etc. It's just that there's more competition now, and the competition is putting out really good stuff. One could say better in many ways than TH. But all that said, TH makes a fine product that will perform much better than stock or most aftermarket 2 into 2 systems. And as far as sound....none of the competition comes close. That is THE one they have over the rest, IMHO.

 

Front jug head pipe broke at the collector, and at the flange that goes into the head. I saw it in person, didn't feel the need to document it as it wasn't my pipe, therefore it wasn't my issue. The pipe wasn't wrapped, bike wasn't abused, so no rhyme or reason as to why it broke. As far as evidence that they wouldn't do anything, I'll be sure to get on the conference call next time.

Just sharing an experience, not saying they are all garbage...want to run one, be my guest. I almost pulled the trigger on one myself, the sound and look is classic, but after seeing how that pipe fell apart I changed my mind. Quality-wise I'm going Bassani every time.

Edit: Here's a pic, had to dig thru three months of conversation to find it...keep in mind, 6 month old pipe on a relatively non-abused bike (unless you count going fast as abuse)

 

I've always like the sound of those TH's, but the price is steep too...Bassani for me, or TBR's

 

IMO, TH sounds the best, especially when you get on it. I run a RR2 and I love it. Performance is awesome and i love the growl on decel.

 

I went back and forth debating on TH or RR for a long time. I ended up with a TH and don't regret it one bit. Things I was taking into consideration were ground clearance, aesthetics, sound, performance, quality and cost.


Ground clearance: I scrape my primary sometimes so I came to grips with the fact that I'm going to scrape just about any exhaust. That's part of the reason I stayed away from some of the more expensive exhausts out there.


Aesthetics: That was a push for me. Didn't really care for one over the other.


Sound: Of course there is nothing like the TH sound. You will find few people who will argue that.


Performance: Some people debate performance of one vs the other but the way I see it, in real life day to day applications, the difference between most of the 2-1 exhausts out these day is almost negligible. I ride with 3 guys who have the RR. 2 are dynas and 1 is a street glide. I rode one of the dynas (15 street bob) and wasn't overly impressed by the RR. Maybe I was expecting more but it seemed to be lacking something for me. My butt dyna told me the TH definitely woke my bike up compared to the V&H big shots (2-1-2) I had on it before.


Quality: As everyone has said TH has some well documented quality issues. I got a steal on a chrome one. Within about a week some of the welds did start to rust. I've also had to keep my bike outside due to my current living situation. New England weather isn't very nice.... I originally wanted a black pipe. I have seen some very similar fading on the RR as the TH. The way I saw it I was going to have to recoat with in 1-2 year no matter what.


Cost: If you search around there are always deals. You can get either pipe for around the same cost. Unless you get the SS RR3. I came across a great deal that was local and jumped on it.


All of these characteristics carry different weight with different people. I beat myself up over the decision for a while but at the end of the day I weighed out each factor and ended up with what I think is right for me. I also switch up stuff on my bike so often that who knows what may end up on there next...


Just my 2cents. Hope it helps.

 

Aint no love for Super Trapp, super Meg? I've got one, besides paint coming off the heat shield, it's not bad. It's adjustable and not too loud. I run mine with an open end cap.