The stock baffles are not restrictive....I tried running without them and it sounded and performed like ***! I put them back in after a 1 mile ride.

 

I know there have been many opinions and mine is just that, But Exhaust is a personal choice for sound and performance.
Everyone has their favorites and it can get pretty expensive trying to find the right exhaust that you like.
A few bikes ago for me, I went thru the "Test Drive" Phase of asking the questions and trying new exhaust pipes until I found the right ones that I liked. the best advice and veteran on this site gave me was go to a local Bike night or dealer on the weekends when there is a few bikes there and listen th their exhaust and talk to them, guys love to brag about what they have done to their bikes to they will give you all the info you will need when you find something you like.

My personal favorites are Vance and Hines and Reinharts, I have had Fat Cat 2 into 1 and many others, those are just my persoanl fav's...

Happy Holidays and Safe Riding

 

Hi, are you referring to the stock baffles of the stock exhaust or aftermarket exhaust?

 

Referring to taking the Stock Baffles out of my Short Shots. I love the sound with the stock baffles but I took them out one day for kicks and those were the results.
I also tried a Big Radius 2:1 and did not care for that either.
I'm satisfied with the SS for now.

 

The vast majority of people in this country don't like loud exhausts. Personally, when I hear someone wailing through the gears on an open pipe bike at midnight-1am it pisses me off. If people would just use a little common sense and get a reasonable exhaust system for their bike, everything would be fine. Unfortunately there are too many of us that completely abuse our rights, and just like anything else, when it's abused for too long it will be taken away.

 

nathan, exactly why sound ordinances are up and coming most everywhere. Soon bikes will be required to be as quiet as a new lawnmower is. In fact, iirc, one community in Texas has set the decibel levels at about the same as a riding lawnmower.

One my wideglide I have a V & H propipe 2 into 1 and the baffles are about burnt completely out. So when I open the throttle it has a rich deep sound and gets loud. My wife says she can hear me coming about a mile away, but only if its fairly quiet outside. If I just putt around it doesn't even attract any attention from the Leo's I might drive by.

The wifes nighttrain has V & H Big Radius's on it, and I believe the motor has been built abit. The exhaust has only a few hundred miles on it so the baffles are not burnt out yet, and its is louder than the WG and the loudness is rather abrupt instead of a deep rumble. If I crank it open it gets very loud. Between the 2 I prefer the WG's exhaust sound. When I am running with my cousin who is running straight pipes on his Ironhead, his is louder on acceleration, but when we are cruising the 2 motors and exhausts seem to harmonize right nicely.......

 

WHAT!!!

Do you mean straight out of the heads? Or out of the header pipes?
Big difference. Valve burning time if straight from the exhaust port on the head.

Straight pipes (drags) are good for top end HP and performance. A true racing setup will normally just be pipes tuned for length to to get equal reversion characteristics and scavenging. They are LOUD. Collectors are used to help the pulses reinforce flow rates and scavenging.
If loud is all you want, use drag pipes. For HP and top end and better mid range, a good 2:1 (fat cat, thunder header, super trapp) Super Trapps would be easier to tune to adjust the torque curves into mid and low rpm ranges.
Lets face it, people on Harleys don't normally need 130 HP. We really need the torque (the ability to get and keep a mass moving easier) because we use the mid rpm range on these engine. If you want to run 100+mph all the time, go for drag pipes. Otherwise get something tuned for high torque in the 2500-4000 rpm range.
But, it all comes down to what you are satisfied with.
Tone is frequency (hz). Not to be confused with amplitude in decibels (db). Something at 85db and maybe 50hz would sound deep and rumbling, whereas 250hz at the same db level would be raspy and irritating.
I wish the pipe makers would test and publish what their pipes sound like on the different stock engines. They have the equipment to do so. Supposedly they test their pipe configurations for HP and torque. While doing so they could use a db/freq meter at a standard sound pressure level measurement distance of one meter or whatever all could agree to. I used 1 meter because that is what the Navy uses to determine SPL.
I've preached enough. If you want good sound, get lower freq at a moderate db level. This would also probably provide the best low to mid rpm performance.
My opinion only.

 

I dont think anyone in thier right mind would ever run a bike with no header! lol

Now if i get drunk enough i might try to bolt a fishtail at the head exhaust port!

 

That would be great. Just love to see a Fishtail on the exhaust port.
Wonder how that would sound.
After a little, bet it would be bluefish.
Thanks for the laugh.

 

My Rineharts have been known to set off a few car alarms. Woke up the neighbors at 6AM as I was leaving for work, they came running out yelling, as I took off down the street. They took off to their campsite for a month after that. Not bad pipes.