I'm looking to move up from a 2008 Sportster to a 2011 Wide Glide (or 2012 when it comes out). I'm in the process of scheduling a test ride, but have read a few reviews and forum posts complaining about the exhaust scraping the ground. I like to ride aggressively in the twisties and lean into the bike, so if this is true, I'd like to explore ways to eliminate the scraping.

After comparing the specs on my Sporty and the WG, the left lean angle is the same (32 deg), but the the right lean angle is 28.4 deg for the WG (32 for the Sporty). I suspect the right lean angle is reduced due to the pipes, and that if you can put on pipes with a higher clearance, you can restore the 32 lean angle on the right side. I've never scraped on the Sporty (I have V&H staggered short shots), so if I can get 32 deg on both sides of the WG, seems like it should handle well.

My question is this: if I replace the exhaust with ones that have more clearance, will this eliminate the scraping? Seems like an obvious question, but it's academic for me at this point. I'd like to know what you all have done in the real world. It seems 2-1 pipes in general will have more clearance than 2-2 pipes since you're not 2 pipes deep at the back of the bike.

Please let me know which exhaust pipes you've put on and pros/cons with respect to scraping. I like the look of the V&H 2-1 big radius, and they should have more clearance than the stock 2-1-2 pipes. Does anyone out there have these pipes on your WG? Do you ride aggressively in the twisties, and if so, do you scrape your pipes?

Another pipe is the Roland Sands Tracker (made for RSD by V&H) - it's a 2-1 that actually runs above the passenger peg and would definitely not scrape, but you can't use saddlebags with them. Any other ideas? I don't really want to get into modifying the suspension, other than possibly swapping the shocks with stiffer ones for ride quality. But I don't want to raise/lower the bike and stray too far in that regard.

Thanks,
Mark

 

Sorry, but I raised my rear shocks to 13.5" with Ricor's. I'm using Bub7 2-1's and they haven't hit yet. However the rear of the floorboards on both sides have scraped the pavement.

I could tilt the boards more foreward, but they are angled just right for comfort, braking and keeping my feet on the pegs at speed. My earlier forward control pegs and stirrups never drug, but that was before the Sputhe Positrack, so I can't really give a comparison. After the Sputhe, I started dragging the boards at a greater frequency, due to the better handling. I'd guess, however, that with either mid controls or modest forwards that scraping wouldn't be an issue with my suspension and that if my pipes ever touched down, I'd already be lowsiding.

 

I only ever drag pipes on my 98 Wideglide, or the 2008 I ride fairly regularly, on roundabouts or 2 up. My Sporty would only scrape the pipes after you had fallen off ;-)

Simply put, 32 is more than you need so you aren't losing that much on the right.

 

I have V&H Big Radius on a 2011 WG and the exhaust scraps worst than stock. I will try to upload a pic of my bike.

 

I circled it for you. I tried loosening all bolts and tucking exhaust as far in as possiable. Maybe I just got a bad set.

 

i was thinking that the big radius i think sits lower than the stock because of the arc. my big shots sits higher than stock since they are smaller in diameter. i think stock is 3" and mine are 2" in diameter. Give or take.

 

i havent scraped my exhaust yet because the pegs keep hitting first
if you really ride that aggressive i dont think the WG will be for you

 

Like HemiOrange, I scrape my boards occasionally. Before the boards, the pipes occasionally scraped. Of course, a 2-1 will give more ground clearance, but watch out for the big radius, as pointed out by TheBurk.

Gotta tuck it in a little tighter if you're gonna be more aggressive in the twisties. I sometimes ride like I'm on a Sportster, but then I realize that I'm not when something touches the ground. The old FXR's never scraped when I was riding. Maybe the new ones give some more right-side angle than the stock Wide Glide.

I never scraped the pegs, only the boards and lower muffler. Stock muffler scraped a lot more than the Rush muffler, and it hasn't happened since I installed the Progressive 440's.

 

Interesting they scrape at the front of the pipe near the peg. I would have expected that to happen at the lower tip at the back of the lower pipe because the back end of the bike sinks lower.

I wonder too if the 2-1 would have more clearance, or still have the same problem? Your pipes are 2-2, so I'm not too surprised they scrape as I've seen them do that on other bikes too. I haven't seen the big radius 2-1 yet, but I think they look nice. Hopefully they offer more clearance in the rear, but I suspect the clearance wouldn't be much different in the front from the 2-2's.

Sounds too like upgrading the shocks would also make a difference. If I get this bike, that will probably be done simultaneously with pipes/AC/fuel mgmt. I realize it's not going to handle like the Sporty and am willing to sacrifice a little handling, but I don't like dragging parts on the ground either. I rode a buddy's 91 Sturgis Dyna Glide this weekend on a poker run, and it handled amazingly well. Never scraped a thing and I pushed it in the corners. Has the same rake angle (34 deg) as the 2011 WG, but felt effortless to me int he twisties.

 

Might be able to preload the stock shocks enough to eliminate the excess travel, I don't know. I wanted black shocks, so I got the black Progressives (not shown in sig pic yet).

Another change I plan is to make the stock exhaust into a 2-1, similar to what 8541Hog and a few others have done. I plan to angle my pipe upward slightly for more clearance. I'm also taking the oval boards off and installing mini-boards when I get home. I have a day's work ahead of me when I return from the sandbox. Lindby multibar going on it, too.