Ok, I'm finally in a position to get some Pipes... I'd been looking at VH Big Shots or the Big Radius 2>2. But last night heard a Thunderheader on a Road glide. I'm riding an 09 FXD.... which would be your choice and why? I've gheard the Big Shots on an In Laws bike, but the Thunderheader seemed much Richer.

Whats your take, and... who's got the best deals lately.

Probably been discussed before, but thanks in advance.

 

I recently had to make the same decision. I was looking at the Big Radius 2 into 2, and then came to my senses and went with the black Thunderheader. I love the sound and I also love the look. It's so ugly its beautiful. If you are looking performance, go 2 into 1, plus the sound is amazing.

 

+1 thinderheader will give you much better performance. I think they look cool . (Some dont like the looks I guess). The heat shields are expensive but worth it when you don't burn your leg anymore.

 

if you want looks and performance get a D&D fatcat better performance that t headers in my opinion..

 

All 3 of the 2-1 mentioned above are great pipes. 2-1 will give you the best performance and to me they have a deeper rumble. I never cared for the looks too much but when I saw the newer style V&H propipe, I bought them and couldn't be happier with the performance and looks.

I got mine from directharleyparts.com for 479. including shipping and they were here in a week.

 

There is a thread in here where a member compared the fatcat against the propipe on the same bike,back to back runs.
The fatcat made a few hp more peak but the propipe made 15lbs/tq more midrange rpm.
So if you spend all your time at wot then sure the fat cat is tge way to go,but at 3000 rpm the propipe made significantly more torque.
And my propipe is the best sounding pipe I've ever heard. Jmo

 

Op. Pm me your email address and I will send you a sound clip of a propipe. You can decide for yourself,and anyone else who is considering a pipe switch. I am happy to send anyone a clip.

 

Have you heared the "rattle can" noise between shifts on a T header? My housemate had one and it's the most irritating sound when you're riding next to one! I had Sampson 2 1/4" Longshots that sound super "throaty" but am switching to Hacker Warheader for more HP and Torque.

The T Header will give you better performance over the Big Radious, but at what cost (asthetics and noise). Also check out the Big Radious 2 into 1. Have a couple buddies with those. Good luck.....everyone has an opinion, including me.

 

I have the big shots - I love the look and i have the quiet baffle which is far from quiet but give a deep loud tone.

 

I've had 5 sets of pipes on my bike.

First was a set of SE II slip on's (old style) with big city thunder baffles. It had a nice sound, was stupid loud and had a traditional look. Reading all the threads I could, everyone kept saying go 2-1 for performance and sound.

So I bought a Rinehart 2-1. The sound was much more mellow compared the slip on's, seemed to pick up some nice torque in the low-mid range but also seemed to fall off early compared to the more straight through slip on's.


Found a good deal on a thunderheader, and again...everyone loves them. So I bought it. It stayed on my bike the longest, the sound was pretty good, louder than the Rinehart's...and didn't seem to fall on it's face on the top end. I was pretty happy.

It does have a bit of a "rattle" sound when you shift as mentioned above, but it did not bother me.



I get bored easy though and everytime I went riding with my dad, I missed the 2-2 sound a LOT. He has a wideglide with bub's on it.


So, did a trade deal and got a set of pipes I've always loved the looks of and I'm really happy with the sound. V&H side shots. And honestly....I have noticed no seat of the pants feel between it and the thunderheader. Maybe you could see a difference on a dyno chart, but my bike feels no different. Also, be aware that thunderheaders are notorious for having a pretty big dip in torque right around 2500-2900 RPM....which sucks, since that is your average riding RPM's. I always found myself dumping a gear or two if I wanted to pass or whatever. Not that it was a huge deal but still.


As for looks, that is up to you. Most hated my thunderheader looks, but that is not what that pipe is about. It was built for performance and yes, I thought it was freakin' ugly too. But even if it did perform a little better than the sideshots I have now, I'm happier with the way my bike looks and sounds.


I don't have great pictures, but here are a few to show the different looks.

Rinehart:



Thunderheader:



Sideshots:






AND...FYI, that thunderheader was coated by Jet-Hot and I highly recommend that over spending the stupid amount they want for their shitty heat shields. I never had heat issues and IMHO, if anything can make the thunderheader look better is either wrap or no shields.


Hope that helps a bit.