Do I have Quiet Baffles??
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2nd Gear
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 6
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From: Fayetteville, GA
Do I have Quiet Baffles??
This is probably gonna be a dumb question, so bear with me.
Just bought a new to me 2014 Heritage 103, and the previous owner had V&H Straight Shots slip on's installed. Love the pipes, love the sound, but it's a bit quieter than I expected. Still a very deep, very throaty rumble, but it doesn't have the LOUD I expected for the 103. See, I had an Iron 883 with Straight Shots on it with the stock baffles (not the optional Quiet Baffles) and it seemed louder to me than the ones on my Heritage. And my wife and I were riding yesterday, she has an Iron 883 with Short Shots and no baffles, and I could barely hear my Heritage following a car length or two behind her, but especially when starting out from a redlight. I usually use the sound of the engine rpms to know when to shift, and it kept throwing me off cause I was shifting when I heard HER exhaust ramp up, thinking it was my bike, the first few times we started out from a stop.
I'm thinking the previous owner must've installed the quiet baffles, but is there a way to check without actually trying to slide the baffles out? Can I look in the pipe with a flashlight and tell? I probably won't remove them if they are the quiet baffles, just cause we have elderly neighbors, and I don't wanna **** off the HOA, but I'd like to know for future reference what I'm dealing with in case I decide to change things up.
Thanks!
Just bought a new to me 2014 Heritage 103, and the previous owner had V&H Straight Shots slip on's installed. Love the pipes, love the sound, but it's a bit quieter than I expected. Still a very deep, very throaty rumble, but it doesn't have the LOUD I expected for the 103. See, I had an Iron 883 with Straight Shots on it with the stock baffles (not the optional Quiet Baffles) and it seemed louder to me than the ones on my Heritage. And my wife and I were riding yesterday, she has an Iron 883 with Short Shots and no baffles, and I could barely hear my Heritage following a car length or two behind her, but especially when starting out from a redlight. I usually use the sound of the engine rpms to know when to shift, and it kept throwing me off cause I was shifting when I heard HER exhaust ramp up, thinking it was my bike, the first few times we started out from a stop.
I'm thinking the previous owner must've installed the quiet baffles, but is there a way to check without actually trying to slide the baffles out? Can I look in the pipe with a flashlight and tell? I probably won't remove them if they are the quiet baffles, just cause we have elderly neighbors, and I don't wanna **** off the HOA, but I'd like to know for future reference what I'm dealing with in case I decide to change things up.
Thanks!
Road Master
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 762
Likes: 460
From: Knob Noster, MO
I can tell you that there's only about a 5db level difference between the standard and "quiet" baffles. Also, your mufflers are quite a bit farther back behind you and under the bag? My Big Shot Staggarded I can hear fine but I've lost em running behind a really loud exhaust. Baffles fit pretty tight in there but you might be able to see some packing that are on the quiet baffles. I've never looked inside mine though. Just some thought
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2nd Gear
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 6
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From: Fayetteville, GA
You know what, I bet you're right. I didn't even consider the fact that the mufflers sit so much farther back on a Heritage compared to my Iron 883. That probably has a lot to do with it. I'll put a flashlight to it this evening when I get home and see what I can see. Sometimes the answer is so obvious, you can't even see it. LOL
Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 1,643
Likes: 677
From: Arm pit of America, S.D.
V&H quiet on left standerd on rite
If you can push a 1/2in rod in past the baffle it's a standard baffle , The quiet baffle has an end cap , It's much more restrictive (not much quieter) , But a much deeper tone , Vary Nice
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2nd Gear
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 6
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From: Fayetteville, GA
Ah, 1/2" rod in past the baffle you say? How far should it go in? Like how many inches/feet before I hit the end cap? Gotta make sure I have something long enough, but that will be a good test when I get home tonight.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 1,643
Likes: 677
From: Arm pit of America, S.D.
Straight Shots on my S.T. front pipe bottomed at '11 , If you've got standard baffle a small rod will go through to the first bend on either pipe
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 1,643
Likes: 677
From: Arm pit of America, S.D.
P.S. if they have a lot of miles on them the packing will be gone , but if you chose to that's an easy fix and also there standard baffles don't come with any wrap ,
I'd be willing to bet you'd get near identical quiet & tone by wrapping the standard baffle
I'd be willing to bet you'd get near identical quiet & tone by wrapping the standard baffle
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Road Master
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 779
Likes: 31
From: Earth
I understand this is from February, but I'll throw in my 2 cents. In the picture above, it's not so much the packing that makes it quieter, it's the endcap. You can just see the welds at the very end just above the 21869 sticker. That quiets them down but keeps a low rumble. I have the Big Shots Long with the Standard baffles and I'm thinking I might switch to the quiet ones.
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2nd Gear
Joined: Jan 2019
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From: Fayetteville, GA
Sorry I never replied back! The baffles I had in mine when I bought it were in fact the quiet baffles. They looked exactly like the ones with the packing on the left in the pic above, except all of the fiberglass packing had blown out, and what was left had melted to the inner wall of the muffler pipes. I had to completely remove the mufflers and use a length of 2x2 wood and a mallet to bang the quiet baffles out because they were stuck from all the melted fiberglass. Took about thirty mins to knock each quiet baffle out, but once I did, the new standard baffles went in very easily. I've been riding with the standards since late February, and I love the sound! With the pipes exiting under the bags on my Heritage, it's louder but not deafeningly so. Definitely sounds more like a Harley should in my opinion. Maybe as I get older, I'll wanna switch back to some quiet baffles, but for now, I absolutely love the standards! And I can finally hear my own engine over the sound of my wife's Iron 883 with Short Shots when she rides in front of me. LOL And when we both start out from a stop sign or light, it sounds so good when both our Harley's rev up together! :-) Thanks for the help guys!
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