Can someone please school me on decibel pop? I'm referring to the popping exhaust noise when you roll off the throttle.

What causes it?
Does it harm the engine?
How do I get rid of it?

I have done some research and it seems that some folks actually like it, not me.

Reason I am asking - I just installed V&H straight shot slip ons with quiet baffles on my '13 Deluxe. Took it for a ride and the pop was pretty bad. I had a vied from another bike so I installed it. It helped a lot but the pop is still there just enough to be annoying. Other than the pop, the bike runs and sounds great. I am going to keep the stock air cleaner.

Thanks

 

Several causes of "decal" popping, most common is a lean A/F mix. If installing the "XiED"
eliminated some of the popping, that would indicate that a lean mix was the problem. This further indicates the need for some tuning but, IMHO, you should upgrade the stock air cleaner and go to full Stage I.

Next step after that would be to remove the XiEDs and install a basic "pot" type tuner, like V&H Fuel Pak, Dobeck TFI, etc.; the Dobeck unit is the best of the lot IMHO. DIY install and tune; good customer service.

I would also pull the slipons off and apply some hi-temp RTV sealant to the head pipe and reinstall. A leak at that joint will also cause decal pop.

A vacuum leak at your intake will also cause decal popping but you haven't removed the intake and the bike is new, so I doubt that an intake leak is the problem.

 

DE - CEL, short for deceleration, sorry. And yes it can be caused by a lean air fuel ratio or an exhaust leak.But unless it's a loud backfire rather than a soft pop it's likely a non issue.Bone stock these bikes will do it but you won't hear it with the stock mufflers.I'm betting your new slip-ons are just letting you hear something that was already there.Are the Vieds maxed out?You might be able to tune out more of it by playing with the settings on the Vieds . A more sophisticated tuner might let you tune it completely out but you also might have to run way too rich to do it and be losing power and wasting fuel in the process.I spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars trying to tune that out of my Dyna and was never completely rid of it.In the end I had a really good running bike that still popped occaisionally.

 

I have the stock de catted exhaust, S@S stealth ac and a set of fl-vied set at 70, only get some occasional mild decel pop.

 

Thank God!