I am suppose to have the quiet baffle in my Fat Cat, but it is too loud for my taste.
I called D&D to see if they could tell me, per my description, if I did indeed have the quiet baffle. The guy I talked to said the only way to tell is to remove the baffle and see if it is wrapped.
I pulled the muffler off the bike and tried hitting it on a piece of soft wood to jar the baffle loose with no luck. I soaked the edge of the baffle with liquid wrench and WD40, but that didn't help.
Now I'm thinking about putting it in the oven to heat everything up and then trying to jar it loose.
Are there any members that have experience removing the baffle from a Fat Cat?
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Tom

 

Tom, I don't know if there is a mounting bolt for that baffle, but assume there is because I can't imagine the baffle is a PRESS fit into the exhaust muffler.

If there is indeed a baffle mounting bolt (usually on the inner side of the exhaust muffler, i.e. facing towards the bike, near the rear end of the muffler), and removing it has not released the baffle, here is another potential solution:

Instead of putting the mounting bolt in, buy and put in one of those "lollipop" "baffles" that you can find online and often specifically on eBay.

A "lollipop" baffle is simply a bolt with a round flat disc welded to its end. You mount it in the end of the muffler by inserting it through the muffler exhaust opening, and guiding the lollipop bolt through the hole where the baffle mounting bolt originally went.

There is a large nut or nut and washer on the lollipop's threaded stem that secures it from inside the muffler, and another nut and washer on the outside of the muffler. The lollipop gets totally secured by tightening the inside nut and outside nut until it is held firmly in position. Before FULLY tightening, you rotate the bolt so that the lollipop disc is at some random angle to the muffler bore, "partially closed", somewhere between the disc lying parallel to the exhaust air flow ("fully open") and lying across the exhaust air flow ("fully closed"). Then you start up the bike, run it a bit on the road and check the sound level. If it's still too loud, rotate the lollipop to a more "closed" position. If it's now too quiet, rotate the lollipop to a more "open" position.

The lollipop disc is deliberately NOT large enough to completely shut off exhaust air flow. If it were, you would be unable to thread the lollipop bolt into the baffle mounting hole. The lollipop disc is always somewhat smaller than the total cross section of the exhaust opening. You will be surprised how much even a small lollipop will affect the exhaust note.

Of course the negative is that you are also affecting power, and in general, a lollipop is an obstruction to the exhaust (that's why it works after all), so will reduce power somewhat. But, if you are careful not to OVERDO the size and angle of the lollipop, it should take the edge off the sound without killing your power.

Jim G

 

I will try a lollipop if I can't get the baffle out to rewrap it. I made a couple of them when I was trying to quiet my drag pipes. I think they are still in my tool box.
The lollipops are for adding some back pressure for better performance when you don't run baffles. They didn't noticeably quiet my drag pipes, but those pipes were so loud it was probably hard for me to tell.
I didn't work on the exhaust today, but every time I passed it I sprayed more liquid wrench and WD 40 where the baffle ends in the exhaust. It is such a tight fit I don't know how any of the stuff I am spraying in will be able to get between the baffle and the exhaust pipe.
I have the exhaust sitting straight up so the stuff has a chance to drip between the parts if it can some how work itself between.
Tom

 

Try dry ice in the baffle. Then, don't wait too long to start yanking on it, as the dry ice will cool the baffle FURST, but then ALSO the muffler.

Jim G

 

Dry ice sounds like a good idea. Where do you get dry ice from?
What do you think about just using regular ice? I could stuff rags in the ends of the baffle after filling it with ice and then shortly after start hitting the exhaust on a piece of soft wood to try and jar the baffle loose.
About a month ago I stripped down my front wheel and had it re-chromed. The hub would not fit inside the hole in the wheel when I tried to put it back together. I figured they put more chrome then stock on it shrinking the wheel's center hole. I put the hub in my freezer for 2 hours and then it fit no problem.
Tom

 

Dry ice is far more effective. Here in Ausitn, Texas, the local H-E-B Grocery stores carry it as a cooling agent where melting ice would be undesirable.

Jim G

 

I found some dry ice and got the baffle out. It was still a SOB to remove.
I'm glad I went to the trouble of removing it since I found out it was not the quiet baffle.
When I originally ordered the Fat Cat, with quiet baffle from Eastern Performance I was suspicious because it was so loud. I called Eastern Performance and they assured me it was indeed the quiet baffle.
I ordered the quiet baffle today from D&D.
Tom

 

Glad it's all working out!

Jim G

 

I got the quiet baffle from D&D and put it in. It was hard getting it into the muffler. I had to beat on it quite a bit before it went all the way in.
Fortunately the hole in the baffle lined up to the muffler. I was afraid it wouldn't line up and there was no way I could have turned the baffle, as tight as it was wedged into the muffler.

The sound is what I was hoping for when I originally ordered the Fat Cat, with quiet baffle, from Eastern Performance.

Eastern Performance screwed me by insisting the FC they sent me had the quiet baffle in it, when I called them and said it was too loud and must not be the quiet baffle.
Tom

 

Please contact us in the future if you ever have any issues with an order from us so that we can take care of it for you. We would be happy to help out if there is ever a mistake on our end.