I bought my 2010 Dyna SG from my next door neighbor, the original owner. He had put a homemade 2 into 1 straight pipe exhaust on it years ago. It ran great but it was loud. My hearing is all but gone already {gunfire will do that}, so I was looking to make my bike a little quieter without sacrificing any performance.
After a lot of research I bought the Vance and Hines Propipe 2 into 1 and had my local Harley mechanic install it. The results are awesome, it has more hp and torque and a nice deep throaty tone that simply says "Harley". Every Harley owner that has seen the bike is nothing but impressed and everyone from my bride to all of the neighbors agree that it is quite a bit quieter.
Now my neighbor rode the bike with his homemade exhaust for a couple of years with the local motorcycle club - mostly age 60 to 80 something guys with a wide variety of bikes. I rode with them occasionally {though frankly some of these guys made me more than a little nervous}, and there was never a complaint from anyone about the old exhaust.
A couple of weeks ago I went on a ride finding myself in the 5 slot of 10 bike run. While the lead 4 guys did their usual tailgate formation {maybe one second back from each other}, I hung back 2 to 4 seconds and noticed the remaining 5 guys a couple of hundred yards back from me. Hooray I thought, first time nobody was on my ***.
We pull in to a local cafe for breakfast and the self appointed honcho/El Jefe plops down next to me and without a syllable of greeting says:
"That's one nasty *** exhaust you got there. Totally inappropriate for group rides. You need to get rid of that thing!"
"Excuse me?" I asked.
Now maybe his Honda is a little quieter but there was never a problem when my bike was louder and I fail to see or hear one now. I got through breakfast without making any additional; comment, got my check early, paid and returned to the table. Picked up my vest and glasses and leaned into his face and told him:
"I'm going to take my nasty assed exhaust and get on down the road". He did a pretty good deer in the headlights impersonation and I walked out with further discussion. Was sort of looking for a good reason not to ride with these folks and that pretty much did it for me.
Told my mechanic about it and he just laughed and said they can either pass or shut the eff up... pretty much my opinion as well. Still not clear why it is now a problem for them when it wasn't before but frankly Scarlet....
Those guys would hate my Samson Hell Raisers on my Street Glide. Just one more reason I don't ride in groups, too many broke dicks out there that can't keep the pie hole shut and just ride. I'll bet their wives would annoy me in under 5 seconds too but I have enough class to keep my opinion of them or their bikes to myself.
I have a Propipe on my Fatboy and it seems pretty tame. It is actually one of the quietest pipes out of the group of guys I tend to ride with. It is a little quieter than my buddy's Thunderheader, and also seems quieter than Big Shots, Short Shots and Big Radius. It is also much quieter than the Fatcat I was looking at. Don't sweat this guy, you're better off without them.
Reason's I love this pipe: I can make it quiet and keep it quiet if I stay down low in the Rev's, and then it sing's like a **** when I open it up. Nice balance there. Keeps my neighbors (who I happen to like) happy at 6 in the morning when I go to work.
Pro Pipe is one of the sweetest sounds a Harley can make (in my opinion). If you take group rides that include Hondas etc. you are opening up yourself to snide comments anyway. If you feel compelled to ride with them again just let everyone know you will take up the rear position. If it were me I would say "see ya" to that group.
Yeah I Have a Pro Pipe on my 15 RGS and I read on some thread yesterday that a guy said it was too loud and you would need ear plugs?? All these sportsters and bobbers out there running open end exhausts are loud & obnoxious...... It has a nice rumble to it and bark once you get on the gas but I never considered it a loud exhaust in comparison 2 most
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.
