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[QUOTE=alarmdoug;16255060
I used a 1.25 inch spade bit on a 12 inch extension, didnt even take the pipe off the bike, best and cheapest mod I ever did, less then $30 in drill bits etc.[/QUOTE]
I tried the drill bit path as well as my long air chisel with the pipe off but I was running out of time. Had to get the kids at the bus stop in an hour so I cut it open, cleaned it out welded it back up and put it on for a sound check minus shields and foot board. Doing it on the bike concerned me because Ive seen pre-cats on cars fail and get ingested into the engine more times than I can count. Didn't want to risk mine pulling some back in on the reversion pulse resulting in an upside down smile.
Best mod Ive done too but Ill admit the drone / resonance in my helmet is a little more to the point I might consider earplugs. Reminds me of the muscle car drone from a set of flowmasters.
Im going to insert a long straight pipe inside my street cannon right muffler passing the merge section effectively making it a straight pipe true dual and a short pipe inside the left muffler to make that baffle ineffective as well. Ill put a tab on the end of the pipe to retain it between my fish tail end cap flange and baffle and go for a ride. It'll have a reduced ID because its inside the current mufflers so Im doing three things at once here which is good and bad. Im eliminating the baffles, separating the banks and reducing pipe ID. Its best to make one change at a time to rate the change but its an easy mod, cheap and doesn't hurt.
Now this mod I love! Made sense a straight pipe would make the baffles ineffective and wow do they ever. Whats great is I have fully adjustable exhaust noise level ranging from straight pipes to stock street cannons and everything in between depending on how far into the muffler I go and it was cheap. I can select a length and then Ill drill a hole in the black extension to retain the insert and put the fish tail back on.
Cant say I noticed a loss in torque but not a gain either. Still pulls away from a stop the same and pulls in 6th easily when cruising at 50mph. Love the sound though! Cams are next.
Thanks for the feedback...I'm going from the stock catted two pipe headpipe on mine to the stock for 2010 header...two into one...which my neighbor de-catted this weekend. And like I say, for one reason only, less heat. It's got plenty of power, I bought it with an alleged Stage Two on it, I believe it to be so since I know it does have adjustable pushrods on it.
So. I installed the new headpipe...as a reminder, from a stock for 2011 FLHX two into two with Rinehart 3.5 slipons...to a stock for 2010 FLHX two into one, with one of the same muffler. I like two into ones over duals, for several reasons, none of them having to do all that much with performance, although it does seem to enhance torque slightly in many cases...
Well...my tricky little deal didn't work out all that well, honestly. Once installed, it was apparent that the 2010 two into one was 4.5" shorter. So I asked myself "self, how can that be?"
And I answered..."because, dummy, obviously the stock 2010 came with a longer muffler, and that would be because it's designed for two into one, quite unlike the two into two muffler you have installed."
The sound? AKAHHH! Very obnoxiously rappy...I think many folks would like that, but it's not for me. I like a more mellow sound. I could now hear that the cams were obviously an upgrade over stock...don't know what they are...but the sound was different from other stockers.
I needed some hose clamps, took a ride, decided that I just wasn't gonna live with that, clearly I was gonna lose something in the way of power. Rather than waste the effort, I decatted the stock dual headers...that catalytic stuff is quite challenging to get out, ain't it? But I got 'er done this afternoon, will re-install it tomorrow morning and take it out for a spin.
I made my decat stock 2013 FLHTC header into a 2 into 1 by corking the left side with an expanding engine freeze plug at the inlet of my left side baffle. Make sure you install metal side towards exhaust flow. It never gets warm anywhere along the cross under as the lack of flow keeps all the exhaust to the right side (I can grab the pipe/tube after a 150 mile ride and cold, only heat is near the junction of cross under and that heat is due to thermal transfer in the metal itself). Very unique sound, much like a Thunderheader I hear online in various YouTube videos. I get the look of a stock system with sound of 2 into 1. I tried converting another decat I had into a true dual with internal seperate pipes in chamber but that was a fail with cross flow leaking.
I a window open and bought an air chisel from Harbor Freight to beat and pry that puppy outta there. Got the little pieces out with a hand chisel. Welded the window back in. I reckon there's no real reason to get every little piece outta there so I think a paddle bit with a long shaft could work too.
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