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Quick question on muffler support bracket usage for Screamin' Eagle slip ons- hope someone can help.
Replacing stock mufflers on my 2009 FXD, which were connected 1) to the pipes via clamps, 2) to the support bracket connected to the tranny (?), and 3) to each other.
I am installing SE slip-on mufflers but noticed that there is only a support tube that connects one muffler to another, thats it. I dont see a way to connect them to the stock muffler support bracket.
Therefore it would seem that the mufflers would be supported only by 1) the clamps connecting the mufflers to the pipes, and 2) to each other via the support tube, with no bracket support connecting the mufflers to the engine or bike?
The front exhaust pipe mounts to the head and a bracket that mounts under the motor.
The rear exhaust pipe mounts to the head and a bracket that mounts to the tranny.
The two pipes also connect via a crossover.
The two mufflers mount to each other with the tube you describe and to each pipe.
That holds them just fine. Get them good and tight on the pipes.
Worked on the 2009 FXD today some more and realized that my header pipes may not be stock as I thought, or rather, they don't look like any of the 2009 FXD pictures I am seeing. I am not sure if they came from a Fat Bob?
The header pipes are such that the mufflers are stacked together (upper and lower), with the top muffler just a little bit (maybe an inch) further than the lower.
For the support tube that came with the SE mufflers to successfully connect one muffler to another muffler, the headers have to be a different style, where the top is extended a foot or so further than the bottom. So I cant use the support tube with these mufflers.
The below is just a sample of what my header pipes look like (not my bike)
Some problems:
1) the header pipes are not mounted/connected to anything except to the flange connecting it to the engine;
2) the SE mufflers cannot be connected to one another via the support tube due to its stacked position, nor can the slip on mufflers be connected to the rear muffler bracket.
The result is the mufflers are only connected to the header pipes via the clamps, nothing else (no support tube, no bracket), and the header pipes are only connected to the engine via the flange.
This can't be right!
The only thing I can think of to do to make this set up work somehow is to clamp the end of the header pipes to two header pipe support brackets via a clamp assembly - ive attached an image to demonstrate.
If this is a viable solution then my next concern then would be if the muffler slip-ons would rattle around without a brace to hold them together & without the ability to connect them to the rear bracket (#25 in the above diagram).
The SE muffler slip-ons are used so returning them to dealer is not an option for me. I was so sure my header pipes were stock, and am kicking myself. I thought I was pretty thorough in checking for the mufflers' fitment on my model.
From: Depends on who wants to know.........and why.
I have the front header attached to a bracket just below the engine.
The rear header attached to a support bracket.
I do not use the rod/bracket that attaches between the two mufflers. I think it looks cleaner, much cleaner. The brackets that attach to the headers support all the weight. The aftermarket slip ons I use are not that heavy. I don't know how well this would work for the OEM mufflers-they are boat anchors in comparison. I just made sure to get the mufflers on real tight. All clamps on real tight. Locktite/lockwashers on everything. I wouldn't suggest you follow my lead, but it seems to be working just fine. No abnormal vibration, no pipes or mufflers clanking or vibrating against each other, etc.
Edit: here is a good picture of the rear support bracket.
The older SE mufflers had a hole in the end for a rivet. Don't know if the new gen mufflers do. Push the muffler as far as it can go onto the exhaust pipe. Drill a hole into the muffler and exhaust pipe, then rivet the muffler to the pipe. Use brand new muffler clamps. We used rivets with OEM mufflers when we replaced muffler clamps at the Harley dealer I worked at.
If you cant use the support tube this may help keep the mufflers from coming off.
In spending some more time researching, its evident that although I have a FXD, somehow I have FXDF header pipes.
My SE mufflers are intended for FXD models, so I am going to have to decide between A) finding/modifying two clamps to mount both mufflers to the rear muffler bracket (#25) in the diagram and possibly mounting one or both header pipes to the header pipe bracket with a clamp, or B) saying the hell with it and buying SE mufflers compatible with FXDF pipes (same ones pictured in the fat boy above).
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SE slip-on mufflers not using brackets?
