Ordered 36 Samson longtails full exhuast with removable baffles. Want to run them without the baffles, the person installing them said, he advises not to do this , because the exhaust needs back pressure for the bike to run rite. He also stated the baffles have a large OD already, so I should see how it sounds first. Was wondering with so many of you guys running non baffled, what do you do about the back pressure issue, and does it affect how your bikes run? I really wanted to go loud, but want my bike to run right . Any opinions or other options I might have, please share. If it matters , I have a 2013 Heritage classic, SE heavy breather, with a power vision tuner, and SE 255 cams, being installed.

 

I run them with no baffle. It is not as deep of a sound but it is louder,just the way I think its suppose to be. Some have complained of losing low end power. I guess that was kinda true,but at low end you have a whole fist full of throttle left to more than make up for that.Some have used other things in the pipe(thunder something) to make up the difference. I just twist a lilttle more...... 13 Deluxe-breather-pipe and hd tune.runs fine for ME

 

I had 36" un-baffled Samson mini cholos on my '12 Deluxe (Bike now swapped).


No problems whatsoever.


Go for it!!

 

I feel like this is an old wives tale. I'm not going to start an argument for or against back pressure, but if engines need back pressure to operate "safely" within their limits, then explain to me why my old tractors (70+ years old) have run unaffected for 70 years with running a 16" pipe running straight off of the manifold? Some tractors had merely an elbow approximately 6" long coming off the manifold, and were shipped from the factory this way.

That being said, are Harley's any different? The answer would be that if it is tuned correctly, it will not have a substantial affect on the motor. Will you lose power? Possibly. A noticeable amount? Very minimal, in my experience. Will it sound good? If you like loud bikes, then the answer is yes.. Here is a link to my 2012 Deluxe set up with 36" mini cholos, no baffles, running a Kuryakyn Velociraptor intake and Superchips Vigilante EZ programmer. Runs great, no backfires or pops, and is very quick - compared to my 88 CI Night Train I had.

To each their own.. Let the "You've gotta have baffles cause it is bad for your motor scientific study-proving" begin.....

The link:

 

kizzle, guess this is what I'm looking for. I'm new to Harley's and the whole mod things everyone does with their bikes. So just asking to better educate myself . Great info, Thanks

 

I run my 36s with no baffles without any issues. I added torque cones just in case it needed some back pressure. I have an Arlenness air intake filter and a Fuelpak.

 

I posted in the exhaust forum also , is there a really big difference in the loudness and sound , going with or without baffles ?

 

There is a difference in sound, unbaffled is LOUD, baffled is loud. Lmao. I ran baffled 36s and they were plenty loud for me.

 

It still amazes me that a 36" fishtail exhaust has come to be known as a "mini cholo"! I know they make them as long as 42" (so 36" is shorter), but exhaust that far out called "mini" still amazes me.

Now as to the question, I am sure that in an absolute sense, piping as long as a 36" "mini cholo" has its own restrictive influence on the velocity of the exhaust gasses. Having a pipe as long as our exhausts itself possesses slows (or restricts) the flow of the exhaust gasses just due to the amount of gas in front of the exhaust pulse contained in the pipe from the prior pulse. Some engineer will tell you, probably correctly, that there is an ideal exhaust speed needed to maximize the power potential of the engine. They will probably tell you, also correctly, that having individual pipes for each cylinder deprives the exhaust system of the potential for scavenging that a 2 into 1 system possesses (also reducing the potential power of the engine).

My position is that having pipes that hang way out behind the bike, adding unnecessary weight to a motorcycle for the sake of looks demonstrates the owner's desire for a certain appearance which is balanced against their desire for performance. In other words, those of us who have true dual fishtail exhausts are willing to give up a little absolute horsepower on the altar of a certain appearance of the bike.

Only a test on a dyno will determine if there is a measurable difference between running your exhaust with or without a baffle will result in a performance increase or not. Everything else is mere speculation. Your engine/exhaust combination and riding style will be unique to you. In my experience, any difference between the baffles in versus baffles out on a 36" "mini cholo" will be imperceptible if the bike is tuned for the combination chosen.

So it comes down to the sound. Which do you prefer? Baffles in or baffles out? I find the sound difference to be subtle. Baffles out is not really that much louder, but it does seem to add a little higher-pitched "ring" to the exhaust note. That "ring" is distracting to me, but some love it.

I suggest, try both for sound purposes, then once you have chosen the sound you like, do the fine tuning to optimize performance for that combo.

On my bike with the 33" "mini-mini cholo", I went with the baffles. I tried both ways, and liked it with more. Personal choice. No performance difference that I could tell.

Ride safe!

 

Dave, thanks. I'd say all you said gave me all the info I needed. It really helped, gonna try them both ways and make my decision from what I want to hear.