So i've had my bike for ten years now and have always had open pipes. Been running Samson Ripsaws for the past 8 years or so. These are the older version. They are 1-3/4" pipes. The bike sounds great, but is loud. Loud to the point that my friends won't ride behind me or to my right. I kinda got tired of the loudness, especially on long rides, so I decided to put some baffles in.

Local bike shop had two different generic baffles in stock. One set was 10" long, the other was 4" long. Put the 10"er's in and it sounded like an old aircooled VW. Not cool. Took the pipes back off, unwrapped them, put the 4"ers in, rewrapped the pipes, and put the pipes back on. Sounds pretty nice now. Still quite loud, just not obnoxiously loud. Kinda think it's about perfect actually.

Anyway, with the open pipes, it was too loud, so I must be too old

 

"if it's too loud, you're ... ... ."

This coming from someone running baffled fishies


Did you notice any performance gains with the added back pressure?

 

Nah, but it's a stock 88" motor, so there really is no performance to begin with lol. I'm sure there was some sort of improvement, but nothing that the butt dyno could detect.

 

Haha!! You mean the American Iron on my table ran a whole spread on a stock motor?!?! Next HotBike or EasyRiders will be asking about you if you add an LED headlight!! Hahahaha!!!
Just messin with ya, brah. Your bike is still one of the sickest!!! I'll still keep my AI open to yours!
Cheers!
-Jason.

 

Nah, but it's a stock 88" motor, so there really is no performance to begin with lol. I'm sure there was some sort of improvement, but nothing that the butt dyno could detect.

So...you've never ridden a 74" shovel then.

 

lol, thanks man

 

Lol. First Harley I ever rode was a 1974 FLH. You're right, anytime I wanna complain about my bikes handling, power, or brakes, I should remember that bike.

 

I have been thinking the same thing my self after running drag pipes since 1976.All my buddies are on twin cams now some have put different exhaust on but they are still not very loud and they whine daily ---------------some even to refuse to ride with me due to the pipes but I have yet to find a exhaust that fits the noise level I want.

 

The 4" baffles really just took the edge off. They are worth a try. Easy to install, cheap ($15), and you can always chuck em if you don't like em.

 

I went through the same thing. My V&H pipes had the wide open cheese grater baffles in and it was like you were at the drag strip every time you fired it up. I absolutely loved the sound but eventually tired of pissing off everyone around me, every where I went. Put in the "quiet" baffles and it's a world of difference. Still damn loud and a nice low growl to them. I just don't set off as many car alarms when I pass, lol.