Hi,


New to the forum and new to Harleys. Switched from a crotch rocket this season and bought a 2014 Iron 883 for a different ride and something I could play around with more with modifications. Just started and have completed:
1. Flipped mirrors,
2. K&N High Flow Air Intake,
3. V&H Staggered Short Shots,
4. V&H Fuelpak,


Shortly will be doing:
1. Shocks - likely progressive,
2. Spring saddle seat,


Long-term (possibly):
1. rear passanger seat with pegs and sissy bar,
2. 883 to 1200 conversion.


Anyways, to get to the point (and forgive my potential stupidity as I am new to doing my own modifications and am only modestly mechanically inclined). The modifications I have done seem fine and I feel the bike does run a little quicker. I did want louder pipes and love the look, but to be honest the pipes I installed are so loud that they give me a ringing headache when I ride for just a few minutes and I am fearful they will cause permanent hearing damage over time. I wore earplugs this morning which helped a bit, but would prefer to not have to do this all the time. I have ordered SmartPartz Hard Kore baffle caps which I will install with the stock baffles when they arrive and this may solve my problem. I went with these over the V&H quiet baffles as they seemed to have slightly better reviews and higher DB decrease.


My question is if there is any possibility that I have not installed the pipes correctly. I am wondering if the flanges are not properly attached to the engine, will this cause excessive noise? I did not take any pictures of the connections before I took the stock pipes off, but I did notice that when I installed the V&H, the two nuts connecting the front pipe did not tighten on the engine bolts the same distance. One nut tightened much more, but both were tightened as much as I could with the socket and I did not want to strip/break the bolt by cranking too hard. The two nuts on the back pipe seemed to tighten equally. Just wondering if it is normal that one nut (the forward most one) on the front tightened more than the other. The difference is probably maybe a centimeter difference.


Any comments are appreciated and thanks in advance.

 

As someone who recently installed Shortshots on his 1200 forty eight and thought exactly the same thing when starting it up for the first time - I came to the conclusion they are just f'ing loud!

The recommended replacement exhaust header gaskets are slightly thinner than the stock ones, but I managed to seat and tighten mine equally on the stock gaskets and they sealed up gas tight with no problem. They will not tighten down as far as the SS header pipe flanges are not as tapered as the stock pipes.

 

They are the loudest pipes you can get for your bike.

I like them, I live out in the country, nearby a 6 lane divided highway. They give me a little better chance of not getting merged into.

What kind of helmet are you wearing? If its open face, the wind noise will do more harm then your pipes will. I always wear plugs.

 

Thanks for the reply, I am actually still wearing my Arai full face helmet from my sport bike days.

 

The SmartPartz Hard Kore baffles will tone down the V&H considerably. I have a love and hate relationship with V&H 3 inch staggered slip ons. The SmartPartz baffles make long trips very tolerable.

 

Maybe it's just perspective but I have the V&H SS on my 2003 Deuce and they are not loud at all. They have the stock baffles in them and they are no louder, maybe even a little quieter than the 2n2.