Will the exhaust parts from a 91-2003 Sporty fit on a 2004 and later Sporty?
I have a 2007 1200C with V&H pipes. They’re a little loud and I’ve been checking out used pipes on Marketplace. Lots of exhausts for the 2003 and earlier models out there fairly cheap.

 

2004 and later relocated the cross-over pipe, and the frame was changed to support the rubber mounted engine. Not sure if they'd fit. I have a pair of V&Hines pipes on my 2008 that were too loud for my liking, so I added two lolli-pops to each of the baffles which toned down the sound.

 

Rigid EVO stock headpipes with the crossover under the carb will bolt to the heads but I'm not sure about the muffler mounts. I'm running some high pipes from a '04 and later bike on my rigid mount '02 883R. They fit the heads fine but needed some work around the timer cover as it's in a slightly different place on the rubber mount engine than the '03 and earlier bikes.

 

I thought about the lollipops thing too. Was the noise reduction noticeable on your bike? If you had to estimate how much reduction you got what would you guess?

 

Ear plugs work

 

I'd say the noise went from 'neighbor haters' to tolerable as long as you take it easy on the throttle. The baffles are pretty easy to remove once you have the outer shell off the mufflers.

 

The mount is different. I had Thunderheaders on my '07 and I sold it to a buddy who had pre-rubbermount Sportster. He tried and tried but it was hopeless.

 

Look close, turn up the brightness, you can see the DK TTI.
My bike had some sort of straight thru pipes and was awful loud, to the point it was miserable to ride on the freeway. I took a guess and bought a set of Rush slip ons with their smallest baffles, 1 3/4". They still seemed sharp and raucous on the freeway so I decided to put in DK lollipops, the 1 5/8" since the slip ons are 3". They do mellow it out- enough that for the first time I could hear the valve clatter from the top end. On the highway the wind noise blanks out most of the engine sound. Around town they sound good, if a little soft. They still have the Rush baffles in, DK says to take the baffles out for the deepest tone. I wasn't going for the best tone, just less noise.
I'd say they cut the noise by about 30%. Take it with a grain of salt, though. It's all subjective.
I added this link to a video (potato cam) where you can hear the valve gear while it's idling. It has to be downloaded to play, but it's safe.
Sporty idling

 

FWIW, I took the V&H two-into-two pipes off my '03 and replaced them with fully stock system. ($160 shipped from FLA, and I arguably over paid, but still happy) The bike runs a lot smoother. Harley put a crossover pipe in the system for a reason. Smoother, better low and mid range power with the stock mufflers.

 

I don't think you overpaid. The stock "H" pipes are probably better performance wise than what you had. Find some good slipons and you should be fine. I painted my pipes and heat shields with stove paint from Home Depot. Left the mufflers chrome. It makes a really nice contrast IMO.



John