Haha, I am done! Total cost of tools: $21 from Lowes for a 1" bimetal hole saw and a 10" extension rod.... well ... plus one other thing...

My f'in cordless Ryobi drill shredded its tranny while doing this. Thank god it is under warranty and I had a spare corded B&D drill with a METAL tranny.

But HOOOOOO ... I am a happy happy boy. THAT is the sound I was wanting and missing. Even my girlfriend was like: Yeah, now it sounds like a real Harley.

For a 1200cc engine the stock pipes just make it sound too wimpy.

Thanks to everyone for the help and suggestions!

 

I hear ya. If this ends up being annoyingly loud I can always go with slipons later anyway No harm no foul.

 

right!?

 

I confused did u remove baffles?

 

Not really. I drilled a hole in the baffle.

On the 48 (and I assume other '11 and later Sportsters with the same exhaust), the baffle is like a fat beer coozy made of metal. In the middle of it, about a 1 1/8" diameter is a hole that looks like it goes all the way down, but it doesn't. About 8" down the "hole" there is a 4mm thick metal wall. This is what stops the exhaust from coming straight out and instead forces ALL of the exhaust through the baffle.

So I used a 1" hole saw drill bit with an extension rod so I could get all the way down into that spot where the wall is. drilled it right out. This means that most of the exhaust is now a straight pipe, thus giving that lovely Harley sound.

Some still goes through the baffle, so it isn't maddeningly loud, but it is a pretty significant increase in volume as well as that bass rumble that Harleys are famous for.

Now my baby sounds as good as she looks

 

and cagers will hear you better. it's a safety feature!
i've never used the horn since. pump that throttle a bit

 

O ok I see I've got a 2009 nightster wonder if I've got that?

 

Dunno. Look at the back of your exhaust pipes. For mine it is a ring of chrome then a 1.5" thick "donut" of matte black metal with a 1" hole in the center. If I shined I flashlight into the hole, I'd see the baffle wall about 8" back from the opening.

I think with the nightster you'd do what the video gfburke linked above where the guy removed the entire baffle. It looked different than my '11 Forty-Eight.

 

Pretty sure my '11 XLC has the same pipes. Are y'all still happy with the sound?

Notice any low end torque loss?

Somewhere, someone mentioned a whistle at idle, but I think that was on the older style baffles.

 

Grats on getting the sound better on your bike. My brother and I did this to his wifes nighty and it sounds pretty good. Much better than stock, a bit louder and deeper. I do notice that my slips are a good bit deeper and louder than the drilled stock mufflers just in case you want them louder in the future.