has anyone here drilled out the stock mufflers on a 2000 muffler..if so how
did it go and how did you do it....and, no I am not interested in buying new mufflers, I already have some aftermarket mufflers se2) and the chrome is falling off so I am interested in putting the stock back on but with better results....

 

I just took the exhaust off and placed one end on a piece of 2x4, and then took a piece of thick walled metal pipe that was about the same diameter of the exhaust opening and beat the plug out with a couple swings of a sledge hammer onto the pipe. Knocked the entire plug right out.

 

What wvhogrider said. There is nothing to drill out. With the mufflers off my bike I knocked out the plugs using a long piece of re-bar.

 

on these mufflers it looks like the plug is welded in, about 6-8 inches from the rear end of the muffler...does that sound right to you....

 

I took another look and low and behold it was just a freeze plug looking thing in there..knocked them out with a piece of rebar and installed them on the bike...they sound better than the se2 mufflers I had on there before....

 

What i did was buy a Good quality . like Dewalt or Hitachi 1-3/4" hole saw... use a corded electric drill so the speed can be set slow as not to create heat enough to blue the pipe...drill the weld out slowly until it is gone..When you get through the weld you just pull the baffles out with a needle nose plier...this way you don't even have to take the pipes off... just block the front wheel against a whall....i think it was 1-3/4" it's been a while....The service manager at the dealer i bought the bike told me to do it like that and it sounded good to me...

 

Yup ... that's what I am running on mine. They sound good and still provide enough back pressure.

 

A couple years ago i was afraid to get too 'rough' with the rebar/hammer solution on my Dad's Street Bob - since it was brand new. I drilled them out with a 7/8" uni-bit + extension. You don't really NEED to remove the mufflers, but i did it just to see what it sounded like with no mufflers... i was drinking and tinkering that afternoon.

 

FYI - Reason for removing the mufflers is to avoid busting a weld joint on the cross pipe, as it is a weak link especially on some of the touring bikes. All that hammering can mess stuff up if the mufflers are mounted. Just my 2 cents.

 

Thanks, been awhile since i did it... good point.

Also, if you're drilling them out, you either gotta have a REALLY long extension for the lower pipe... or pull it.