New Exhaust, Less Performance?
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 95
Likes: 6
From: Lafayette, LA
So I called the local indy shop here in town and he said the same thing that some of you guys said.. Prob needs a remap. He's got a good reputation for tuning bikes, specifically drag bikes.
He's going to run it on the dyno as it is now to get some baseline numbers then run it again with the rineharts and dial it in. He's also going to show me how to save and re-load the maps on the power commander so I can swap the mufflers back and forth if I want to.
Should be an interesting comparison. I'll be bringing it in this week so I'll keep you guys posted with the results.
He's going to run it on the dyno as it is now to get some baseline numbers then run it again with the rineharts and dial it in. He's also going to show me how to save and re-load the maps on the power commander so I can swap the mufflers back and forth if I want to.
Should be an interesting comparison. I'll be bringing it in this week so I'll keep you guys posted with the results.
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,648
Likes: 37
From: Monroe, Louisiana
Best bet is to get it retuned. If it is popping anywhere except decel it is too lean. If just not pulling right down low it is likely too rich. These are hard to detect unless it is just popping. If the power loss is at wide open throttle then the 100% area is likely 5 or 6% too lean and not likely to rich as the Rineharts should be flowing pretty well. You may even try some torque cones at the heads to see if that would help. Best thing is to just get it retuned.
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 95
Likes: 6
From: Lafayette, LA
After rethinking this it is more likely the mufflers that were on it were more free flowing than the Rineharts due to the being louder. Probably old mufflers either don't have baffles or have a very large baffle and were tuned that way. Tuned a bike with stage 4 and T-Man 555C cams with Python mufflers with 2.5" baffle and they were very very loud. Bike ran great but would give you a headache after 30 minutes riding with earplugs. Put the quiet baffles in and it quieted it down to very acceptable level. Problem was it killed performance. Tried retuning and got it to running well, but performance suffered a lot. Modified the loud baffles with half cut fender washers welded in to keep the flow from going straight through and It quieted them down and performance came back. May not have been 100% but very close. It was quieter than the quiet baffles were and much deeper tone than either. You could hear him coming 2 miles away before and only 1/2 mile after. The screws the guys are talking about are thumb screws. You can weld a washer on a bolt and do the same thing. It adds back pressure and quiets the exhaust note and improves performance.
How exactly did you modify the loud baffles? Something like that might just work for me with the old mufflers. Might be worth a shot!
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,648
Likes: 37
From: Monroe, Louisiana
Here is a link to the instructions. http://www.gadgetjq.com/vhbagger_shhh.htm I used the 1/2 cut fender washers. Only used 3. I also inlarged the cuts in the baffle perforations as the stock ones were so small carbon had stopped them up. Took a small punch and bent them in little. That may have contributed to the quietness also. This was done 2 years ago and still working well.
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 95
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From: Lafayette, LA
Nice! That sounds super easy to do! However, I noticed when I took my baffles out there was no packing around them. I wonder if that would make a difference? Did yours have packing?
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,648
Likes: 37
From: Monroe, Louisiana
No packing in mine. You can add if you like. It should help some by making deeper tone and some more quite.
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 95
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From: Lafayette, LA
Thanks for all the replies and advice! I'm beginning to realize this may be an ongoing thing... Lots of trial and error before I get the right combo of exhaust tone and performance.
So here's a new finding..
I ordered some muffler packing material from J&P and tried wrapping the existing baffles with packing and putting them back in. My thought was maybe the mufflers would still flow close to the same, straight through the pipe and baffle, but the sound would be deadened some so maybe not too much loss in performance. Wrong!!
The sound deadening was impressive but once again, the performance suffered and the bike felt sluggish. Obviously it affected the back pressure more than I thought it would. Took it back out and bam! Instant power gain! This motor and map just needs to breathe I guess.
Today I brought it to the bike shop with the new mufflers to have it dyno'd and re-mapped for the new mufflers. They're supposed to give me before and after dyno charts so it'll be interesting to see the results.
So here's a new finding..
I ordered some muffler packing material from J&P and tried wrapping the existing baffles with packing and putting them back in. My thought was maybe the mufflers would still flow close to the same, straight through the pipe and baffle, but the sound would be deadened some so maybe not too much loss in performance. Wrong!!
The sound deadening was impressive but once again, the performance suffered and the bike felt sluggish. Obviously it affected the back pressure more than I thought it would. Took it back out and bam! Instant power gain! This motor and map just needs to breathe I guess.
Today I brought it to the bike shop with the new mufflers to have it dyno'd and re-mapped for the new mufflers. They're supposed to give me before and after dyno charts so it'll be interesting to see the results.
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Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 563
Likes: 4
From: Raleigh, NC
Thanks for all the replies and advice! I'm beginning to realize this may be an ongoing thing... Lots of trial and error before I get the right combo of exhaust tone and performance.
So here's a new finding..
I ordered some muffler packing material from J&P and tried wrapping the existing baffles with packing and putting them back in. My thought was maybe the mufflers would still flow close to the same, straight through the pipe and baffle, but the sound would be deadened some so maybe not too much loss in performance. Wrong!!
The sound deadening was impressive but once again, the performance suffered and the bike felt sluggish. Obviously it affected the back pressure more than I thought it would. Took it back out and bam! Instant power gain! This motor and map just needs to breathe I guess.
Today I brought it to the bike shop with the new mufflers to have it dyno'd and re-mapped for the new mufflers. They're supposed to give me before and after dyno charts so it'll be interesting to see the results.
So here's a new finding..
I ordered some muffler packing material from J&P and tried wrapping the existing baffles with packing and putting them back in. My thought was maybe the mufflers would still flow close to the same, straight through the pipe and baffle, but the sound would be deadened some so maybe not too much loss in performance. Wrong!!
The sound deadening was impressive but once again, the performance suffered and the bike felt sluggish. Obviously it affected the back pressure more than I thought it would. Took it back out and bam! Instant power gain! This motor and map just needs to breathe I guess.
Today I brought it to the bike shop with the new mufflers to have it dyno'd and re-mapped for the new mufflers. They're supposed to give me before and after dyno charts so it'll be interesting to see the results.
