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Baffles removed

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Old Jan 5, 2015 | 11:15 AM
  #1  
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glenc
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Default Baffles removed

Well finally removed the baffles from my 98 Road King. Was actually very easy. The only "mishap" was when installing the thunder torque inserts. After removing the baffles I didn't notice there was wire mesh and insulation still lining the pipe. When I drilled the hole for the first insert the drill bit got caught in the mesh/insulation and got all mangled up. Could not remove the mesh to save my life. So just pressed it back against the pipe walls best I could and continued on. The second pipe no problems with the mesh/insulation. Fired it up and oh my lord. Doesn't even sound like the same bike. Very loud and deep. It does have the decel back fire and the pipe that had the mishap is pushing out the insulation. In all the videos/pictures I looked at before doing this mod I never saw or read anything about the mesh/insulation being in the pipes. Should I remove the pipes and and attempt to get it out of both pipes?

Thanks in advance

Glen
 
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Old Jan 5, 2015 | 01:08 PM
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im
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Factory original pipe for year / model has a liner against the wall that is held with a mesh. I believe the mesh helps with sound and protects against blueing or discoloring of the slip-ons.
A common owner modification was to bang-out the center plug from both ends of the slip-on.
Removal of baffles creates a free flow design so you may wish to address fuel balance.
Bike is lean from factory.
 
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Old Jan 5, 2015 | 01:16 PM
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From: Phoenix '53, '88, '09 Big Twins
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I wouldn;t want a bunch of loose "stuff" floating around inside my exhaust.

pulses travel back and forth in the exhaust tract, some of that stuff can get pulled up to the motor.

"louder" does not equal more power-
More power may equal louder but not always.


If your Evo is carbed, then re-tuning can be easy.
nightrider.com has a biketech section with tips on modifying and tuning the stock Keihin CV carb.


mike
 
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Old Jan 5, 2015 | 01:34 PM
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tsigwing
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Originally Posted by mkguitar
I wouldn;t want a bunch of loose "stuff" floating around inside my exhaust.

pulses travel back and forth in the exhaust tract, some of that stuff can get pulled up to the motor.

"louder" does not equal more power-
More power may equal louder but not always.


If your Evo is carbed, then re-tuning can be easy.
nightrider.com has a biketech section with tips on modifying and tuning the stock Keihin CV carb.


mike
Your saying that at some point in the 4 stroke cycle you create a vacuum in the exhaust?
 
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Old Jan 5, 2015 | 01:47 PM
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Oh boy, here we go with this again

! I cut my baffles out and was lucky enough the packing stayed in tact under the mesh. I just hit it with engine paint and is staying together fine. I did buy some high temp two part epoxy putty to seal the end but never needed it.
 
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Old Jan 5, 2015 | 01:49 PM
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Originally Posted by glenc
The only "mishap" was when installing the thunder torque inserts. After removing the baffles I didn't notice there was wire mesh and insulation still lining the pipe.

Thanks in advance

Glen
Last year I did the same with my Street Glide. I had the same problem where on the first side I tried the mesh bent in a bit when drilling the holes to mount the TTI's but by the time I got to the other side it was fine. Maybe I was just paying more attention expecting it to get hung up so it didn't? After looking at it I left the mesh in place because I wanted to leave some resistance inside of the pipe for air flow. I noticed the mesh was heavy enough metal that cit took some effort to bend it that chances of it breaking loose was not a worry. I also figured its thick enough that the pattern would increase air flow resistance inside the open muffler and help reduce that hollow metallic raspy sound open pipes get. I did think it a bit odd there was a mesh sleeve snug to the inner wall of the muffler wider than the baffle or packing setup.

Since mine has a SE breather as well I have been using a Power Vision tuner and with the DK TTI's using auto tune it runs really smooth and sounds great. I always see lots of hater posts about doing a debaffle and TTI setup on stock mufflers but I have been really pleased with them and this is the 5th bike I have owned that I have done the mod to. I think the bigger TTI's in the touring mufflers have been the better result compared to my Dyna and my Triumph which did not sound anywhere near as good. I only can report butt dyno results though so just my 2 cents worth
 

Last edited by xantasm; Jan 5, 2015 at 01:52 PM.
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Old Jan 5, 2015 | 01:49 PM
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From: Phoenix '53, '88, '09 Big Twins
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Originally Posted by tsigwing
Your saying that at some point in the 4 stroke cycle you create a vacuum in the exhaust?
In the sense that a pulse or pressure wave will have a low(er) pressure zone behind it.

the pulse is a result of high velocity hot exhaust gasses being pushed out of the cylinder- and with cam overlap, cooler fresh air behind it....this is dynamic

These pulses can and do reverse direction in the exhaust tract.

some riders notice that at certain rpms and throttle positions air is drawn into the exhaust tip...and will hear popping

at which rpm these happen is completely dependent on the motor build, headers, exhaust length & diameter ( as it affects harmonics which may cancel and velocity).

in general a "random" exhaust will give random results.

designing exhaust systems could be a life's work, but there are some great overviews and theory available on the web which do a good job of explaining some of the factors to be considered.

Mike
 

Last edited by mkguitar; Jan 5, 2015 at 02:09 PM.
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Old Jan 5, 2015 | 01:57 PM
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Everything is stock on the bike. I wont be doing any other mods (engine or exhaust wise) Until if/when I need to dig into the engine. I just wanted a better sounding bike. With the stock mufflers it litterally sounded like a metric bike.
 
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Old Jan 5, 2015 | 02:43 PM
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From: Phoenix '53, '88, '09 Big Twins
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Originally Posted by glenc
Everything is stock on the bike. I wont be doing any other mods....

if you have some time for reading:

http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/hd_cv_mods.htm

reading this will allow you to ensure that your carb jetting ( and therefore air/fuel mixtures) are correct or close.

running overly lean or rich mixtures may cause motor damage. 9 and it is possible to be lean in one rpm range and rich in another)

if your bike is EFI, understanding this may help you determine if you are ok.

mike
 
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