I apologize in advance for the long post here...

Recently I bought a 2003 Electra Glide, which still had the stock pipes. I'm not wanting my bike to be so loud that I can't even communicate with my passenger, but I do like it have a pretty audible "rumble", so to speak.

Here's what I did... and what I don't like. Maybe you can give me some suggestions...

My Dad has a Road King with screamin eagle slip-ons and I love the way it sounds. Just the right amount of volume. That's exactly what I wanted for my bike so I hopped on eBay and bought a pair of screamin eagles. The seller stated "As far as volume goes, 1 being stock and 10 being straight-pipes, these are a 4." Sounded good to me. Unfortunately, to me, they sound like a 1 as well. No louder than the stock pipes, just a lower tone to them. I mean, these are QUIET pipes. So, I drilled out the rivets and pulled out the baffle to see if I could do any modifications. We cut off part of the baffle, but it didn't really help very much. I'm assuming my Dad's pipes must have been modified.

Couple questions, because I've never tried any of this before...

1.) is it important that the baffle runs the length of the muffler so that the header pipe is shooting exhaust directly into it? (As opposed to cutting half of the baffle off so that it really only makes it 1/2 or 3/4 of the way back the muffler.) Will this cause back-pressure issues?

2.) The "insulation" around the inside of the pipe... is that there to deaden sound or is it more of a heat-shield to prevent the chrome from discoloring? If it's only there to deaden the sound I suppose I could remove that to help bring up the volume a little bit.

3.) Should I just buy some kind of aftermarket baffle to put in?

I'm considering taking apart my Dad's muffler and seeing what it looks like inside, then just trying to imitate that on my pipe, but I wanted to get some suggestions in case anyone out there already has some good ideas.

I know the quick and easy answer would be to just buy new pipes, but I don't really have $600-800 to drop right now and I'm not finding much on eBay at the moment that sounds like something I want. I don't mind putting some work into these screamin eagles if I could just get pointed in the right direction.

Just to note:

The part number is 80537-07, so I assume these pipes are from 2007. Or at least began production in '07, if I'm understanding H-D's part numbers correctly.

Just in case that helps.

Thanks

 

Your part number is for the left muffler only and the right muffler is part number 80536-07.

If you look down the inlet pipe can you see catalitic converter material?

 

I can see straight down through the pipe. You'll have to forgive me, but I'm not really sure what catalytic converter material looks like. I didn't really see anything inside the pipe though.

 

If the gray, small honey comb cat material is in there you will not be able to see through the pipe.

This is not the pipe, but it would look like this...

 

Is the fiberglass insulation on the inside of the muffler can (it's not wrapped around the baffle itself like I've seen on some mufflers) just for sound dampening? Looks like it wont be a whole lot of fun to tear out, and even more annoying to replace, so I didn't want to do that if I were going to regret it. haha

 

Ok, definitely not in there then because I can see straight through.

 

Yes you can remove that material as long as the baffle is held in place by one or two small bolts or screws. You didn't say what year your bike is or I would be suggesting your alter your header and leaving the SE slips alone. I would try removing the packing first, then if that's not enough cut a few inches of the baffle off at a time from the engine side. When it comes to what your doing, it's important to remember small steps at a time or you'll trash the pipes.

 

My bike is a 2003 Electra Glide Standard

Thanks for the info on the material. The baffle is held in by 3 rivets, so I should be OK there.

 

Does anyone think I'll have to worry about getting rejetted after all this?

I'm removing the packing in muffler and part of the baffle, but there is still some baffle there and I'm not changing the size out of the outlet hole.

 

Stock breather?