Tuning question
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Tourer
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 330
Likes: 16
From: Colorado
Tuning question
I did a search for an answer to my question and I could not find a decent answer so thought I would ask the advise of some of you Tuning Gurus.
I recently installed a set of true duals, went with the loud baffle as this is my 4th exhaust system trying to find that nice deep rumble. Exhaust system installed and it sounded pretty good. Put a couple hundred miles on it and was liking the way it sounded. So, being good with the sound, I took the bike up to HD and had them dyno tune the bike using the SEPT. Got the bike back and it was certainly nice and smooth, responsive and crisp off idle, etc. All good!
I am planning a big trip in a few weeks so I wanted to do a good shake down run. Did a little ride of 300 miles. Lots of 75-80 mph sustained. By the time I got back home, ears were killin me from the pipes! Too loud for a long sustained run. They are fine for jackin around, but on long runs, ouch!
Here we get to the issue. I pulled the baffles, gave them a wrap with packing material to soften the harshness. Put it all back together and now the bike sounds fine but the tune is off! Damn! Lost that crispness down low like pulling away from a light. Now have a touch of burble when letting off the throttle coming to a stop, sometimes a pop. Feels like it has lost a little power as well as that clean responsiveness. Just from wrapping the baffles???
So, do I take it back apart, unwrap the baffles and use ear plugs on long trips?
Or
Do I suck it up and put it on the Dyno again? With the baffles packed, would I GAIN anything or just get back that crispness and responsiveness that I lost?
Thanks in advance.
I recently installed a set of true duals, went with the loud baffle as this is my 4th exhaust system trying to find that nice deep rumble. Exhaust system installed and it sounded pretty good. Put a couple hundred miles on it and was liking the way it sounded. So, being good with the sound, I took the bike up to HD and had them dyno tune the bike using the SEPT. Got the bike back and it was certainly nice and smooth, responsive and crisp off idle, etc. All good!
I am planning a big trip in a few weeks so I wanted to do a good shake down run. Did a little ride of 300 miles. Lots of 75-80 mph sustained. By the time I got back home, ears were killin me from the pipes! Too loud for a long sustained run. They are fine for jackin around, but on long runs, ouch!
Here we get to the issue. I pulled the baffles, gave them a wrap with packing material to soften the harshness. Put it all back together and now the bike sounds fine but the tune is off! Damn! Lost that crispness down low like pulling away from a light. Now have a touch of burble when letting off the throttle coming to a stop, sometimes a pop. Feels like it has lost a little power as well as that clean responsiveness. Just from wrapping the baffles???
So, do I take it back apart, unwrap the baffles and use ear plugs on long trips?
Or
Do I suck it up and put it on the Dyno again? With the baffles packed, would I GAIN anything or just get back that crispness and responsiveness that I lost?
Thanks in advance.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 14,744
Likes: 402
From: Phoenix '53, '88, '09 Big Twins
hate to hear that you have gone through all that trouble and expense.
I keep using supertrapp pipes and as a motor is built, retune the pipes to match...or change the exhaust note through the muffler tuning. ( the supertrapps are tunable)
and can take the mufflers from bike to next bike and tune to match.
in a muffler with has no packing and a perforated baffle, the exhaust gasses loose velocity..and can even reverse direction.
this is really a poor condition for performance.
I might suggest that you check for leaks in the exhaust tract as mufflers on and off multiple times can make for a loose joint, and the stock type torca clamps are considered one-use- they deform when torqued.
as you now know, loud pipes are kinda less fun 3 hours into a coast to coast ride...
Mike
I keep using supertrapp pipes and as a motor is built, retune the pipes to match...or change the exhaust note through the muffler tuning. ( the supertrapps are tunable)
and can take the mufflers from bike to next bike and tune to match.
in a muffler with has no packing and a perforated baffle, the exhaust gasses loose velocity..and can even reverse direction.
this is really a poor condition for performance.
I might suggest that you check for leaks in the exhaust tract as mufflers on and off multiple times can make for a loose joint, and the stock type torca clamps are considered one-use- they deform when torqued.
as you now know, loud pipes are kinda less fun 3 hours into a coast to coast ride...
Mike
Cruiser
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 173
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From: Italy
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Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
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From: Bedford UK
Regardless of what you finally do, we should all be doing just that, loud or quiet pipes. We were first told about noise and hearing damage back in the 70s, but the message is still not getting out there. So use ear plugs on your planned long trip! 
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 20,616
Likes: 4,440
From: anacoco, la
heck, use earplugs anyway. wind noise can be a lot worse than any exhaust. and contrary to popular belief, just wearing ear plugs does not instantly make you deaf, it just attenuates certain frequencies so they don't do as much damage.
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