Care is better than prevention! Like so many other sensible persons, I agree with this proverb. The only question that makes people confused is whether or not it is possible to remain careful in all walks of life. If it's so, how can a person enjoy his life? How can you enjoy something when you're frightened? Adventures are thrilling because there are risks involved in them. Anyhow, to understand this preamble and how it is linked to motorcycle mufflers, you need to differentiate between two steps:
- A step that needs careful attitude to do something and
- A step that actually rests on the 1st one.
Let me explain it by an example. Suppose you're a motorcyclist and want to buy a motorcycle muffler for your vehicle. Apparently, it's not a big task to buy a new muffler for your motorcycle but actually it is especially when you're going to buy it for the very 1st time. Now what should be your approach to make this shopping happen? Well, if you can afford in your life hassles like heavy fines for not having EPA-compliant motorcycle mufflers, or malfunctioning of the muffler or even very unwanted stops in your drive, you don't need to be very careful about buying a motorcycle muffler. What you buy will be perfect. Just go and buy a motorcycle muffler without knowing about its features and if it doesn't work properly; doesn't worry rather go to some muffler manufacturer and buy another muffler for your vehicle that can bring you more fun.
Now, there is another approach to buy a motorcycle muffler. This one is a bit 'careful' approach so it requires care in all steps involved in buying a muffler for your vehicle. This approach will require you a complete homework to specify all the possible reasons behind buying a new motorcycle muffler and then will guide you in the right direction to the right choice.
This will require a comparison of mufflers manufactured by different companies and this comparison will be first based on the features of these mufflers and then will ask for a price comparison before fixing the deal. All these steps need care separately. It's not only about going through these steps rather you need to be very careful while going through each and every step. If a feature based comparison is based on only two companies, it will affect your results. You need to make a comparison at least top ten manufacturers in your area to remove all the possible risks involved in your buying endeavor.
A motorcycle muffler that is bought in a careful way will be long lasting for you and won't let you fall in some unwanted hassles. We need not to make each and every second of our life an adventure for the sake of enjoyment. Even the biggest adventures are made possible after completing a very careful homework. Will a sea diver be ever successful to go deep down the sea in the absence of oxygen mask?
Baron Big Nasty Slip-On
This uniquely styled 2-into-1 megaphone slip-on features a 1.75-inch baffle. An optional inversion kit allows one of three baffles ranging from 1.50 inches to 2.00 to be inserted into the slip-on for tuning of noise and power. This straightforward, easy installation only took 25 minutes. The slip-on produces a deep, throaty note at idle that is arguably the nicest of the slip-ons. However, in the static test the decibel meter registered 106.1 -- way above our 104.0 limit -- and was the loudest of the slip-ons we tested. The drive-by test ranked the volume in the middle on the street, at 84.1 dbA. The Big Nasty churned out 54.1 horsepower and 87.5 foot-pounds (ft-lbs) on the dyno -- that's best and second best of the slip-ons, respectively. The street ride highlighted the slip-on's improved throttle response over stock. The engine pulled cleanly at all throttle openings and throughout the rev range. Deceleration with closed throttle produced some backfiring that may be able to be tuned out with some more jetting work. The junction of the two headers yellowed slightly during the extreme loads of the dyno testing. We did not drag the slip-on while cornering in our street test. With the exception of the excessive noise, the $295 Big Nasty slip-on worked well and was the lightest of the three we tested, weighing in at 9.7 pounds. The smaller baffle included in the $60 inversion kit might reduce the noise to a more socially conscious level.
Hard-Krome Drag Slip-Ons
These drag style slip-ons installed easily in 15 minutes -- although we did have to fiddle with the lower canister to get it to match up with the stock header's heat shield. The resulting look of the pipe is true to drag-pipe styling with a flawless chrome surface. Unfortunately, this type of canister doesn't allow much room for baffles of any kind. At 105.9 dbA, the sound, though not the loudest, had a harsh raspy sound that neither of the other slip-ons exhibited. On deceleration with a closed throttle the top canister sounded like something was loose and rattling in it. After inspecting the canister, we determined that the noise was reverberation within the rear cylinder's pipe. Compared to the other slip-ons, the Hard-Krome drags were down on power, delivering a peak of 50.8 horsepower -- 1.0 horsepower lower than stock -- and a 6.0 ft-lb increase to 86.7 ft-lbs. In the street portion of the test, the lack of power was apparent in the upper portion of the rev range, while response off the line was improved slightly. Ground clearance was not impeded in any way. The chrome did not yellow or blue during our test, thanks to Hard-Krome's double-walled construction. Tipping the scales
at 10.6 pounds, Hard-Krome's Drag Slip-ons retail for $200.
Samson Rolled Edge Slash Cut Slip-Ons
Bolting on in only 10 minutes, the 10.6-pound Samson 2-into-2 canisters have three-inch openings that give the impression of wide-open pipes. Hidden inside the mufflers, a louvered core keeps the sound level down to a reasonable 103.1 dbA while allowing the engine to churn out 54.0 horsepower. Although the slip-ons missed the top horsepower number by 0.1 horsepower, the Samsons brought home the big torque numbers with 88.0 ft-lbs. The rolled-edge exhaust outlets from which the canisters get their name have a unique look. The finish is good, but a slight discoloration of the chrome appeared at the front of the canisters after the dyno runs -- no doubt due to the extra heat generated while strapped to the dynamometer. In the street course, power delivery was hiccup-free. The lower canister touched down in corners after the floorboard dragged -- slightly later than the OE system. The exhaust note is deep with a slight high pitched "attack" at the onset of each pulse. Closed-throttle deceleration didn't result in backfires. The best combination of power and neighborly sound levels in this slip-on trio can be purchased for approximately $349.
Bub Enterprises 2-2 Billet Cone System
We were struck by the style of Bub's 2-into-2 cone exhaust when it began cropping up on custom bikes. Other cruiser enthusiasts must feel the same way, since the only example of the two systems the company makes for the Road Star (the other one is a slick 2-into-1) available was blemished and didn't have a heat shield. For the record, Bub pipes feature Guard Dog 220 degree (as in degrees of a circle) chrome heat shields that should keep the blues away. Bolting on the 2-into-2 system took 30 minutes, but heat shields will add time to that total. The conical canisters and their billet end caps give the pipes a different look and were chosen as the best looking in our survey.
The exhaust note has a less bassy tone than the others with more high-frequency overtones. Although the system didn't sound as loud as some of the others, the decibel meter registered 105.1 in the static test and the highest reading of all the pipes (92.0 dbA) in the rolling test. The 18.4-pound pipes trotted out 52.4 peak horsepower and 86.6 ft-lbs of torque. During street testing, the power delivery was strong at most throttle positions except full throttle at low rpm. We suspect that this pipe would have benefited from slightly leaner jetting due to its narrow head pipes. In right-hand turns, the pipe drags front and rear just after the floorboards. The Bub pipes carry a $495 retail price.
Hard-Krome Double D Straights System
These are the biggest, fattest pipes we've ever seen. Hard-Krome's double-walled construction wraps a 2.75-inch-diameter outer pipe around a 1.75-inch inner, effectively isolating the pretty dual nickel chrome exterior from the hot interior. Since the two pipes are single-piece construction, bolting the pipes to the headers and their proprietary bracket only takes 30 minutes. We knew the sound meter was going to have a field day the moment we thumbed the starter. Registering 107.1 dbA in the static test and 87.9 dbA rolling -- for the loudest and second-loudest measurements respectively of this comparison -- the Straights still surprised us. When strapped to the dyno, the Double Ds generated some more big numbers with the number two horsepower score at 54.5 horsepower. Torque anted up with 87.0 ft-lbs, the best of the full systems. From the get-go, the power was apparent on the street without the backfiring of some of the other pipes. However, ground clearance was limited to the point where the floorboard cannot touch the ground. Riders should be careful until they learn their bike's reduced cornering limits. The Straights weigh 29.0pounds, which was expected, given their beefy appearance. Rustle up a set of Double D Straights for $400.
Jardine Slash Cut System
Cruiser pipe designs don't get much more classic than Jardine's Slash Cuts. The 2-into-2 pipes feature 1.75-inch, single-walled head pipes feeding into mufflers with 1.5-inch louvered baffles. Our system arrived with optional full-length heat shields (approximately $95) already affixed. The standard system incorporates two partial clamp-on heat shields. Installation took 25 minutes from picking up the wrenches to turning the ignition key. Our only complaint about the process was having to dust off our SAE wrenches to tighten down Jardine's hardware.
Metric-bike systems should ship with metric fasteners. The pipes issue a deep rumble with just a hint of the attack and backfiring that a couple other systems exhibited. Street riding revealed what the dyno numbers had already told us. The Slash Cuts made the least power of the comparison with only a 0.2 horsepower increase in peak horsepower. The torque numbers, at 85.0 ft-lbs, were better, which explains why the engine felt strong in the bottom end. When cornering comes into play, the Jardine system was tops among the full systems, touching down right at the Road Star's maximum lean. The pipe registered 104.0 dbA in the static test, qualifying it for street-reasonable status. The rolling test delivered the quietest of the full systems by almost 5 dbA. Tipping the scales at 16.2 pounds, the Jardine Slash Cuts can be ordered for $294.
Roadhouse Classic Exhaust System
Retro is the only word necessary to describe Roadhouse's entry in this test. Although no current riders should be able to remember when pipes of this style were cutting edge technology, Roadhouse has packaged a modern 2-into-1 exhaust into a vintage package. The multiple-step installation takes approximately 45 minutes once the final tweaking has been finished. The unique serrated header covers are made of stainless steel and are less likely to blue than chrome. The collector hides under a chrome cover, and the canister also features a chrome finish. The leading edge of the muffler exhibited some yellowing after multiple dyno runs (this pipe was also used in "Playing with Fire," Motorcycle Cruiser, April 2000). The deep exhaust note sounds great and generated the lowest sound levels in the static test.
The 102.8 dbA static reading was followed up with an 87.7 dbA rolling test. Spinning out 55.4 horsepower, Roadhouse proved neighborly sound doesn't have to come at the expense of big power. Besides winning the horsepower war, the Classic Exhaust tied for second with an 86.6 ft-lb torque reading. The Roadhouse exhaust exhibited crisp throttle response, pulling strongly at most engine speeds -- including wide open at moderate rpm. Backfiring on deceleration was a nuisance that can probably be tuned out, possibly with the removal of the Road Star's air induction system. Ground clearance is the only real fly in the Classic Exhaust's ointment, with the canister becoming intimately acquainted with the pavement way before the floorboard touches down. The pipe weighs in at 20.6 pounds. The Classic Exhaust retails for $570