aftermarket pipes

[Phatboy]

I bought a 440 ltd when I was 18, rode it for five years, took five years off, now I got me a Vulcan 1600 Classic aka my poor man's fatboy.

My question concerns exhaust systems. Now if you switch out to larger aftermarket pipes, wouldn't that decrease backpressure thus decrease low end torque? And I've noticed that a lot of aftermarket pipes are different lengths which would create different backpressures between the two cylinders unless the baffles are changed to conpensate,.... right?

I have heard good things in this forum and elsewhere about Hard Krome, and was looking at the 3" big straights and am considering waiting for them to release the 3" equilizer staggered pipes. That brings another question to mind: any performance difference between long or shorter pipes??

Thx,
Phatboy

[bikeaholic]

welcome fat boy poor mans fatboy? shoot,you got alot more bike
than a fatboy for alot less money and i ride a harley

your observations are correct-some low end is lost with restrictions removed
but its not enough to concern most folks,they'll usually go in to the intake as well and compensate with tuning.the backpressue difference between cylinders is also minor and this can be compensated also

hard krome is my pipe of choice for quality and i like the big pipe look
generally- a shorter pipe will develope a little more power but i think you
prolly would need a dyno to see the difference-they are louder though

the 1600 responds well to pipes with no tuning generally needed
but imo the 2into1 pipes deliver the most power for the money but
the look has not grown on me yet - i really like the look of the long big straights

[Phatboy]

ok- thanks for your input
I was trying to decide between the 3" big staights or the K'2's, then I saw a picture of the 3" equilizer pipes at the dealership (not yet released for vn1600). Hard Krome states that the k'2's offer better ground clearance for the aggressive driver, so that makes me wonder if peeps are scraping their 3' Big Straights.

Since I bought this bike other bikers will pull up next to me and give 'er some gas, especially in underpasses. Makes my stock pipes sound sooo wimpy, I gotta do something.

Phatboy

[AltaPowderDaze]

Hey phatboy,
Get on a list soon for your exhaust or buy them from someone with stock. I've been trying for mine for a few weeks now and most pipe manufacturers are on backorders. If you don't mind paying tax and a jacked up price just buy 'em local if you can find them. Good luck. I bet you won't have any problem with lack of sound if you go with those straights. BTW, I haven't seen any scrapes on the 3"ers around here. That could also mean that they've never seen a good lean either.

[bikeaholic]

as soon as mines out of warranty-i'm puttin on the 3" big straights-i love em'

[AltaPowderDaze]

Bikeaholic,
As far as the aftermarket pipes go, the dealers I have talked to have all assured me that new pipes won't effect my warranty unless the exhaust is the problem. But I can understand wanting to wait just so there is no question as to who is going to pay for your work.

[bikeaholic]

yup- for some reason i'm paranoid about mods under warranty
i've had a couple of issues with my car on this and generally keep the bikes pretty stock
for the first year.i really don't know why i'm worried about it cause my kawi dealer is a good one
and the techs would never question me on a mod i believe but i'm still leary
the crap i had to go thru with the WS6 was a nightmare and i did'nt want to do it with the bikes-so i just bite the bullet the first year and then let loose

[jballschmieder]

Originally Posted by Phatboy

ok- thanks for your input
I was trying to decide between the 3" big staights or the K'2's, then I saw a picture of the 3" equilizer pipes at the dealership (not yet released for vn1600). Hard Krome states that the k'2's offer better ground clearance for the aggressive driver, so that makes me wonder if peeps are scraping their 3' Big Straights.

Since I bought this bike other bikers will pull up next to me and give 'er some gas, especially in underpasses. Makes my stock pipes sound sooo wimpy, I gotta do something.

Phatboy

:D The 3" Equalizers work great. I can't see the average rider scrapping the pipes unless you are scrapping the stock ones. The pipes sound awesome while idling and have a nice rap to them while twisting the grips and quite down on the highway. They're perfect. It feels like a whole new bike and I like riding more just because of the way it sounds. The HD guys wish thier bikes sounded this good. They certainly won't admit it! I used a Power Commander 3USB and it works great. I would go with the Equalizers again. No Doubt!

[Al Schulze]

Hard Kromes are are the agenda for My 1600 Classic too. Finacially they are down the road a bit. Has anybody tried drilling holes into the plate surrounding where the exhust pipe exits the 4" chrome tube. Don't need to be the loudest bike on the block but I gotta get something out of this machine when ridng with others. This worked well on a set of Jardine 2 into 1 headers I had on an old '69 Triumph, but this ain't 30 years ago. Don't really mind the looks of the stockers they just don't sound like the Howitzers look to be.

[bikeaholic]

yep-i've heard the 1600 pipes drilled - not much difference imo
just changed the tone a little - i did it on my 800 classic-same result

good choice on the hk's -great sound and great quality

[Stiffler74]

if you drill the pipes does it affect your warranty on a new bike?