need help with vulcan 500 exhaust

[jmarr]

im not sure what to buy i want straight pipes not the big horns that are on it can anybody help

[piz]

I cannot help, being in a place of wanting to make my 500 "growl" a little, but not be really loud. I would be happy to hear from some folks experienced with aftermarket pipes. I have read abit about the debaffle option.

[bigjohnyeti]

Unfortunately, there is so little in the pickins department when it comes to the 500 Vulcan.My daughter has one and wants a more comfortable seat-can`t find anyone-it`ll have to go to the local car upholstery shop for a remake,and her pipes are falling off-hadda reweld the pipe back on and then wrap it-
I wish I could steer ya to a good place to make `em growl..

[DeeCline]

I love fielding the "500 exhaust" questions. It makes me feel useful around here. :0 Here's some general points to consider. Fire away if you have questions on the specifics.

I just installed Dunstall Replica Longshots that I bought from a good guy on ebay. They're 100 bucks and they sound perfect (to my ears). They are louder than the stock pipes, but not insanely so. They growl. They come with size adapters and brackets.

Nothing is made to fit this bike except stock and the "Scorpion" pipes sold at a high dollar premium by scootworks.com. But many mufflers can be made to fit with proper adaptors and some very light metal work to modify or create a mounting bracket. For example, I had to use my dremel tool to slightly widen a hole for the mounting bolt already on my bike. No biggie.

As I'm sure you know, there is no way that an inline twin firing at 180* is ever going to sound like a v-twin. Want to deafen the neighbor's pets? Try running these things with straight pipes or de-baffled mufflers. With that said, one could punch holes in the stock baffles with a long pointy object. People have done it and they say they like it. Again on the deafen the pets side of things, I was running Jardine mufflers that really didn't muffle a darn thing. They are partially baffled. It sucked riding out first thing in the morning, but it was loud!

-DC

[jmarr]

who can i get the Dunstall Replica Longshots from any idea?
thanks for the help

[ALStensby]

Check E-Bay or Google it. Or maybe DeeCline has a good source.

[piz]

Thank you both for sharing your experience. It is greatly appreciated.
DeeCline, I really never thought about the difference in sound between the parallels and the V's. Almost all of the V's I hear are HDs, and they can sound pretty varried. Can you try to describe what kind of a sound you like from a bike, and what you get with the Dunstalls? For me, other than a bit of a growl, and not so loud as to deafen me, or **** off all the neighborhood, I can say that I want to hear a nice rumble when I'm riding (I wear a full helmet,which I quess is a factor in loudness.), at least when I am either accelerating or backing off the throttle.

[bluestringer]

Nothing sounds as good as the stock pipes on a 500. Anything else sounds obnoxious. It will sound like a 4 banger on steroids.

[DeeCline]

Nothing sounds as good as the stock pipes on a 500. Anything else sounds obnoxious. It will sound like a 4 banger on steroids.

I disagree. The 500 motor is not that different than the old Triumphs, BSAs, and even the Kawi W650. That's why I like the Dunstall Replicas on it so much. These remakes are designed to immitate the racing pipes of the old Brit bikes. My bike sounds mellow at idle and sounds serious and full-throated under throttle. At 50 or so I hear more wind noise (half helmet) than exahust, which I like.

[DeeCline]

who can i get the Dunstall Replica Longshots from any idea?
thanks for the help

I don't like to advertise for people too much here, but here are the pipes I bought from this ebay seller. He was a good guy to do business with.

Also note that he has a short version of these pipes for sale. And some I considered called "cocktail shakers."

eBay Motors: LONG REVERSE CONE MUFFLERS, TRIUMPH, BSA, BMW, HONDA (item 320353840960 end time Apr-02-09 09:11:53 PDT)

[DeeCline]

DeeCline, I really never thought about the difference in sound between the parallels and the V's. Almost all of the V's I hear are HDs, and they can sound pretty varried. Can you try to describe what kind of a sound you like from a bike, and what you get with the Dunstalls?

I'm not a pro just a hobbyist, so I only know what I've put my hands on or read here and in books. V twins have a characteristic rumble based on the angle of the cylinders and the degree of rotation on shaft when each cylinder fires. Harley actually holds a patent on the sound their engines make. The 500 is a totally different design as are the V-4s, inline 4s and inline triples. (Not to mention the single piston "thumpers"). Each of these designs has a unique “exhaust note” because the pulses of exhaust are exiting the piston(s) and moving through the headers, pipes, and mufflers with different frequencies. Exhaust systems are designed to "tune" these pulses to maximize engine efficiency. In a world where sounding "good" often means getting close to that patented Harley sound, people with different engine designs are often disappointed when they try to make their bikes "rumble." We 500 owners get a double whammy because our bikes were created to look and feel like a traditional cruiser, but we really are powered by the engine of an EX500 Ninja. (Yes, detuned but same design.) I bought my 500 used from someone who clearly wanted that V-twin sound. It was awful. So, my solution has been to imitate the Triumph, because as I said above the engine designs are close enough even if the bodies are totally different. I have a cool sounding little bike I call The Rat Racer; neither cruiser nor sporty and for sure not a v-twin!

[bluestringer]

I don't like to advertise for people too much here, but here are the pipes I bought from this ebay seller. He was a good guy to do business with.

Also note that he has a short version of these pipes for sale. And some I considered called "cocktail shakers."

eBay Motors: LONG REVERSE CONE MUFFLERS, TRIUMPH, BSA, BMW, HONDA (item 320353840960 end time Apr-02-09 09:11:53 PDT)

Those are the same Emgo mufflers that are sold at JC Whitney for half the price. IMO they do not sound as good as the stockers on the 500. They have a ratty, blatty sound that is too loud and obnoxious. I tried those and the shorter versions and always went back to stock. Of course it's like music, everyone has different taste.

[bluestringer]

I'm not a pro just a hobbyist, so I only know what I've put my hands on or read here and in books. V twins have a characteristic rumble based on the angle of the cylinders and the degree of rotation on shaft when each cylinder fires. Harley actually holds a patent on the sound their engines make. The 500 is a totally different design as are the V-4s, inline 4s and inline triples. (Not to mention the single piston "thumpers"). Each of these designs has a unique “exhaust note” because the pulses of exhaust are exiting the piston(s) and moving through the headers, pipes, and mufflers with different frequencies. Exhaust systems are designed to "tune" these pulses to maximize engine efficiency. In a world where sounding "good" often means getting close to that patented Harley sound, people with different engine designs are often disappointed when they try to make their bikes "rumble." We 500 owners get a double whammy because our bikes were created to look and feel like a traditional cruiser, but we really are powered by the engine of an EX500 Ninja. (Yes, detuned but same design.) I bought my 500 used from someone who clearly wanted that V-twin sound. It was awful. So, my solution has been to imitate the Triumph, because as I said above the engine designs are close enough even if the bodies are totally different. I have a cool sounding little bike I call The Rat Racer; neither cruiser nor sporty and for sure not a v-twin!

Actually Harley does not have a patent on sound. They tried to sue Honda a few years ago for imitating the sound, and also tried trademarking or registering the sound, but after a few years of litigation, they gave up. Most V-twin metrics have the single pin engine as the Harley and the sound of both are very similiar. The degree of angle between the cylinders make the difference.

[piz]

I guess it's impossible to describe a sound with words, and know that the words will be interpreted as the same sound by the receiver as was intended by the sender.
DeeCline, thanks for the link, I may give um a try, but then again, maybe I would not like them any more that the stocks, like Bluestringer. I did have a Triumph, back in the day, but so far back that I can't compare the sound with the Kaw I have now.
For now, I think I will have my ears open to the bikes around here, and learn what I can. Thanks again to all for the information and conversation.
Happy Riding!

[piz]

I just noticed on the link above, that the seller describes the item as "EMO Long 26.5" Reverse Cone.

Looking at his other items for sale, I see Dunstall Replica Silencers.

Which ones do you have DeeCline?

[bretsk2500]

Unfortunately, there is so little in the pickins department when it comes to the 500 Vulcan.My daughter has one and wants a more comfortable seat-can`t find anyone-it`ll have to go to the local car upholstery shop for a remake,and her pipes are falling off-hadda reweld the pipe back on and then wrap it-
I wish I could steer ya to a good place to make `em growl..

after reading a bunch of praise online about Spencer's seat mod's on the internet, i decided what the hell and sent him the seats to my zzr600. all i can say is HOLY CRAP what an improvement! i got the "LD" mod to mine which involves the use of some material called "supracor".

It was VERY worth the $100+ shipping to get my seats done!

his website is Flash Intro Page.

as far as the 500 twin.... it's going to sound like a piped 4 wheeler, not a v-twin.