Complete De-baffling of VN 900 Exhaust

[HoopleHead]

the hole saw will break the end of the baffle away from the outer wall, but not away from the pipe, which you have to wiggle back and forth to break it free... can't do that with the whole disc in there.

[BoWevil]

Originally Posted by HoopleHead

the hole saw will break the end of the baffle away from the outer wall, but not away from the pipe, which you have to wiggle back and forth to break it free... can't do that with the whole disc in there.

Then could you use a 3 1/2 in hole saw to cut the end of the baffle from the outer wall and then use a smaller one to cut it away from the pipe and remove the piece that would remain. It would take two cuts but it seems like it may be faster than drilling all those holes? I don't know just asking before I start to save me some time and cussing.... Just trying to do as little drilling as possible

[HoopleHead]

could be... worth a try... maybe someone here can step in if needed. I didn't have much trouble with the drilling. More work wiggling the pipes

[jac4xt]

Oh I think both ways would work. One benefit of the drilling might be to give more room to wiggle that pipe around since now you have all that material removed. Also, most people do the debaffle in stages so the holes are already there when they are going for the full debaffle. As long as you can move that inner pipe around it will work though.

[gatorleg]

If you go back in this thread to the guy who posted the video of debaffling the Boulevard on Youtube, he uses an arbor bit and the two hole saws together. I did this and it works great. It took about 30 seconds of drilling and the donut shaped disc popped loose. Take out the disc and start wiggling your pipe! I used a 1 3/8 in hole saw (fits perfectly around the sawed off end of the pipe) and a 2 3/4 in hole saw to do the big ring. Others have used the 3 in hole saw, but I didn't feel like this worked very well. I do have a ring around my inner pipe where the baffle cap is welded to the pipe, but I think a dremel tool will fix that right up. Good luck!

Gator

[HoopleHead]

Gator, I sure wish you'd said that before I did mine! That needs to be integrated into all the instruction threads!!!

[Meanstreak69]

PM PREDFAN2001 he wrote the instructions, he's the only one that can change it.

[jac4xt]

So yeah... I couldn't take it anymore and had to yank them baffles out. I did stage one about a month ago and that helped my loudness bug for a bit. Then I went to stage 2 and once I heard that rumble begging to come out I took 'em all the way. I used gator's suggestion about the 2-3/4 hole saw rather than the 3". Worked great and I really don't mind having that ring in there. Once I paint it black I doubt it will be noticeable. I also was a bit of a pansy with the sawzall and didn't cut the pipe down far enough to use the 1-1/2" hole saw with the 2-3/4". I still wanted something to keep the drill centered while I cut the outer diameter so I used the 7/8" (from stage 1) to ride the inside of the baffle pipe while the 2-3/4" did its thing. Well the sound is great. Really deep rumble and I kinda like the popping too (I am not marbled). Sounds kinda like my bike is gargling on decel. Its not too loud, but I don't want it any louder. My neighbors would hate me. This has certainly satisfied my longing for aftermarket pipes for now at least. Good cheap mod and certainly worth trying if you want more sound out of your pipes. Definitely go in stages though.

[Mad Man Muntz]

Well, I made a bad decision by letting the Roadburner Tech people talk me into the Double Eagles Blackhawk exhaust that was supposed to have a deep rumble and not have the straight pipe bark. Really hurts your ears with ear plugs and full face helmet. They were less than truthful in their description! Also purchased the Power Commander III. Since installing the P C , I noticed that the engine turns over a long time before starting , which PC tech said to hit the starter button as soon as you turn on the switch. That helped a little, but I am far from satisfied. I wish I had read this thread first and coul have saved a bunch. If I go back to the original pipes and remove the baffles, what settings would I need to use if I leave the PC installed ? Any help would be greatly appreciated !

Silver 2006 Vulcan 900 Classic
Loaded with accessories.
Hope to post a pic soon

[bobkat]

I did absolutely nothing! No power commander or nothin! My bike runs great, and I get a little rumbley pop on decell that I like. I wrote before that dealers don't want us to do this, because they want to sell aftermarket pipes for 600 bucks and power commanders for 300. I have 8000 miles on my bike and no problems.

[predfan2001]

Maybe this has been mentioned already in this thread, but the rule of thumb for mods on the 900 is that if you only modify the air or exhaust you don't need to add a processor. If you do both, you should add one. After I did my debaffle, the decel pop from higher rpms was the only ill effect. My mpg has actually improved on the highway.

[bobkat]

predfan, thanks again for your excellent work and pics, my 900 went from mild to wild! You did a great service to us all.

[Shifter85]

Hey Predfan,

Did the debaf based your info about 6 months ago. This was done to kind of hold me over until I could buy the custom pipes I really wanted. So you're saying that if I don't change the air, I can do the custom pipes with out doing the processor? What do you know/heard about the cobra speedster shorts w/powerport? That's what I would like to put on the my bike, and just wondering if the powerport will force me to use a processor. Any info/help from anyone, greatly appreciated.

[gage75]

Well...I finally broke down and debaffled my 900 Custom and can honestly say it was well worth it. I love being able to hear my pipes going down the highway. Could never hear them before. The sound was what I was hoping for. Thanks Predfan and everybody else for the instructions.

[Mad Man Muntz]

Thanks Bobkat We rode about 30 miles this afternoon and our ears were ringing. I will attempt to get with the factory people to see what they are willing to do to help take the BARK out of these pipes so it is fit to ride. They look great, but the noise is beyond bearable. I passed a Harley rider in town and my bike was all he could hear.It did seem to upset him somewhat. LOL Whilr I am waiting for some response on the pipes, I think I will go ahead and remove the baffles from the stock pipes just in case i need to go that direction. And, as to the Power Commander, I would like to keep it installed and if necessary, there is a dyno shop in our area that may be of help. I don't like the idea of grinding on the starter till the engine finally starts as the PC rep said was "Normal".I sure do regret that I did not know about this post on removing the baffles before I spent a large chunk of cash on something I am not at the least bit satisfied with. I have heard the Cobra Slash Tip pipes and liked them, but I wanted to be a little different, and now I am paying the price for not doing more reasearch first. Thanks for your help.
Ride Safe

[BoWevil]

Just completed the de Baffeling of my bike. Used the 2 3/4 hole saw and the 1 3/8 hole saw. Took only about 35 min. The guy I ride with has a HD Road King. He is envious of how my bike sounds..

And thank you Predan for the excellent instructions and pics.....

[bobkat]

Triple M, so sorry you got led down the path, lesson learned. I just really grateful to the guys here for posting great instructions on lots of different mods.

BoWevil, I ride with a guy who has a RoadKing also. He won't admit it, but my bike sounds better that his Harley! He has an expensive set of Vance and Hine pipes on his bike and had to put the baffles back in his cause it was deafening him and everybody else! Those narrow pipes have a cracking sound instead of a deep rumble.

[900Class]

Hey Predfan,

Great info! I'm gonna' take the hole saw and drill to my 900 Classic based on this info and the stuff I found on the Delphi forums. I have the mechanical skill of a soap dish, but I think I can handle this! I'm in Madison, so if it goes to crap, I'm coming to Clarksville!
Great work!

[900Class]

By the way, did you just drill the rivets out or use the hole saw to cut them out as described on the Delphi forum? Drilling seems a lot easier.

[HoopleHead]

If you mean the rivets in the black end cover, yeah just drill them out. Very easy to do. But if you mean the rivets holding the baffle ring to the outer pipe, let us know because you don't do that.