[BCvulcan500]

i am a first time rider however my father has been riding since i can remember....he has a vulcan 800 and i wish my 500 had the same throwty sound as his does if anyone can tell me where i can get a set of good baffles that they have used and have nothing but good things to say or if someone can tell me another technique i would greatly appreciate it...I AM NOT LOOKING TO BREAK THE BANK WITH RE_JETING AND WHOLE PIPE SETS

 

[ZX-2R]

Baffle

If you can get into the can to the baffle...remove the fiberglass and stainless steel wire holding it in place and wrap the baffle with Stainless Steel Screen. the more screen the less noise...but it will last a very long time. I learned this back in the early 70's and then in the early 80's I used it in place of the fiberglass in my Kerker headers with pipe. I think you will find the sound AWESOME with a deep rumble yet not harsh on the ears! ZX-2R

 

[BCvulcan500]

i'm not that shure if i understand all that well. i should take the fiberglass off the baffle then wrap it in like a tight nit chicken wire or metal screan.... and it should or should not last a long time???????

 

[ZX-2R]

Baffled

Wrap stainless steel screen material like for our window screens and front door screens, around your baffle, instead of the fiberglass. It will last a long time if you use good quality stainless steel. The more you use the quieter it will be.

 

[BCvulcan500]

ok i ubderstand now thanxs...well try it soon and tell ya how it works

 

[ZX-2R]

SCREEN

Works well on street bikes and on dirt bikes!

 

[woodchucks800]

BC the 500 is a straight line twin not a v-twin like the 800 (like hd) therefore it won't sound like you want. IT will sound about the same only louder. The wife's got a 500 and I got an 800 with v&h cruiser's . I drilled a few holes in the 500's exhaust and it got a little louder You might try that before you gut the pipes because once you cut the end caps there's no going back . ps jardines the only company that makes after market pipes and I think they discountined them also . PS I know what you mean the wife likes the sound of the 800 also . Dwaine

 

[BCvulcan500]

there has to be something to make it more throwtie i mean i love the sound at idel nice and deep but once i get cruising it looses the rumble

 

[bikeaholic]

re

yep- a single pin crankshaft :wink:

 

[BCvulcan500]

a single pin crankshaft whats that??????...kinda new to the hole motorcycel thing.

 

[ak4dd]

throaty-this worked for me

remove the pipes and get the drill out!invert the pipes and drill 6 or so holes into the bottom of each side[1/2 in] going thru the baffle also.reseal the exterior holes with alumiweld and a torch.then attack the end of the pipes drilling 4 holes around the center.it ain't the 800 but it is a better rumble-i have had many compliments-even from guys w/ the 800's.

 

[bluestringer]

I would like to get more sound out of my 500 also. I probably will keep it stock while it's under warranty though. But I have been doing some looking and found some generic mufflers at JC Whitney. Maybe they would increase the volume a little. I also found this on the VROC archives if anyone is interested.




Note: The following information applies to a 2000 EN 500.

Finally! After many dead-ends, trial installations, and much experimenting
I've finally found a set of mufflers that are as close to a "bolt-on
installation" as you're gonna get. These mufflers look good, sound good
(after you fix 'em) and noticeably improve acceleration. The chrome is
excellent but the packing is less than stellar (more on that later). This
mod went easier and fit better than some of the mods I've made on bikes with
the "right" parts.

Here's what you need:

1. Send a little over $100 to JC Whitney for two "Dunstall Style Megaphone
Mufflers". The internet SKU is 01ZX4804P
(http://www.jcwhitney.com/item.jhtml?ITEMID=141885&BQ=mot). The internet SKU
is different from the catalog SKU.

2. A couple of nuts that fit the footpeg bolts.

3. A Dremel tool or a small round file.

4. Some quality baffle packing material - enough to wrap each baffle for the
last 12" (outlet end) of it's length. I used some V&H material that I had
laying around the shop. (I love loud pipes, but trust me, you need to do
this step.)

5. About an hour and fifteen minutes.

Here's what to do: (The new mufflers each come with a mounting bracket, a
clamp, and two reducers.)

1. Remove the OEM mufflers and mounting brackets. Save the footpeg mounting
bolts.

2. Remove each new mounting bracket and using a footpeg bolt as a gauge,
enlarge the oblong hole at one end of each bracket just enough to let the
footpeg mounting bolt go through and slide back and forth easily. Reinstall
each bracket to each muffler. Tighten just enough to let it slide and keep
it from falling out.

3. Remove the inside (the smaller) reducer from each muffler inlet.

4. Each side - Slide a muffler (with clamp loosely installed) over the
exhaust pipe, hold the muffler in place and re-install the footpeg bolt and
footpeg through the OEM hole. Place the new muffler bracket (using the
oblong hole you enlarged) over the footpeg bolt and loosely install a nut on
it. Making sure that the muffler is slid all of the way on to the exhaust
pipe (it will bottom out on the OEM pipe), work the muffler bracket (it
slides) in the muffler to where the muffler is lined up straight on the
exhaust pipe and the sliding channel for the mounting bracket is square with
the bracket. Turn the clamp to the inside of the bike (to hide the bolt) and
tighten securely. Tighten the sliding clamp bolt and then the footpeg bolt.

5. Remove the three nuts at the end of each muffler, slide out the baffle
and remove the cheap packing. There is hardly any packing at all and what is
there is very thin. Wrap the last 12" of the outlet end with good quality
packing material and reinstall the baffles.

6. Wipe everything off good, fire her up and ride.



bluestringer

 

[maiden4ever]

^anybody try that^ ???? did it sound good?

 

[ppark]

a single pin crankshaft whats that??????...kinda new to the hole motorcycel thing.

Try this for explanation http://www.sa750.com/vtwin/vtwin.htm
Since VN500 is parallel twin, it won't apply.

 

[bluestringer]

^anybody try that^ ???? did it sound good?

I did replace the mufflers on mine with some JC Whitney 13" turn outs. It was loud, sounded good at idle and low speed, but at highway speed it was very irritating. But they did look a lot better than the stocks. The 500 will never sound like a v-twin. It's a great bike, plenty of power and great handling, but I think it sounds better with the stock mufflers, rather than trying to make it sound like a v-twin with aftermarket mufflers. BTDT.

 

[samarnold55]

i started out on a 2003 500ltd and wanted more sound. put the dunstalls from jc whit on. they are louder, but the quality is not like a vtwin. i still have the dunstalls in my garage if you are interested in. probably can cut you a deal. pm me.

i have v&h straightshots on my 1500 now. if you want the "motorcycle" sound, you probably need a bigger bike

 

[sputnik]

OK, I had the Dunstall pipes from JCWhitney put on (SKU is 01ZX4804P, as quoted above) my 500 LTD, and I changed the front sprocket from 16t to 17t. The bike feels like a brand new bike, and the pipes are indeed loud. The pitch is quite high at 65-75 mph, but for me its bearable. Of course it does NOT sound like a V-twin, and never can, especially at high revs. But the sound is very satisfying at lower speeds. The bike has a lot of presence, you could say! I haven't put on extra packing on the baffles, and I am not sure I will. (The new mufflers have flimsy packing, but its really easy to take out the baffles and wrap them with quality packing, so it seems)
The mufflers cost $60 each with delivery, and I paid $80 for 1 hr labor for the guys at Camrod to put them on (local NYC shop). I'll ride it for a few weeks with the current packing, and maybe re-pack the baffles in the future, but I'll keep the mufflers for sure. The wife approves too, so that's good. Iwould also say that the new mufflers improve the appearance.
If anyone wants to do this, I would recommend changing the front sprocket: it lowers the revs and therefore the pitch of the sound. So you don't sound like you're stuck in the wrong gear! But beware: this won't make it sound like it has an extra 500cc's !

 

[sputnik]

Yep, I needed extra packing. The packing that came with the pipes got shredded to bits in the first few days, so the exhaust wasn't muffled much at all. And the 500 just sounds a bit strange at full throttle without mufflers: it is extraordinarily loud, but not the kind of loud you want!!
So I went and bought some nice packing, $10 bucks per pipe, easy to do yourself. Now it sounds like a motorcycle, and a great improvement over the stock sound! ( I don't remember if there ever was any sound.) I am thoroughly satisfied, and would recommend this to anyone who want's to be heard by other motorists before they casually cut you off.

 

[dgenx66]

I just took the SHORT slash cuts off mine because I think I was about to get a ticket for the noise and replaced them with some 24" EMGO slash cut megaphones and the sound is definately different than the stock that I had on it before and I plan on later this week punching out the baffles and shortening them a bit plus my 17 tooth sprocket came in so when I finally get off after working 15 straight 12 hour days I'm going to enjoy getting to work on my bike. I ride most everyday barring ice or rain on the way to work. Too much fun to get out and ride no matter what.

 

[sputnik]

Right on.
I can imagine what the short pipes sounded like! Does your head still ring?