[Fabaroo]

Hey all. New to the forum, as well to riding. Have sort of taken over hubbies 2005 Vulcan 500. I was trying to convince him to exchange it in for something new. But it ends up finances doesn't give us that option, till it is paid off (couple years). I told him I can be fine with this if I can get a new exhaust pipes. My main reasoning for new pipes, is because these are upward pipes and are causing difficulty while I am searching for saddlebags. I guess as a perk to replacing, I would love to have something louder and deeper in sound. But is this even possible for this bike? What will be my options if I take it to a dealer shop? Or is there no hope for me? Thank you all for the patience with my questions

 

[JimmyD]

There arent any pipes that deepen the tone of the 500. It's not a v-twin and it will never sound like one.

The closest you'll get are pipes called Dunstall Megaphones. They're effectively a trumpet with minimal baffling that are slip on replacements. They make the bike sound like a lawnmower on nitrous and are really annoying. Do a google search for "dunstall" and "vulcan" but they'll drive you deaf if you don't use earplugs.

There are 2-1 setups for the Ninja 500 as they use the same engine but I don't think they'll fit unless you do some heavy modifying. They're slightly less annoyingly loud.

 

[Fabaroo]

Sad news then. I guess the only thing I can look for then is to just put straight pipes on them, so I can throw on a pair of saddle bags and just deal with the lack of depth in the sound I was hoping for. Thank you for your response.

 

[JimmyD]

You'd be better off as the Dunstalls are expensive and really offer no more baffling than straight pipes.

Some people have taken the rivets off the back of the pipes, cut the muffler down, and then repacked and re-riveted the back. I dunno if I'd do that to stock pipes as you want to sell it someday.

Head over to the vulcan 500 message board and give them a shout. Dukey among others really know their stuff and they might be able to recommend a pair of saddlebags that will fit witht he pipes.

EN500 : Vulcan 500 LTD and Classic EN500

Good luck!