[1600v-twin]

To baffle or not to baffle? that is the question i am asking. I have an 03 1600 vulcan, Cobra Lo-Boy Shotgun pipes. Just wondered how they would sound un corked. On a side note, I took a ride today and my baby started to sputter, fuel light was on, it sputtered a couple of seconds and then started to run fine, i thought i ran out of gas, is there an automatic reserve or something? After i got gas in it it didnt happen again. I dont know i never had the fuel light come on before.

 

[MotoLappa]

Welcome, I have the same pipes, They are LOUD without the baffels. I love it. You will be heard. Take them out and go for a ride and see if you like them.

My wife has wanted a GT350 for years. I think blue and white were the best looking. We will be at Carlisle this spring car shopping. Maybe we will find a nice clone or something to work with.

 

[T-man]

When you say your fuel light came on, I assume you do not mean the FI light but the low fuel indicator. You may want to track your mileage and see if your fuel light is set exceptionally low. Kaw usually sets them with more than a gallon still in the tank and there should be no reason to pick up air to cause a "sputter". The other concern I would raise is the possibility that the fuel pump is not resting where it needs to be and somehow the pickup is higher than it is supposed to be, although that is a little far fetched.
If the FI light came on, that is a whole different story and will take running the diagnostic check on the ECU (not that difficult).

 

[1600v-twin]

Hey, thanks for the replies, it was the low fuel light, im gonna keep an eye on it and see what happens. And after i posted this last night i pulled the baffles out, cant ride it as it is snowing again. Too slushy out, i hope it dries up, tomorrow is supposed to be close to 50.


Moto, Let me know when you start looking, you may not have to shop for one. Im going to be selling mine. Mine is a clone.

 

[classic1]

Hey 1600v-twin, if you like the sound of the straight pipes, check out bigcitythunder.com. I put their "thunder monsters" in my v&h longshots.
The sound is great, the performance is better, and are definately loud.

 

[tnhunter]

leave the baffles in, I might have to ride behind you one day.

 

[1600v-twin]

I started the beast up, Holy ****, can you say LOUD? LOL, i thought you could. Im gonna ride it once before i put them back in to see if its too loud. I can only say the windows in my garage are still rattling. I'll let you know.

 

[MotoLappa]

I told you. LOL I ride mine without any baffles . I love it.

Email me info and a couple of PICs of your car. [email protected] We are looking for a nice car. Let me know what you got. I am not to far from Jersey.

 

[mateusz]

Does removing the baffles cause any kind of problems with how the motor runs? I was told that the bigger v-twins, 1500, 1600, etc. need some backpressure to run well. Is this true? I would like to remove the baffles from my v & h pipes on my 1500, but I don't want to lose any performance.

 

[jukief]

About the low fuel light, thanks for the info, T-man. My fuel gauge has been driving me crazy. It stays way up at the full level for a long time, then suddenly drops down to half a tank, and from there I can visibly see it moving down, down, down. We went on a fairly long trip Saturday, and the low fuel light came on (with 175 miles on the odometer). When I filled up, the tank only took 3.7 gallons! On our return trip, the light came on at even less miles than before (150 miles on the odometer), and we weren't anywhere near a gas station. By the time we got to one, I'd been driving with the light on for 20 miles, and the tank took about 4.3 of a gallon when I filled it up. I use the odometer instead of relying on the gauge, but the way the gauge works drives me absolutely crazy. It's almost worthless. I keep wondering whether there's any way to reset it.

 

[1600v-twin]

It hasnt hurt the performance at all, Its much louder, and i do get more popping on decel. I just recenctly added my tfi unit, so we will have to see what results i get. The Tech at dobeck said i may not be able to get rid of the popping completely because the baffles are out, with them in he said i should be able to get rid of all popping on decel.

 

[brancher]

Does removing the baffles cause any kind of problems with how the motor runs? I was told that the bigger v-twins, 1500, 1600, etc. need some backpressure to run well. Is this true? I would like to remove the baffles from my v & h pipes on my 1500, but I don't want to lose any performance.

I've read some stuff about baffling the mufflers - most of it has to do with resulting scavenging rate and back pressure. You can look it up if you want, there's a bunch of stuff from pposing viewpoints. Basically, however, the experts are saying that you need some backpressure to maintain power and minimize exhaust valve exposure (possible burning), so maybe the talk about no baffles is more about noise than performance. Then too, they say that since running no baffles increases top end power and decreases low- and mid-range power, the baffleless option is good for high-rev bikes but not lower-revving bikes (like ours).

There's also some stuff on installing a keyhole screw in the header pipe to create a partial 'baffle', or obstruction, which supposedly creates enough reverse wave to assist scavenging, thus allowing baffle-less pipes to operate without putting the engine at risk.

Some companies have stepped header pipes, that is, the header pipes have stepped diameter reductions to create the reverse exhaust wave in the header pipe itself, thus eliminating hte need for baffles (they say).

For me, I want some back pressure.

 

[Phatboy]

If you are removing your baffles then you essentially have drag pipes which are for drag racing- best at WOT. For putting around town you will lose some low end torque.

The Monster city big thunder baffles or whatever they call them are a washer welded to the end of a bolt and inserted into a smooth reducer baffle. You can do almost the same thing by welding a washer to a bolt then drilling a hole a few inches from the end of your pipes. It is supposed to be an old racing trick.

http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/exhaust.htm

 

[Phatboy]

Some companies have stepped header pipes, that is, the header pipes have stepped diameter reductions to create the reverse exhaust wave in the header pipe itself, thus eliminating hte need for baffles (they say).

http://www.chopperscycle.com/page/VTS/PROD/42-265/22416

There's also some stuff on installing a keyhole screw in the header pipe to create a partial 'baffle', or obstruction, which supposedly creates enough reverse wave to assist scavenging, thus allowing baffle-less pipes to operate without putting the engine at risk.

What I did was installed the bolt inside the HK baffles in an effort to quiet mine down. The stock exhaust has several disks so this still isn't as restrictive as stock. Mr Brancher seems to know what he's talking about. Me- I'm just some crazy dude who likes to mod his bike.

 

[1600v-twin]

I'm gonna try the washer and bolt, try to see if i have an improvement. I also spoke to a friend of mine that use to race bikes, he advised me to use some sort of baffle, stating that you can run the risk of burning the valves, and that my bike was probably slower than baffled, it was just the noise that makes it seem like your running the same or better. Does that make sense. I dont know, too much info my brain is fried.

 

[brancher]

I'm gonna try the washer and bolt, try to see if i have an improvement. I also spoke to a friend of mine that use to race bikes, he advised me to use some sort of baffle, stating that you can run the risk of burning the valves, and that my bike was probably slower than baffled, it was just the noise that makes it seem like your running the same or better. Does that make sense. I dont know, too much info my brain is fried.

Yes, that makes sense. Truth is, running around with big-time loudness and no baffles does risk the valves. Cobra, for example, has publicly stated that they're nto gonna get into the "Sound Wars", as they call them, with other companies. Their position is that they make great perfromance pipes, and will not sacrifice that for sound.

Hope this helps.

 

[vulcanrob]

Anybody tried the 3" big straights without the baffles? I have been curious about it. They are freaking obnoxious as it is but hey that's why I bought them in the first place. :twisted:

 

[1600v-twin]

Ok, so i made those washers and welded them to bolts. used some high heat flat black paint, and installed them. Wouldnt you know it no more popping on decel. I did notice more torque off the line and a lil more resposive in the mid range. Thanks for the isea guys. I made a couple sets, one for my bros vtx. I'll keep you posted as i tune them more. John

 

[brancher]

Ok, so i made those washers and welded them to bolts. used some high heat flat black paint, and installed them. Wouldnt you know it no more popping on decel. I did notice more torque off the line and a lil more resposive in the mid range. Thanks for the isea guys. I made a couple sets, one for my bros vtx. I'll keep you posted as i tune them more. John

Okay. That'll be $85 dollars. :wink:

Seriously, I AM impressed that you were able to knock this out so quickly. Te only thing that's missing is the pictures! Post 'em, and share the idea with us! Also, you may want to write it up and submit it to Gadget's site.

Looking forward to the pics.

br

 

[1600v-twin]

I will take some pics tomorrow morning, As far as gadgets sight i was not the original inventor of this, but i will write it up and submit it as someone elses idea that i copied.
I made 2 sets for a total cost of $ 1.87 and about 10 minutes a set to make. The welds arent the best as i ran out of argon and didnt pick up my refilled tank yet, but welds are more than strong enough for this.