Performance Exhaust

[Steveb1959]

I saw links to aftermarket slip on and complete exhaust systems. There were sound clip links to listen to. Very interesting, but how about real world performace increases? Has anyone posted results besides sound of the different exhaust systems? HP/ Torque, driveability, heat issues, MPG impact, ease of install, etc.? Thanks.

Steve

[Bobby G]

My bike's PO installed Sampson Slashcut slip-on's several years ago, and the sound really is unique and amazing. Listen to a Donzi sportboat inboard engine (or other similar kind of high performance inboard marine engine), and you'll hear the same sound. Very deep-throated and low tone rumble. Most of my riding buds say they can pick my RSV out of a crowd with no problem. And it's not obnoxiously loud either. The performance is also excellent, as I get high 40's MPG most of the time, and have hit 50 on several occasions recently. Although I like Vance & Hines and Cobra's, I would never change these out.

 

Just my

 

Good luck with your evaluation and selection!

[brainfart]

Steve -

being a bit frugal - here's the genesis that occured on my 07 RSV.

 

1) drill / remove the rear baffle from the stock pipes. resulted in a very nice deeper tone without being too loud.

 

2) purchased "stage 3" Road king mufflers from ebay (about $75). deeper tone and a bit louder still - i really liked these.. passed the "stock" pipes to my son for his Tour Deluxe. About a week later, found the "stock" mufflers BACK on my Venture. late one night the boy swapped them for my Road Kings. ooo well

 

3) was gifted a pair of BUBS. not so deep sound - but more volume. these have been on for about 60,000 miles now. But i can still tell when a RSV is running the RK pipes..

 

next step - when i have a spare weekend - is to try a couple CHERRY BOMB's......

 

Performance -- i did notice my gas mileage decreased when I first drilled out the stock mufflers.

but this was more due to increased throttle activity (loved to hear'em) than anything else. :-)

[Seaking]

I went through various slipons on my bike these past two summers.. The OEM slipons are super quiet and designed for the bike for optimum performance and mileage.. but boring.

 

I then put on a pair of take-off Road King slip ons and those sounded nice.. you can hear the rumble when coming off the throttle but nothing earth shattering and you can sneak out of the driveway before the wife notices you're gone.. (take off slip ons are the OEM ones a customer removes to replace with an aftermarket system)

 

THEN found a pair of Larossa downturns.. stupidly painfully loud.. what a racket.. but man.. it makes a V4 stand out in a crowd.. I would put them on for poker runs and bike meets but wouldn't travel far with them.. Unfortunately they are on my buddy's bike, and he drowns out my radios if riding 2 seconds behind me at highway speeds.. ouch. but he's nice enough to ride 5 seconds behind me so I can listen to my tunes..

 

After the Larossas, I found a sweet deal on a pair of black ceramic Rineharts (sp?) that had a nice mix of loud and rumble.. I could cruise on by the noise police yet through a loud bark at the twist of the throttles.. no rusting these puppies. And I can still hear my radios over them... depending on the load on the engine.. more load (head winds) means louder exhaust..

 

I then found another pair of take off Road Kinds as the previous pair had been dropped and damaged.. I installed the new set and they are quiet. I just got back from a 2 week road trip and really appreciated the lesser noise.. yet enough noise not to sound.. erhm.. you know.

 

What I can tell you is that my mileage did go down some with the different pipes. Because I do a lot of riding with my buddy who rides with my old Larossas, we compare our fuel consumption all the time to see how it rates.. With his OPEN pipes and my typical Road King slip ons, , we are pretty well matched in fuel consumption. The only difference in our bikes would be the air filters where I have the K&N and he has the OEMs.

 

Do you feel the bike being a bit more peppy? Yes you do..

 

Does it affect the handling of the bike? No it doesn't..

 

Does it affect your fuel mileage? It all depends... I think the extra noise makes you bark

your throttle more

 

Was it worth it? Heck yes.. I keep the Rineharts close by and typically ride with them more often.. but long hauls I'll toss on the Road Kinds for a more enjoyable time.. I can swap them out with the bags still on the bike within 20 minutes, taking my time..

[Guest Slab_Ryder]

Seaking, that must be a good friend (or the nearest thing to), to ride 5 seconds behind you so you can hear your tunes!

[SilvrT]

I have drilled out RK's and really like them although when pulling a trailer, it gets a bit annoying over a long haul.

 

I tried a set of used Khromewerks ... they were labelled "Comptition use...." ... and they were too loud.

 

I never calculate my mileage so no idea if there's a difference between stock and other but it did seem to me that the bike is a bit more powerful with the stock pipes.

[Steveb1959]

I listened to the RSV soundclips on this site. I gotta say the Hooker Tunable Header slip ons from a Harley Road King sounded the best to me. Of course this is a recorded soundclip. Anyone here have these pipes? Do they sound as good in real life?

 

http://www.venturers.org/Tech_Library/attachments/hooked_venture.wav

[SilvrT]

I listened to the RSV soundclips on this site. I gotta say the Hooker Tunable Header slip ons from a Harley Road King sounded the best to me. Of course this is a recorded soundclip. Anyone here have these pipes? Do they sound as good in real life?

 

http://www.venturers.org/Tech_Library/attachments/hooked_venture.wav

 

One of the problems I find with the various muffler sound clips is that they are either from the back of the bike while it's sitting and being revved or from a stationary point while the bike it riding away from or past the recording device. None of that tells a guy what it sounds like when you're riding it. It would be nice to have that "perspective" before buying something.

[Steveb1959]

One of the problems I find with the various muffler sound clips is that they are either from the back of the bike while it's sitting and being revved or from a stationary point while the bike it riding away from or past the recording device. None of that tells a guy what it sounds like when you're riding it. It would be nice to have that "perspective" before buying something.

 

Exactly! Thats why sites like this are great. You get feedback from people who actually have them. But of course then the different opionions can drive you crazy. Eventually I guess I will have to link up with someone who has them on his bike and listen to them myself. That sounds like fun though!

[SilvrT]

 

Exactly! Thats why sites like this are great. You get feedback from people who actually have them. But of course then the different opionions can drive you crazy. Eventually I guess I will have to link up with someone who has them on his bike and listen to them myself. That sounds like fun though!

 

Yes, the feedback from the members here is very good; however, something such as this (what does it sound like when you're riding) ... is all a matter of that person't opinion and ability to articulate it.

[Sailor]

Let us know how those cherry bombs work out. I was curious as they are available at Canadian tire for $25.00 each, chromed. I asked if anyone had tried them some time ago but got no response.

[SilvrT]

Let us know how those cherry bombs work out. I was curious as they are available at Canadian tire for $25.00 each, chromed. I asked if anyone had tried them some time ago but got no response.

 

I looked for those on their website... can't find anything of the sort. Do you have a web link for them or maybe they're "in-store" items only??