Freebird Posted August 22, 2006 #1 Posted August 22, 2006 GREAT write-up from Melon13. I recently took my stock mufflers off my new Venture and added Road King Classic mufflers and have been very pleased with the installation. I wanted to keep the Venture heat shield and add it to the RK pipes for a better look so I took the heat shield off the stock Venture pipes and attached to the RK's. For the installation I picked up two Harley Davidson muffler clamps for the RK pipes at the local HD store for $8.95 ea. After installation I also drilled out the rear baffle of the RK's with a bi-metal 1 1/8 inch hole saw and got the sound I wanted from the RK's. Drilling is optional of course and some riders have drilled out both the front and rear baffles using a drill bit extension and others just like the stock RK sound without drilling. I picked my Road King Classic mufflers up on E-Bay, one word of caution, the Classic style RKpipes have the slanted rear which I wanted but there are some RK pipes that do not have this style and have the bullet style rear end similar to the Venture factory pipes, make sure you get the style of RK pipes you are looking for, especially if E-Bay is your source. I also purchased an adapter from our member, SofaPilot who made a mount for mounting a RK pipe to the rear exhaust mount of the Venture, this eliminated the need to cut off and re-mount the stock rear bracket from the Venture pipes. First step is to remove your rear side saddle bags and then remove the stock exhaust, loosen the muffler clamp underneath the front of the pipe and remove the bolt from the rear of the pipe and pull the stock pipes off the bike, since I had a new bike this was a breeze, but this could be harder for those who have older bikes. http://www.venturerider.org/rkmufflers/1.jpg After removal of the stock muffler I took my Dremel tool and cut the three rivets holding the stock heat shield to the Venture pipe. http://www.venturerider.org/rkmufflers/2.jpg Looking at the heat shield next to the RK pipe in the following picture you can see the square opening for the muffler clamp, just below this square opening cut the heat shield in the center, DO NOT cut the top section above the opening, just the bottom section, this will allow the heat shield to expand around the RK pipes. Next drill three 1/8 inch holes in the heat shield, I drilled them near the spot welds. Now put the HD muffler clamps over the muffler end and position the heat shield so that opening is to the inside, hint, the factory dimple in the HD classic pipes goes to the inside, I aligned my opening on the same side as the dimple in the pipes with a slightly downward angle so that I could easily get to the muffler clamp once the muffler is on the bike. Be sure and put the HD clamp on BEFORE putting the heat shield on the RK pipe. Now drill through one of the 1/8 inch holes in the shield and into the RK pipe and put ONE rivet in. http://www.venturerider.org/rkmufflers/3.jpg I then installed the RK rear bracket I got from Sofa Pilot onto the RK pipe. http://www.venturerider.org/rkmufflers/4.jpg Next thing to do is put the muffler on the bike, I used a rubber hammer and with some gentle pings to the bracket area, (NOT THE REAR OF THE MUFFLER) Mine went on fairly smooth and I temporarily attached them using the RK rear bracket. Now carefully align the heat shield so that it is even all around and not touching the muffler, you can then mark the remaining two holes with a pencil or felt tip and take the RK muffler back off the bike, drill the two holes where marked and place rivets in the remaining holes and remount the RK muffler. When I remounted the RK's for the final time I went down to the local auto supply and got some anti-seaze compound in a tube and made sure the exhaust pipe coming out of the Venture was clean and coated it with anti-seaze before the final install. Instead of marking both holes I ended up being able to drill one of the holes while the RK muffler was mounted and the heat shield was aligned, I then took the RK muffler back off and drilled out the third hole and riveted. I then used a standard drill with a bit extension and then drilled out the RK mufflers after installation from the rear of the bike. I used a magnet to retrieve any metal filings left. inside the muffler. RK's installed, you can see the rear mount attached to the RK pipe. http://www.venturerider.org/rkmufflers/5.jpg Finished product. http://www.venturerider.org/rkmufflers/6.jpg Hope this helps anyone interested in doing this modification, I love the sound that I achieved with the Road King pipes.
dexl1200 Posted August 23, 2006 #2 Posted August 23, 2006 Would the RK pipes of an 06 FI work on an 06 RSV. Dave
Guest Bluesjammer Posted August 23, 2006 #4 Posted August 23, 2006 Don, BEAUTIFUL bike. Haven't been on much lately, so when did you get her?? What year is it?? Do you like the stock midnight seat? Congratulations!!!!!!!! Bluesjammer:guitarist 2:
Freebird Posted August 23, 2006 Author #5 Posted August 23, 2006 Noooooo....not my bike. I still have my '99. I wish I would remember who sent this to me so that I could give the proper credit.
rayswearingen Posted October 1, 2006 #6 Posted October 1, 2006 Just bought a set of pipes off e-bay. One has a catalyst in it... Any suggestions on mods?
Al Bates Posted October 1, 2006 #7 Posted October 1, 2006 Just bought a set of pipes off e-bay. One has a catalyst in it... Any suggestions on mods? If you want to drill it out you can, just a little harder.
rayswearingen Posted October 1, 2006 #8 Posted October 1, 2006 Can it just be drilled straight through or is something else behind the catalyst?
geresti Posted October 1, 2006 #9 Posted October 1, 2006 Do the road king stock mufflers really sound better than the stock venture or rstd. I have rstd and would like alittle more sound but not loud like my V&H pipes on my kawasaki. I stopped into a local chopper shop and they had some pipes laying around and they told me that with the stock RK pipes on you can hardley hear the harley running. Any feedback on this Thanks, Bob
rayswearingen Posted October 6, 2006 #10 Posted October 6, 2006 Can it just be drilled straight through or is something else behind the catalyst? Can someone advise me on this? Thanks!
Silver Bullet Posted October 6, 2006 #11 Posted October 6, 2006 I put RK's on mine.. but I did drill them out ..these things are guite untill you ask for some sound then they really have a mellow sound.. just loud enough to hear them good.. my buddy [who rides a harley] said it sounds like a v8. he also wishes he had a quite sound like mine...I have 3 sets of these pipes and I like the slash cuts just because they look nice..hope I answered some of your questions..If I can help let me know..jack
WARider Posted October 6, 2006 #12 Posted October 6, 2006 I just put a set of stock RK's on my 06 RSV and they are perfect for me. I didn't want loud but I wanted a little something. With the stock RSV you couldn't hear anything. With the RK's you at least get a little "blub-blub" sound without waking up the neighbors.
Silver Bullet Posted October 6, 2006 #13 Posted October 6, 2006 yes it can be drilled through.. nothing behind it but the back plate ,which you drill from the back of the pipe.. it is about 5 or6 in.thick and hard as concrete.but stay withit and you can do it .. I know cause I am useing them on mine and they sound great..
rayswearingen Posted October 8, 2006 #14 Posted October 8, 2006 yes it can be drilled through.. nothing behind it but the back plate ,which you drill from the back of the pipe.. it is about 5 or6 in.thick and hard as concrete.but stay withit and you can do it .. I know cause I am useing them on mine and they sound great.. Do you need a special bit? And, once you drill the catalyst, did you drill the baffles? And, what amount and size holes did you drill? Sorry for the amount of questions, but this is my first mod that I've ever done on ANY of the bikes that I've had and I just want to, hopefully, "Do it right the first time"..... :-)
rayswearingen Posted October 21, 2006 #15 Posted October 21, 2006 Do you need a special bit? And, once you drill the catalyst, did you drill the baffles? And, what amount and size holes did you drill? Sorry for the amount of questions, but this is my first mod that I've ever done on ANY of the bikes that I've had and I just want to, hopefully, "Do it right the first time"..... :-) Can anyone let me know about this...? Thanks!
Squidley Posted October 21, 2006 #16 Posted October 21, 2006 Can anyone let me know about this...? Thanks! Ray, You can drill through the catalitic converter, there are 2 small baffle plates one in the rear and one in the front of the pipe. I had a set of RK's on my 1st '99 and I had to go through the Catalic, I ended up just taking my torches and cutting the majority of it out by hand. If you are NOT handy with a torch DO NOT DO THIS as you can damage the chrome finish if you get off track. You will need a long 1/4" drill bit (about 12 to 14 ") and a 1 1/8" hole saw which can be picked up at any ACE hardware. Take your time and spray some WD 40 down the pipe when your cutting to keep the hole saw cool. It's not a big deal and I loved the sound. Shoot me a PM if you need more info.
rayswearingen Posted October 22, 2006 #17 Posted October 22, 2006 Ray, You can drill through the catalitic converter, there are 2 small baffle plates one in the rear and one in the front of the pipe. I had a set of RK's on my 1st '99 and I had to go through the Catalic, I ended up just taking my torches and cutting the majority of it out by hand. If you are NOT handy with a torch DO NOT DO THIS as you can damage the chrome finish if you get off track. You will need a long 1/4" drill bit (about 12 to 14 ") and a 1 1/8" hole saw which can be picked up at any ACE hardware. Take your time and spray some WD 40 down the pipe when your cutting to keep the hole saw cool. It's not a big deal and I loved the sound. Shoot me a PM if you need more info. Thanks alot !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Guest BamaYama Posted October 22, 2006 #18 Posted October 22, 2006 I wish I would remember who sent this to me so that I could give the proper credit. The Bike and modifications were Gary Mace's. ( Venturous )
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