From my other post:
V&H Quiet baffles
I bought the Quiet Baffles from Vance & Hines. They were $28 a pop and NOT sold in pairs.
Installed them.
These baffles differ in that they have a rear block-off plate that diverts the exhaust around it, and then through holes in the core, before going out through a wrapped core that absorbes pulses, aiding in the noise reduction.
Upon installing them, it was as simple as removing the chrome shields, (2 radiator hose clamps per shield) dropping one allen screw and pulling the old baffles out. Anyone that plans on doing this more then once a year can simply drill a hole in the bottom of their shields, and allow access to the baffle screw. Without a hole though, it prevents the screw from backing out. I hate losing screws....
Once out, I had a somewhat difficult time getting the glass packing that's wrapped around the baffle to go into the pipe. A quick couple of wraps with safety wire cured that and in they went, easy as pie.
If you look at the baffle, you can see where the end cone is a slightly smaller diameter than the ID of the pipe, creating a restriction that will increase exhaust velocity, increase backpressure and help with keeping torque numbers up. The redirection of exhaust flow will contribute to that as well.
The exhaust travels from the left to the right, and the white coloring is where the damping/packing material was, to help absorb exhaust pulses and aid in the noise reduction. There were 2 thin layers on each baffle.
The LOUDER baffles that V&H sells for the Big Shots have a straight baffle, with a slightly smaller center section, with swirl-pattern louvers cut into the baffle to slow and channel exhaust to create backpressure, maintain exhaust velocity and help in quieting exhaust. Not sure if you can see it too good here, but it's a straight through baffle, unlike the quiet baffle and that's always going to be louder....because it's less restrictive at higher RPMs. Rejetting with these baffles is almost a gaurentee, at a minumum, the pilot jet if you're running the stock configuration at the time of the install. I like to run fat, so a 170 could have worked for me, but at high speeds, a 180 is best, and there's no lag, or stalling on hard throttle rolls.
Now..... Upon my first install with the Quiet baffles, the bike was as quiet as with stock mufflers with the backing plug knocked out. This is consistent with my Baffelectomy I that I did........ Not what I wanted. NOT TO MENTION, the 180 Main Jet I'm running would be way too much, and I'd have to drop back to the 170, if not the 165 to keep from running too rich. At speed (55-60) and a full throttle roll, the bike would lag, and recover AS you let off the throttle, lurching forward. That's a telltale sign of running too rich.
If you want a hotter, thinner looking pipe with a slightly louder then stock sound, then these pipes with the Quiet Baffle is the ticket for you.
Next, I removed the Quiet Baffles and removed the glasspacking around the baffles, hoping that that would add to the "Best sound" goal. Back in they went, and out on the road I went.
Foul....
The pipes were *slightly* louder, but the packing also seems to aid in the "Not rattling in the pipe" noise that I now heard, like I was dragging 3 soup cans behind me, tied to a string. I noted the Quiet baffles came out extremely easy compared to the Loud baffles, but the carbon on the Loud baffles may have have plaid a role in that as well. The fit on the Loud baffles does seem to be a tad tighter, and keep the baffles from rattling. Rejetting would still need to be performed, if they were to stay in.
IN THE END: (Which is exactly where I can stick these things...) The Loud baffles are back in and no rejetting was done. I like my Harley to sound like a Harley, but in turn, I also hate tickets and dealing with "The Man", or Johnny-Law.
I know I'm over the general Db limit of most states, but the Loud baffles also allow me to idle at a reasonable Db rate (98db, 6db more then the Quiet baffles, at idle), but also sound good at mild throttle and crack when I want them to.
FYI: Most states test with a DB meter at measured distance away from the end of the pipe, at 2000 rpms. Your results may vary.
So....$64 spent. A few beers sacraficed. Some more knowledge gained and a few more parts to add to my ever growing pile of bike parts.
Linear Mode
