No other change when swapping exhaust. I went from stock exhaust to RB when doing a 103". It's a decent system, a touch loud though. Went 107", re- tuned with the RB. A year later I took off RB Racing LSR 2-1, installed D&D Boarzilla, retuned.

 

How about just removing the baffles from your stock exhaust if you like the looks? What do you guys think of doing something like that?

 

It'll be loud and some of the bottom end torque will be lost. FWIW, stock mufflers with baffles removed always sounded like someone grabbed the down spouts off their house and bolted them on in place of the mufflers.

 

My reason for changing pipes:

1. Looks - The large factory chrome pipes that came on my bike just wasn't doing it for me.
2. Performance - First thing I did to my bike was exhaust, intake, and SE race tune.
3. Safety - Just my personal thinking. Riding a quiet bike has always made me nervous. I feel people are more app to look more for a bike if they can hear one some where beside them compared to glancing in their mirror, not seeing anything and then coming into my lane or pulling out on the road.

 

Because if you don't, your bike looks and sounds exactly like every other 2016 Fatboy S.

 

Me too! D&D 2n1

 

Seems like a lot of guys mention performance as a priority for changing the pipes but without changing the air cleaner and the tune you're really not going to notice a difference, in my opinion. Actually you'd get way more out of just the air cleaner and tuning with stock pipes than you would just swapping out some slipons. So it's gotta be more than just performance!

I did it for the sound/tone, primarily. The Rineharts I put on or way deeper, a bit louder, and if you ask me, make my bike sound "more like a Harley" than it did stock. The extra performance was a bonus and they look damn good which doesn't hurt. But we all have different reasons I guess.

 

I don't know what your Fat Boy S sounds like but I love the stock sound of my Low Rider S. It tends to sound very, um...businesslike when it is making power. Other times, it is just pleasant to listen to and doesn't make enemies. I've always thought that trying to wring a little more power out of a Harley motor with a pipe was about the same as the VW header craze of a few decades ago. That is, if you're looking for power you started with the wrong platform. I think a lot of folks think that noise means power and it simply doesn't. Case in point, I had a VMax that I bought used with Cobra dump pipes installed. Didn't like the sound but I had it dyno'd at a local shop. Only making about 96 HP and I don't recall torque figures. I installed a bone stock system from a wreck and had the same shop dyno it again. 109 horsepower and sounded so much better and quieter to boot. A lot of folks put faith in the "volume makes you safer" theory. It's true to a point that people notice you a a bit more, I've read. I can't find any definitive data showing that it increases safety. I personally depend on my riding skill and situational awareness (lane position, looking ahead, avoiding blind spots, etc) to keep me safe and I've been successful for decades without hurting my hearing or alienating voters. So, I can't really say why most install loud pipes before they even pick the bike up (according to my local Harley dealer). I can only say that I am very pleased with the sound of the stock pipes on my 110 SE motor and I understand that the power is what it is, and I can make it work for me. What's that saying? If it ain't broke...