How can I make big power quietly?
#11
10-29-2010 | 08:17 AM
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Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,967
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From: Jax FL
on a side note, I used to have a Vance & Hines Pro Pipe, and the baffle was removable.
I tried EVERYTHING to quieten it down and keep good flow:
-wrapped it with aluminum, steel, and fiberglass.
-alternated covering rows of holes in the baffles.
-cut the plug off the end, and welded in another baffle, covered all the existing holes.
i never did get it extremely quiet.
in other words, you can experiment a lot yourself, but you can't balance flow & sound as much as on a small 2-1 pipe with one baffle as you can with a set of slip fits with removable baffles.
on a V-rod, I had a old school FL baffle welded to the front of the stock baffle to make it MUCH quieter.
adding baffles was the ONLY way i was able to make any of my bikes quieter. but you can only do so much on your own.
so, i would check into that RB pipes that gets QUIETER.
i rode to Colorado one year, and noise fatigue was the greatest problem, riding ~10 hours a day.
think of it this way: ride ~2 hours with no shirt, and the hairs on your arm are ALIVE wiht tingly sensations when you stop. think about the same thing happening to your ears.
you can vary the fairing height also, sometimes, the fairing can act as a sound trap, and trap the exhaust noise inside the envelope around the rider.
my RKing was MUCH more enjoyable without that huge fairing causing the exhaust to reverberate. i rode it to Colorado with a $50 mini fairing to minimize noize.
sorry for the long post, but having a good time riding with hearing loss/problems/tinnitus is TOUGH. good luck!
I tried EVERYTHING to quieten it down and keep good flow:
-wrapped it with aluminum, steel, and fiberglass.
-alternated covering rows of holes in the baffles.
-cut the plug off the end, and welded in another baffle, covered all the existing holes.
i never did get it extremely quiet.
in other words, you can experiment a lot yourself, but you can't balance flow & sound as much as on a small 2-1 pipe with one baffle as you can with a set of slip fits with removable baffles.
on a V-rod, I had a old school FL baffle welded to the front of the stock baffle to make it MUCH quieter.
adding baffles was the ONLY way i was able to make any of my bikes quieter. but you can only do so much on your own.
so, i would check into that RB pipes that gets QUIETER.
i rode to Colorado one year, and noise fatigue was the greatest problem, riding ~10 hours a day.
think of it this way: ride ~2 hours with no shirt, and the hairs on your arm are ALIVE wiht tingly sensations when you stop. think about the same thing happening to your ears.
you can vary the fairing height also, sometimes, the fairing can act as a sound trap, and trap the exhaust noise inside the envelope around the rider.
my RKing was MUCH more enjoyable without that huge fairing causing the exhaust to reverberate. i rode it to Colorado with a $50 mini fairing to minimize noize.
sorry for the long post, but having a good time riding with hearing loss/problems/tinnitus is TOUGH. good luck!
#12
10-29-2010 | 10:27 AM
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,872
From: Bedford UK
Same here. I've been riding with them, even in the car on long trips and every flight, since one of the bike mags published an article about hearing loss, back in the 70s. I'm always surprised when younger riders question using them!
As for a quiet performance exhaust I don't know of one. Looking at modern high performance bikes of other brands it seems we need large volume mufflers, but the industry seems reluctant to make them for Harleys. I don't believe it is too much to ask. Imagine blowing a BMW or Gold Wing rider into the weeds with a big-inch Glide, when he didn't know you were on his rear!
I have just ordered a SuperTrapp SuperMeg for my 107 inch Evo and I'm keeping my fingers crossed it won't be too noisy!
As for a quiet performance exhaust I don't know of one. Looking at modern high performance bikes of other brands it seems we need large volume mufflers, but the industry seems reluctant to make them for Harleys. I don't believe it is too much to ask. Imagine blowing a BMW or Gold Wing rider into the weeds with a big-inch Glide, when he didn't know you were on his rear!
I have just ordered a SuperTrapp SuperMeg for my 107 inch Evo and I'm keeping my fingers crossed it won't be too noisy!
#13
10-29-2010 | 02:54 PM
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Joined: Dec 2007
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I traded my 2006 Ultra for a 2011 Ultra Limited this past weekend. My new bike won't be delivered until December when it's snowing anyways, so I have some time to decide what to do. My 2006 Ultra had the 95" kit with a 204 cam and Supertrapp 2:1 exhaust, tuned on a dyno with a race tuner. I put 40,000 miles on the bike and always thought it would have been nicer to have more power.
Unfortunately, I have an ear condition called otosclerosis which requires me to either ride a quiet motorcycle or wear foam earplugs when I ride. On a stock bike, I'm fine. On my 2006 Ultra, anything more than 20 minutes meant I needed the earplugs.
Here are some choices I could do:
1. Leave my new 2011 Ultra Limited with factory 103" motor stock. This would be pretty quiet, but the bike is not likely to run the way I'd be happy with.
2. Heads/Cam/Exhaust tuning on the 103". Mild torque cam and headwork and something like the V&H power duals and wide ovals or the RB racing black hole 2:1 pipe so it's relatively quiet. Maybe another Supertrapp 2:1 like I've had?
3. Motor swap. Buy the new Screamin' Eagle 120r or a Jim's 131. But I'm not sure how a big motor will respond to a quiet exhaust. (Neither is anyone else I've spoken to either!)
4. Some other idea that you guys will suggest?
Thanks in advance.
Unfortunately, I have an ear condition called otosclerosis which requires me to either ride a quiet motorcycle or wear foam earplugs when I ride. On a stock bike, I'm fine. On my 2006 Ultra, anything more than 20 minutes meant I needed the earplugs.
Here are some choices I could do:
1. Leave my new 2011 Ultra Limited with factory 103" motor stock. This would be pretty quiet, but the bike is not likely to run the way I'd be happy with.
2. Heads/Cam/Exhaust tuning on the 103". Mild torque cam and headwork and something like the V&H power duals and wide ovals or the RB racing black hole 2:1 pipe so it's relatively quiet. Maybe another Supertrapp 2:1 like I've had?
3. Motor swap. Buy the new Screamin' Eagle 120r or a Jim's 131. But I'm not sure how a big motor will respond to a quiet exhaust. (Neither is anyone else I've spoken to either!)
4. Some other idea that you guys will suggest?
Thanks in advance.
Where are you located??
#14
10-29-2010 | 04:43 PM
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Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,479
Likes: 3
From: SoCal
#15
10-29-2010 | 11:30 PM
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Intermediate
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 39
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From: Syracuse, NY
I'm in Syracuse. 3 years or so ago, I came out to Munnsville, talked to you guys about motor work on my 2006 Ultra. Instead of doing the motor, I bought a Buell 1125R that year. I sold that Buell this spring after Harley shut down Buell.
I don't consider that Buell to be one of my better ideas.
I don't consider that Buell to be one of my better ideas.
#17
10-31-2010 | 01:33 PM
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
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From: Bedford UK
I know of one! the SuperTrapp Supermegs. It won a major mag pipe shootout for added hp and can swap between the loud (open end cap) and quiet (closed end cap) modes. With closed end cap, it's super-silent! So quiet that I took the 6 discs out and put the open end cap back on.
#18
10-31-2010 | 07:54 PM
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Joined: Feb 2007
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From: Northeast Ohio
#19
11-03-2010 | 08:26 PM
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 168
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From: Elkhart, IN
I am trying to figure out the same thing. I am leaning toward the Bub 7 Stealth, but my builder is telling me to go with a 2-1 or at the very least and crossover due to the impossibility of balancing out the heads with such different pipe configs/bends.
Any quiet 2-1's preferably with an available phantom pipe for the opposite side? The baggers look so funny with 1 pipe. Otherwise I will live with the power loss and the unbalance.....as our noise ordinance is too pricey to violate here.
Any quiet 2-1's preferably with an available phantom pipe for the opposite side? The baggers look so funny with 1 pipe. Otherwise I will live with the power loss and the unbalance.....as our noise ordinance is too pricey to violate here.
Last edited by 2005FLHPI; 11-03-2010 at 09:56 PM.
#20
11-03-2010 | 09:45 PM
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 70
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I have a 2010 Road King that needed some more power but I was tired of loud mufflers so I wanted to keep the stock mufflers. I did some planning with Doc in Orlando who recommended the andrews 26 cam and a TTS tuner. I installed the Fuel Moto head pipe to eliminate the cat and Doc installed the cams and tuned it. It puts out 87 hp and 98 tq, very nice power even with 2 up can easily pass cars in 6th gear, runs cool and quiet although it is a bit louder than stock, I am very pleased with the combination.