I have an '02 Fatboy. It is fuel injected and has V&H Big Shot pipes. It gets almost loud enough for me, but I don't like how when I run it up and let off the throttle it just "chuffs" instead of any crackling. So I am considering taking the baffle out, but I was concerned about it screwing up the computer if I didn't get it calibrated. A buddy suggested that I just take the baffle out, cut it down by 2/3 and put it back in. He said it will make it louder, give some crackle, and retain some back pressure. What should I do?

 

I had big shot shorts on my 04 carb fatboy from the dealer. Hated them.. Same thing.. chuffing and cracking and poor low rpm performance (no torque). Tuning was impossible.

My solution.. Rineharts. And I haven't looked back. The sound blew the VH's away in loudness and "quality".. They've got a deep rich small block V8 kind of sound.. With the baffles, which is the best part. Without the baffles, tuning will be fun (to say the least). They also performed in all RPM range a LOT better than the shorts, which actually spit and sputtered if you gave it gas at low speeds. So I gained more torque as well as horsepower. IMO, they're worth the cash.

Now, you mentioned what they do on decelaration. This might be a function of your EFI, rather than the exhaust. I can say with the rineharts, I get a nice "boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom" with decelaration as the tone is deeper than the V&H "crack".

Not to just try to sell you on the rineharts but when I investigated messing with the baffles on the BigShot Shorts.. All those I talked to that tried it said the same thing.. It wouldn't help such a bad header design.

 

A guy told me today that he thinks the lack of "crackle" during deceleration might be due to lack of flow through my air cleaner, and that I should get a "big sucker" i think he said. I could be wrong on the name of it. That is the same guy that told me to take the baffle out and cut it off short.

I don't really have much money to spend on anything right now. I still have to sell my solo seat I have and buy a new seat that my wife will like, good luck there!

 

Well.. From my own experience, having the wife onboard having a good time is worth a LOT of crackle. hehe
Go for the seat.
What kind of solo seat do you have?

I've got a stock fatboy seat that's ok for two up and I bought a solo seat that's too far forward for me.. Lepara seat.. Gel.. Nice seat but pushes me forward.

 

I have the stock fatboy seat. The solo seat I have is a Corbin. Very nice condition. I want to put it on, but the wife wont have that. Especailly since we have been married 2.5 months and had the bike 1 month. She let/helped me buy a harley at the beginning of it all. Hard to believe, huh?

She rode of a Mustang seat on my buddy's 00 Fatboy and she liked it better. It was only 5 or 6" wide, probably 1.5-2" thick. So basically I need to find a seat that is 6" wide but cushy as hell. That should be easy to do, yeah right.

So do you think it'd be a bad idea to take the baffle out and cut it down then reinstall it? If I knew it would still run correctly, I'd just pull the baffles for a while and see what I though about it. But I'm afraid it'll mess up the computer.

 

She's a Keeper!!!! Lucky man!!!
My wife let me "grandfather" in the new bike before we got married.
We've got a different level of coolness in our wives.

Stangs are supposed to be fabulous seats.. especially for long miles. Lots less butt barking back at you at the end of the day.

Depends on the shape of the baffle I would say.. if it doesn't neck back up on both ends, but is just necked down, you might shave some off the end of the baffle. If it necks back up on both ends, cutting one end off would severely alter the design, which I wouldn't do.
I've heard of people doing some filing/shaving and opening up the baffle holes a bit.. That's a thought.. More time consuming but might be less invasive or a more gradual way to test the alteration out.

I think on those EFI's, the mapping is relatively precise, so it's trickier than a carb for sure to just mess with the exhaust.

 

Go Thunderheaders......'nuff said!

 

I really don't like the 2 to 1 pipes. I prefer the w pipes all the way.

I have to buy a seat that my wife likes before I can spend money on new exhaust. I was trying to find something that could help my situation without spending much, if any money.

I would consider doing a new air cleaner if the increased breathing would help achieve the sound I am looking for. Of course I would have to get dyno'd if I did that though.