Ok, this might be a dumb question, but I figured this would be the place to ask. What are the advantages/disadvantages of slip-ons as opposed to a full set of pipes? I've been pinching pennies for a few months in order to get a new set of pipesfor my 2008 Super Glide. I've got one friend who says a full set isn't worth it and that slip-ons are the way to go to save money and get about the same performance as full pipes and I got another friend who says skip the slip-ons and save up the extra $$$ for the full pipes cause I'll get better performance out of them as opposed to the slip-ons. Just wondering what your guys input is before I go out and make a purchase. What are the advantages/disadvantages of each option?

Thanks!

 

I have an 07 WG with Rush slip ons, with 2 1/4 inch baffles, couldn't be happier, my friend Ralph at my local dealer where I bought my bike said, "if you don't have to replace your
fu&%ing head pipe, why bother? your just throwing away your fu%@ing money

 

just put the vance and hines slip on's on my '10 fat boy, It feels like a difference but I haven't dyno'd it or anything. Sure does sound alot better! My dealer told me the same thing about slip on's vs full system. He said if I went full exhaust that I should replace the filter with a stg 1 heavy breather and the download. I wasn't ready to throw away $1000 just to get 5 hp.

 

I think it depends on the bike. On my Heritage for example, it has a crossover system built in to the Head Pipes that's as good as a 2 into 1 system IMO. I can get away with just Slip-Ons that rival the performance of a "full" system. And, my Cats are in the mufflers and not the head pipes so when I replace the stock mufflers with Slip-Ons, I lose the Cats.

Not sure what type of system your Super Glide has, but honestly, I don't think you'll notice that much difference between a full system and and a quality set of Slip-Ons (unless your Cats are in the head pipes).

 

I wouldn't put slips ons on any of the newer harleys with the exhaust valve personally, the valve gives an odd exhaust note imo.

Generally, I would always try and go for a full system anyway, a lot of the cheaper systems are not that much more than slip ons anyway.

 

I had a set of rush slip ons with 2" baffles. They were okay. Served their purpose, but nothing sounds like a full exhaust. You get more performance. I personally wouldn't go back to slip-ons.

 

Got some Rinehart slip-ons that sound awesome.

 

Believe me your stock FLSTC head pipes with the crossover you talk about is far from a 2 into 1 system.

 

Absolutely not a dumb question. This all boils down to a choice between a 2-1 system (full set of pipes) or slip ons (use the existing stock head pipes). If you want max performance, go with the 2-1 system. If you want to save a few bucks and get close-to-max performance, go with the slip ons and use the existing headpipes. The tie-breaker might be which "look" you like better: 2-1 or stock headpipes and slip ons? What's most important to you? Are you willing to trade off performance for "looks"? Is sticking to a budget the way to go?

 

Well, close enough for me, if I were going to build a race motor, I'd go with a full 2 into 1 system, but for my needs, the stock pipes work great. Again, this is only for the newer Heritage's.

From Faast Ed

"Heritage? Stay with the stock headpipes and slip-ons.

The stock headpipes on the Heritage are good, and have the crossover too. They work as good as most of the aftermarket pipes. They work well with the rush slip-ons too. One of the few stock headpipes HD has that work so well! Keep 'em!
The only way you'll see any realistic gain by going with complete pipes, is by switching to a 2 into 1 pipe. Those will increase power for sure, but a waste of money on a stock motor. (Ya gotta give the pipe something to work with, LOL)."

And

"
The Heritage head pipes are as good as most any after market full pipe (other than the 2 into 1).



EDIT: The cool part of the Heritage headpipes is that they have a crossover pipe that equalizes the backpressure between the two pipes. This aids in performance.
Many of the aftermarket pipes don't do this!
The cool part about the more recent models is that this crossover is hidden in the mounting bracket. (The crossover was ugly in the older models)
If "looks" is your main objective, then perhaps your money won't be wasted replacing the entire pipes.
If performance is the main objective, slip-ons are a wiser financial move.

This opinion ONLY applies to Heritage pipes. None of the other models."