Hey all,

Below is a pic of my Vance and Hines Short Shots that came with my 02 883C. If I am correct (I don't know much about the subject), the baffles are supposed to be in the muffler, close to the exit (as opposed to being in the headpipe), correct?

Looking at the picture, the baffles are clearly missing. Now, what's the difference, performance and music wise, of having baffles vs. not having them?

If I want to put baffles, like the BCT QQs, can I simply bolt them in through the little holes one can see on the picture?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Vinny

 

Bolt in with screws. Easy job. Performance gain due to back pressure. BCT QQ's will give you a quoted deeper sound.

 

Bolt in with screws. Easy job. Performance gain due to back pressure. BCT QQ's will give you a quieter but deeper sound.

 

Originally had V&H Short Shots without baffles as well (bought used and it came that way). Yes, the baffles should bolt right in the holes. I'm more about the cruise instead of the throttle so I can't comment on drastic/noticeable performance differences. As for sound, I did set off car alarms on occasion and was issued one noise citation (actually got me for a defective muffler because I had no muffling device). My ears would also ring from time to time after about an hour of riding. The whole setup was way too loud for me, but everyone's preferences are different.

 

No baffles, no low end torque, plus your bike will run lean, hot, and sound like ****.

 

Short shots look killer. But in that config someone paid 600 bux for pipes that produce less hp than stock. You definitely need baffles. Not the only problem either. Diameter wise, they aren't really good for an 883 that isn't built.

Can the situation be remedied? Sure. BCT qq baffles will get you back some performance. But if you check the page, they're going to tell you that you should mount them up further in the pipe. Might also want to check into some ar cones for that as well. Without back pressure and pulse, your bike won't scavenge like it should. Then get ready to redo the jets in the carb. Lot's of info on tht around the net, doing plug reads and stuff.

I have heard of people that use the bct and the V&H baffles to get the noise down and performance back up to where is should be. YMMV.

 

Many good reasons to put baffles on :-) Thanks guys!

 

I have VH bigshots on my 2010 Fatboy Lo with standard baffles...got the quiet baffles and the sound is MUCH better and lower harley rumble. Also felt a little more powerful but that could have been just me. I had to retune fuel injection so you may need to adjust your carb.

The baffles will screw into those small holes on the left of your picture. The baffle is kinda hard to get in and line up with the holes especially of you use quiet baffle that has fiberglass wrap around it. Use a small allen wrench to line up holes in bafrfle with pipe...and screw in place. Piece of cake!

 

If you use the BCT's, the holes need to be between 6-7" from the pipe end. If one of the holes falls in that range just bolt it in and smile.

 

I bought my harley with the baffles not installed. it was LOUD, too loud. Im normally not one to say anything is too loud but you could hear my bike several miles away. BUT the baffles made it sound like a "jetson mobile" so I pulled the glass packing out sounds great now.