I've got a question about engine/exhaust sound, it may be a bit futile but entertain me anyway I really like the sound from the video below during the drive by in particular that's at around 1:00. I currently have a 2019 M8 Road King which is stock except for Vance and Hines Twin Slash slip ons, and in the right situations (moderate throttle at around 1400-2600 rpm ish) it can give a similar sound, however it's not always easy to achieve. Too much throttle, too high revs, not enough load and it sounds more racey than having that thwap (if that's even a word )

Is there a way that I can get my M8 to give this kind of sound more easily/more often? I'm assuming completing the rest of the stage I won't make a difference, but would a stage II give it more of that 'thwap', or would it potentially remove it? Would a straight through exhaust change the sound character or just make what's there louder?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I appreciate it's not going to sound exactly like a Twin Cam, but as I've stated I can get a similar character from my M8.

You Tube

 

Stage 2 with a good aftermarket cam will get you the sound you are looking for

 

That Thwap you’re looking for is a constant on my bike. It’s got Brap at all rpm’s in all situations. But like all things. There’s a cost associated. Lol. And the twin cam is not the benchmark for how a bike sounds good. The Single cam lope has been the main staple for a hell of a lot longer than the Twinkie. I wouldn’t in any situation try to make my M8 sound like a twin cam. Maybe a cammed up shovel or an Evo. I guess you’ve had to have been riding before the Twinkie came out to know the difference. Everyone settled in on the sound from 99 to 2016 17 years engrained that into people. If you’ve got an M8. You have about 6 cams that will wake that bike up and give you that sound. All bolt in in a few hours and you’re on your way. I went with the Zippers Redshift 468. There’s the Woods 22x and the 22xe and the S&S 465 and so on. New open header and an open air cleaner. Good PV or TM tune. Done. I’ve had a few Twin Cams. And just bought another one. No hate here. Just prefer the sound and set up of the fried and true. Single cam.

That’s just my opinion. And I’m sure others will vary.

 

As pointed out above, the bike in the video is a Twin Cam. Also, if you look closely it's not running the stock exhaust head pipe and likely does not have the cat in it.. Since it's a Vance and Hines video, I'd bet it's onf ot their systems.

A cam upgrade will help, but you will also need to do something with the head pipe. You might start with s Stage 1 with either de-catting your stock pipe, or get an after market head pipe and high flow air cleaner and see how much it improved the sound. If i't not enough, selecting a cam should be your next step. Or you could do both at the same time. But in either case, you will need to also get a tuner because these changes do require a re-tune.

Paul

 

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

I was in no way suggesting that the twin cam is the benchmark sound, it was just an example of the type of sound that I like and the ‘type’ of sound I think’s achievable. However, there’s also no point in looking at shovels and pans wondering how I can get my M8 to sound like those

 

Thanks, yeah it’s V&H twin slash slip ons and dresser duals headers.

Ideally I don’t want to go the header route as I think it’ll be too loud and also I’d lose low down torque, I was hoping the ‘thwap’ is more from the cam than the headers?

Here in the UK they’ve started installing noise cameras in certain areas and I fear there’ll be a time when loud bikes are a thing of the past

 

Yep. That’s a unicorn there. Lol. They’re all distinct in their own way for sure.

 

M8's are generally not going to be "too loud" lol There are some slip ons that sound obnoxious or weird with aftermarket cams.

But it is possible to greatly improve the sound of the M8. Believe me, thats initially why I came to this forum back in 17...looking on ways to improve the sound of my RGS.

Here was my result

 

That does sound good, I’ve been listening to a few cam videos and I do think the S&S 475 sounds the best to me. I saw one video saying that it lacked a little bit low down compared to the 465, is this true and if so I assume it’s still better then the stock cam?

As for “too loud” obviously this is subjective, my wife already thinks my bike’s too loud with just slip ons lol. I’ve heard first hand an M8 Fat Boy with short shots on and whilst it sounded great it would be too loud for me day to day.

I’d love to hear the Tab Bam Sticks with Zombie baffles in person but I don’t know of anyone with them and neither does the dealer. In fact, I don’t know of any UK distributer for them.

 

Losing low end all depends on the mufflers you select and how open they are. M8's need back pressure.

I ran this cam with the S&S mk45 mufflers and left the DB reducers in. If I took the db reducers out, I could def feel a little low end lag.

IMO this is the best sounding combo I've heard. Ive hear most mufflers in person except the krome werks, and I've heard others say they sound great also. I've also heard several cams. Like you I really like the lope and sound of this cam and will be installing it in my current bike soon.

As for the tabs and zombie baffles, this was the ones I was referring too. Personally I don't like their sound. Sounds tinny and hollow and if anything can be too loud, its this muffler baffle combo.

ANY aftermarket cam will be a huge improvement on the stock setup even with less back pressure. When I had the cam put in my 17, he didn't put the db reducers in. I ran them like that for a few weeks....then after reading things here and learning about how the M8's need more back pressure, I put them back in. I thought the bike was pretty strong compared to stock, but even more so after putting the reducers in.