The original baffles that came with my V&H straight shot HS slip-ons were the barely-there cheese grater style baffles. You can see clear through - they only slightly reduce the inside diameter of the pipe. They have no insulation and are very loud. Just a little too loud to keep the peace with the neighbors. So I ordered the optional V&H quiet baffles. I wasn't aware that there were 2 types. Does anyone know the difference?

When my V&H quiet baffles arrived, I couldn't wait to swap them in. But they ended up being too quiet - even quieter than the stock HD mufflers that came with my Heritage. I didn't care for the way they sounded either. The design is similar to the stock cheese grater style baffles except there is a large end cap welded on. This forces the exhaust through a very narrow gap between the end cap and the inside diameter of the pipe. This gap is further restricted by exhaust insulation wrap. I put about 50miles on these baffles before swapping the original V&H cheese grater baffles back in.

I'd like something that's not too obnoxious for late night rides. But has a deep rumble and some bark when you twist the throttle. The SmartPartz baffles and BCT QQ quiet baffles seem like they might do the job. Any recommendations for one of the other? Any other options?

 

Mines a Deluxe and I did the same set up.. but i found that the QB's did not drop the sound much (V&H says only about 3 db's) no where near to stock..I ended up double wrapping the QB's and added the Smartpartz and it is still louder the stock.. Something not right if the QB's alone got you quieter than stock..Cheese graters and Smartpartz might do it for you. On mine, that set up was much louder than QB's and Smartparts and also takes out some of the high pitch that the V&H SS's have. When you look at the Smartpartz baffle it looks like nothing more than a pinch down tube..Closes the pipe end down to 1" if memory serves but on my long pipes created perfect back pressure for low end seat of the pants torque increase..(with intake & Fuelpac mods also)

 

How did you double wrap the baffles? I am nervous about the setup as it is since the Smartpartz people seem to suggest using the quiet baffles with their baffles is not ideal.

More importantly, on the intake & Fuelpac mods, is this something that my dealership is going to know about? The bike is brand new and still in the shop waiting for some paint and new wheels.

In the mean time, I asked them to install the new V&H Big Shots Staggered exhaust and a Performance Machines air cleaner. I ordered the Quiet Baffles and the Smartpartz baffles and I have drilled and prepped the baffles for install by the dealership so they can do the exhaust and air cleaner and tuning all together.

Are they going to know the optimal setup for this system, or do I need to do some research or order some additional components? I understand there are after market electronic gizmos of some sort that have to do with the tuning.

Thanks!

 

Double wrap is not quite a true statement.. The QB's come witha double rap now, but thin material. What i did was order some wrap online (can't remember the site, Dennis Kirk, or Phat performace parts maybe). But a single wrap of it was twice as thick as the standard double QB wrap. Secured it in 28 guage wire and they spun right in, tight going in but ok. All SP said was QB's create more back pressure (more restrictive and will run richer which is fine with me). Again works fine on mine with the standard V&H map for my bike.
On the dealer, if they have no problems with the slip ons, intake & a tune they do, fine. Mines new also, so when i hit the 1000 service, I'll just pull the intake and FP off back to stock.. Does not take me that long, I've done it so many times.. If your dealer is gonna do the install of what sounds like a basic Stage 1, sounds like they'll still honor the warranty..Ask them..As far as them tuning, it all depends on how they do it. If it's just a HD standard down load remap, it may not be the best match/tune.. If they do a dyno tune after all the parts are in should be ok i guess..You'll know when you ride it. I was trying to get the sound down on mine and it worked and runs great with the FP.. I don't trust the HD standard remaps (some on here do, some don't)and they want $800 for a dyno tune and also i don't want my new bike run up to redline several times on a dyno..Modified pipes can stay on, I'll get the 1000 mile service and put my intake and the FP back on when i get it home. If i ever need warranty work, I'll just switch them out again before i take it in..Theres a lot of after market tuners, get to expensive for my needs at this point. FP works fine for me and was only couple hundred bucks.. Depends on your comfort level doing the mods yourself. This is quite a essay, hope I was clear enough..

 

I did a DIY today:

http://www.shawtwin.com/XL1200N/?p=13

 

I have them installed and they are great! They make it a little quieter, but mostly seem to make it a deeper rumble, so not as annoying with high pitched noise. But when I crank on the throttle, it gets pretty loud.

I had the baffles that came with pipes ground down, because it wasn't an even edge. Then had the hole drilled on the other side from the original hole. The SmartPartz baffle still didn't quite fit flush because the screw mount on the SmartPartz baffle was slightly rounded and wouldn't sit straight. I ground down the top of that screw mount a little and it set flush after that.

I had the dealership install the pipes when I bought the bike and I asked them to install the SmartPartz baffles. I gave them the box with the parts and instructions, but apparently the guy assigned didn't know what to do with them. When I got the bike and noticed they weren't installed, I took it back and told them they left them out. So this time they took out the regular baffles and only installed the SmartPartz baffle.

Sheesh. I then patiently told them exactly what they needed to do and they finally got it right. Been happy with them ever since!

 

Here is a complete DIY with pictures: http://www.shawtwin.com/XL1200N/?p=13

 

I got good results using the Big City Thunder QQ2 Baffles and then added a set of baffles that I made up myself. See attached. One trick was to drill holes in the outside shields directly in line with the baffle bolts so that I can take the baffles in and out without having to completely remove and disassemble the entire exhaust system any time I want to make a change.

 

Thanks for sharing your photos. Especially your V&H quiet baffles. The design is very different from my V&H quiet baffles!

Your V&H quiet baffles appear to be closer in design to the stock (non-quiet) baffles that came with my V&H Straight Shot HS slip-ons. The only difference is that your quiet baffles have a slightly smaller diameter cheese grater baffle and added insulation wrap. From appearances your quiet baffles are a nearly straight-through design and not very restrictive. I can't imagine that they would be very much quieter than standard V&H baffles.

By comparison, my V&H quiet baffles are MUCH more restrictive. They have a round end cap welded on that forces all the exhaust through the thin gap between the insulation wrap and outer pipe wall. Of course they are very VERY quiet! Much quieter than stock. They're also very restrictive, have decreased power, and produce more heat. I put less than 100miles on them before swapping the stock (loud) V&H baffles back on. I would've preferred your V&H quiet baffles to mine as I was looking for something medium (not loud, but not too quiet either). But the local dealer told me my quiet baffles were the only option available?!?! I feel like I've been ripped off!!!

I'll try to post some photos of my V&H quiet baffles to compare to your V&H quiet baffles.

 

Nice job! Your job was much more complicated than mine with the Big Shots Staggered.