Hi all,
Anyone removed the end caps and baffles for the Cobra RTP mufflers? I removed the one screw I imagined held it all in but cant seem to get it to slide out?
Im assuming those 7 screws around the end cap are decorative?

Appreciate any help -thanks

Roy

 

It's almost certainly stuck because of a build up of soot . Spray liberally with penetrating fluid or WD-40 then either buy or improvise a slide hammer with a hook to knock them out .

 

Thanks buddy, they are just a couple of hundred miles so not too sooted, but I am trying to remove them with mufflers installed, maybe I should remove and try to push out from the other end.....
thanks

 

Whatever you choose to do hope it works out ok . I've got a bit of a challenge tomorrow. The retaining screw on the front muffler of my Vance and Hines Short Shots is chewed up and I'm determined to get the baffle out without disturbing the exhaust headers . I have just enough space to get a mini drill with an abrasive wheel onto the screw head then I can get a cutting wheel into the exhaust mouth to chop the captive nut off . ( It's only held on with one spot weld ) Then the slide hammer comes into play to yank the baffle out . A lot of hassle , especially when the rear one came out without any issues .

 

My cobra exhaust baffle was just the one screw on the side.those baffles go in very tight, so they do not come out easy. I made a sort of slide hammer with a T bolt that I welded to the end. I then slid it into the exhaust end and dropped the T bolt end into the holes in the baffle and knocked them out.

 

Will I ever get this baffle out ? Well yes someday soon but not today . My plan was to grind the head off the screw so I did that . Then , having looked carefully at the V&H baffles that I was going to be putting in I was going to make a cut with a Dremel wheel in the rectangular captive bolt so that the threaded portion came free and the spot welded portion remained . But no . I had not looked at the captive nut in the quiet baffle because I wrongly assumed that it would be of the same design as the loud baffle . It is not ! It is of a square design and looks firmly welded all round . ( English swear words deleated ) So now it's back to plan C , remove the header and pipe and drill the thing out . I had so hoped not to have to do this because undoing any bolt or stud that goes directly into a cylinder head is a risk best avoided. All well and good but can I get a 1/2 " AF socket in Coventry ? No . So , the weather this weekend is looking good and I'm just going to bolt the heat shields back up and ride my bike . ( Quietly )

 

" Just one screw " same as mine, but fortunately for you nobody has chewed yours up with a metric Allen key . Ah the joys of motorcycle mechanics .

 

I didn't want to, but in the end I took the header pipe off and drilled it out with a cobalt drill bit. Am I right in assuming that on later Sportsters the mufflers will come off without removing the header because the balance pipe is further forward and is not a part of the mufflers ? I had no problem at all fitting a new exhaust port gasket because I got lucky and chose a Cometic one from a UK supplier that fitted perfectly with only gentle finger pressure. I didn't use a new link pipe gasket because the original was in good shape . So now , with my V&H loud baffles installed , that's all the modification I'm going to do to my Sportster . ( For now 🤐 )

 

Yep you’re correct about the balance pipe change on later models. I’ve changed mufflers on older and newer Sportsters and I think from 2014 models on, the balance pipe connections were moved so that they only connect at the very end of each header. It does make rather easier to swap out mufflers and unnecessary to remove or even loosen the headers themselves.