Hi all,

As some of you might remember, I took delivery of a 2010 883 Iron very recently. I've done about 450 miles on it so far, with 350 using quiet baffles, and the rest with the standard baffles. I've got V&H slip-ons on it, fyi.

When I was choosing between the two types of baffles, I was interested in the noise AND performance differences. I've finally compared them for myself, and for those of you who might be interested, I thought I'd write about it.

So, to sum up:

Quiet baffles: From new: Sound produced is pleasantly loud and deep. After 300 miles: much quieter (carbon buildup on the fibreglass), and annoying. Sounds a bit lame under hard acceleration.

Standard baffles: A bit too loud (ears hurt in town centres where the sound echoes a lot). Excellent sound under hard acceleration.

Performance: With the quiet baffles, there's more low-end torque, but the bike performs best with short shifts, since it runs out of pull at the high end. With the standard baffles, there's an annoyingly low amount of low-end torque, but at the top-end, it's all there. This can be worked around by really giving it some before dropping the clutch from stand-still.

Overall conclusion: don't waste your money on the quiet baffles. They need cleaning every 300 miles or your bike will sound like a honda. Stick with the loud ones, release the clutch a little later from stand-still if you really want the kick, ride at *slightly* higher revs than you think you should, and you won't regret it.

Cheers

 

I agree about the sound of the quiet baffles. I have the Sideshots. I put them in for about a day and then trashed them. They sounded like I had a potato stuck in my pipes especially when I would lay into the throttle. It kind of reminded me of the stock mufflers only louder. Unlike most people, when I put the quiet baffles in I adjusted my tune for them as per V&H's instructions. I lost a ton of power throughout the power band. I hated it because I was really hoping to get the extra torque everyone raved about with the quiet baffles.

 

I'm having a hard time agreeing with your sound opinion. Perhaps it's because of the difference between the 883 and 1200 (but I doubt it). I've got the shortshots (with q-baffs) and my wife has the slip-ons (Nightsters). I absolutely love the way hers sounds with the quite baffles. With 5k+ miles, it sounds throaty and loud (but not too loud). I wish mine rumbled the way hers does. If I didn't like the way mine looked as much all wrapped up, I'd probably switch over.

As far as performance goes, I couldn't tell ya. We're just cruisin'.

 

i have the slip-ons with quiet baffels also but mine dont have the fiberglass around them anymore(i mangled one installing so i ditched the other one) and they sound pretty good i think. they arent really any quieter just a different tone, less harsh i guess is what im getting at. hope this helps