This is my first Sporty as I have always rode Dynas and Touring bikes so I ran into a situation I have never encountered. My question is that I went to remove the stock mufflers to drill out the baffles and noticed the mufflers are connected with a gasket to some bracket. I loosened up the clamp on the end of the header pipe and the two bolts holding the muffler to the brackets but I could not work the muffler off due to this connection I mentioned earlier. Do you have to remove the header pipe too just to get the muffler off? I did drill the first wall inside the muffler and has increased the noise a lot. How many walls are there inside the muffler? Cause I would like it a little bit louder but I can't drill deeper unless I can remove the muffler. Reason I ask is so I don't screw something up trying to remove the mufflers.

 

i took off the whole exhaust when i did mine, just seemed easier to work it with it off the bike. i used a rubber mallet to knock the mufflers off the pipes...pita! when i put it back together, i put a bit of anti sieze on the pipes before reattaching the mufflers. some have done this mod without removing mufflers at all. seen a guy on you tube puch the plates out with a hammer and pipe while still on bike, then cranked it up. not endorsing that way, but has been done. hope that helps

 

You do not have to take the headers off. Just loosen the exhaust flanges at the head and swing the pipe up off of the cross-over bracket. Then spray some WD-40 or other penetrating lube where the muffler slides on to the header to help make getting the mufflers off 100x easier.

 

What about the wall I drilled through in the muffler. Is there more than one? I want to make the muffler a little louder. Thanks.

 

Make sure you re-tighten the exhaust bolts at the head correctly - I did mine and did`nt tighten enough and lost one nut - no I gave it a good crank with loctite and all is ok for 2 weeks now.

 

Another option is to "double-nut" the header/cyl port clamps. Lots of vibrations in this point & this also keeps the bolts from backing loose. Also, I agree w/others on removing the headers/entire exhaust. Makes things easier to access & work with - ensures nothing will get in your way. You could change baffles vs. drilling - Big City Thunder has a nuce sound & can get a set for ~$100...worth a look. Good luck!

 

+1 WD40 works wonders.

 

If you drilled through the baffle plug in the middle of muffler that is the only thing that redirects the gases to the outer muffler. There is some serious sound deadening material in the outer muffler which will keep the sound down no matter what. It just doesn't let the muffler resonate like other mufflers. You could try taking a hole saw and removing the baffle all together and it will give you some more noise.