I have been shopping for new slip ons for sopme time now and have narrowed it down to Vance and Hines Straight shots and the Screaming Eagles just based on you tube videos and coments but i have never heard them in person on a sportster i want that deep rumble but loud off the line and a constant "here comes a harley" head turn help me make up my mind or tell me how (other than finding someone that has that pipe on their bike) how i can hear them in person

 

I was going throught the same thing. I just installed Screamin' Eagle Street Performance slip ons yesterday. Like you, I really didn't know what they were going to sound like, or how it would compare to stock on the same bike. So I made before and after videos to help others, like you. It's not as good as hearing them in person, but with the before video, you can sortof see the difference it makes. Here is the before video, with stock pipes (the air cleaner is stock):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMSuVycDyAw

Here is the same bike, an hour later, with the SE SP slipons (same camera in same position):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_fb_r6ZULU

I hope this helps. I was looking for stuff like this before I made a decision and couldn't find it, so decided to do it myself when I made the change.

Another member of the forum told me that he did the same thing and is going to splice the before and after into one video and post it. I didn't have the program (or the skills) to do that.

Good luck. BTW, I endorse the SE SP's. I am very happy with them. Big improvement without being obnoxiously loud.

 

Hey there , you want the screamin eagles , thats what i have and they turn heads and get smiles all day long . great sounding pipes and not too loud while at low throttle so you can scoot down the street early in the morning and not **** off the neighbors , then crank it up on the open road.

 

My girl has the V&H slip ons you mention on her 1200 - it is the loudest bike in all of my crew, including several road kings, my sportster and my VROD. It sounds FRICKIN awesome! LOUD LOUD LOUD. Much louder than my V&H shortshots.

 

Another option is RUSH slip on's Thay have a nice deep sound to them and don't cost all that much. I hate the SE slip on's so i'm going to tell yoou to pass on them.

 

To give you a reference, I believe this is how it goes in order of loudness (assuming all the listed items still have their factory baffles in place):

Stock slip ons (quiet)
Screamin Eagle slip ons (louder, but still not LOUD)
Cycle Shack slip ons (getting pretty loud, but not "give me a ticket" loud)
Rush Slip ons (loud)
V&H short shots (very loud)
V&H straight shots (very loud)

If I'm mistaken here, someone can correct me, but this is how I would rank them based on hearing these exhausts at bike events.

To give you an idea of just how LOUD the V&H pipes are, even with baffles, see this thread:

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/engin...big-shots.html

Those are for the bigshots, they are producing 105dB at the SEAT at IDLE, which is more than enough to do permanent hearing damage to you without earplugs. That is WITH wrapped baffles. Owner of that bike reports his ears ring after 60 minutes of riding, and his girl won't ride longer than a half hour....

 

Your order of loudness is consistent with the research I did. I was looking more for sound quality rather than volume and many, if not most on this forum would say the SE SP's are too quiet. But they were exactly what I wanted. The "street" in "Street Performance" is because they are street legal in all 50 states. I think they are rated at 80 dB.

Tone quality and volume are matters of personal preference so don't take my opinion over anyone elses, or theirs over mine. With the ones in the 'Very loud" category, however, someone else's opinion will come into play--be prepared for at least a conversation with an LEO about them in some towns, and maybe a ticket in others.

 

I had vance and hines on mine, and I really loved the tone, but they were very loud. Too loud for my use. I generally ride through my neighborhood after dark and through school zones during the day on my normal commute. I switched to the screamin eagle slips ons and think that they are perfect in volume. Some guys I know think the SE's are too quiet. I'd say that the screamin eagles are a good midway point between the stock mufflers and the vance and hines. Hope that helps.

Edit: I'd agree with the ranking of the slip ons above, in terms of volume.

 

Ok so to add to the topic if I decide to do the V&H they should be legal in arizxona where I live but say I make the trip to Sturgis (2012 if all goes right) and they are to loud in that state do I still get the ticket even though they are legal in my state where it is registered and where they where installed

 

You are defiantly looking at mufflers on the opposite sides of the spectrum. I like Cycle Shack has that great Harley sound and cheap or the Rush because you can tailor the core to the size of the engine so you get good performance as well as good sound.