I've been looking at numerous slip ons for my 2019 Road King for several weeks now and I don't seem to be any closer to reaching a decision, the main reason is not being able to listen to any in 'real life' and just going on videos and reviews etc. I know this is far from the best way, but I have asked around my local HD clubs and my local dealer and no-one has the slip ons I'm looking at fitted so I'm not sure if I'll ever get to hear them before purchasing.

So the main reasons that I want slip ons is to get more of a Harley burble (as much as you can with slip ons only on an M8 engine) but also to increase the sound, not super loud but just so that I get to hear and enjoy them whilst riding. I don't really hear the exhaust note a great deal at the moment (stock pipes) and can hear the actual engine noise and gearbox more. Obviously I know that you hear more exhaust note behind the bike, but it would be nice to hear it whilst riding too.

So I've gone round and round between the Vance and Hines Twin Slash and hi output, although tbh the hi output are out of budget but IF they are the ones I want I am prepared to wait. From listening to numerous videos (I know not ideal) I do like the sound of the Twin Slash better, especially at idle. I like how they 'burble' more and sound as though the bikes only just ticking over. I also think under load they sound more 'traditional' whereas the hi output have a slight 'race' sound to them. So I thought I was dead set on the Twin Slash but then I hear a lot of people saying they're not loud and no louder than stock, although on the flip side some say they are louder than stock just not obnoxious.

I was under the impression that the hi outputs were louder but I contacted V&H yesterday and they told me that the Twin Slash are louder than the Hi Output which took me by surprise, especially when I listen to the video I've posted below where the hi outputs sound louder and more aggressive to me. The video also demonstrates the 'burble' on tick over on the Twin Slash I'm referring to.

V&H also threw another couple of pipe into the equation that are the loudest slip ons they do, the Eliminator 400 and the other I've forgotten I also asked V&H about the sound level at idle, and they told me that no pipe is loud at idle unless you change the cams.

The Eliminator are a similar price to the Twin Slash so they're do-able, but from videos I think I still prefer the 'burble' of the Twin Slash.

So long story short, I think I'm going to have to take a punt so what I want to know is whether the Twin Slash and Eliminator 400 are:-

1) Noticeably louder than stock but not obnoxious?
2) A fraction louder than stock but not that noticeable?
3) No louder than stock just a deeper tone?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Hello old chap, from darn sarf. As a Harley owner since the 1970s I can assure you that our American cousins have a very different view, regarding noise, than most of us over here. Unless they have changed their company philosophy in recent times I would put V&H at the unreasonably loud end of the spectrum. I'm inclined to suggest that you ride and enjoy your bike and simply keep an ear to the ground when meeting up with other local Harley owners. Also don't get too caught up in this noise thang, just because others do! Take a look at S&S slip-ons, who are at the more sensible end of the noise spectrum, also SuperTrapp, especially their stacking baffle products, as they can be fine tuned for either performance or sound. I have a SuperMegs 2-into-1 which gives remarkable performance, as well as a restrained yet authoritative sound.

 

I have four inch Screamin Eagle Street Cannons on my 03 Road King. I like them

randy

 

Thanks for the reply, I do appreciate it. TBH the sound is for me and nobody else, but at the moment I'm not happy with it. Part of the draw into the Harley World was the sound, and at present I don't get to hear and enjoy it. I definitely need something louder than stock, but as I said I don't want super loud. That's why I'm asking for a comparison against stock pipes, so I can have some kind of judgement. I appreciate saying something is loud or quiet is massively open to interpretation, but if someone says the sound level is similar to something else surely there's less room for interpretation?

Amongst others it was actually my UK dealership that said that the twin slash weren't loud and not much different to stock. I don't mind waiting if I thought I was going to find someone that had the pipes etc that I'm looking at, but what I find most is that people have had stage 1 etc fitted as well, or new headers, or they're a specific model pipe but on a different bike. Trying to find an unmodified 2017 onwards touring model with just slip ons is not easy.

I shall ponder over your advice though, thanks.

 

My 2 cents. I have been running V&H Twin Slash mufflers for 3 years now. I found them to have a very nice improvement in sound for the bike. Not super loud, but you could hear me coming. This is on my Twin Cam bike. My boss who also has a Twin Cam runs Reinhart slip on's and they were definitely louder than mine. Now I am running a decatted head pipe so mine got louder, but for just slip ons, my vote would be for the Reinharts'.

 

I won't offer advice, but I'll chime in on noise and performance. I've had positive experiences with V&H, Supertrapp and RCX slip on mufflers. All three delivered the performance I was anticipating along with tolerable noise expectations. Too bad you can't hit a rally or a local bike night and listen to the music..... Plenty of choices for slip on mufflers. Hope you find the right one.

 

Thanks for the info. From what I've heard online the Reinhart's sound too 'racey' to my ears, but I'll definitely keep a look out for a bike with them.
In my area of the UK I'm only familiar with one club and none of the members (that I'm aware of) have a 2017 Touring bike, let alone the 'correct' slip ons. I guess that's one of the downsides of living in a small town.

 

Wiki tells us that Chesterfield's a LARGE town! Similar in population to Bedford, in fact. Plain truth is that we Harleys owners in the UK are thinly spread and despite owning them for over 40 years I seldom meet any on the open road. For many years I was the only owner in my favourite Club and even now there are only a handful of us (non of them with a similar Touring bike to either yours or mine!).

As a tangential suggestion, if you don't wear ear plugs, try them. Dirt cheap and may alter what you hear, certainly will take away any wind roar.

 

I've got Eliminator 400s on my 2016 FLHP. I tried them with the standard baffles first and they were too loud for my neighborhood at 7AM. I put the optional quieter baffles in, wrapped with stainless wool and then ceramic blanket and it's quiet enough when you idle along (still louder than stock), but when you get on it, you can hear it WAY on down the road. When your cruising at 50-80 you can hear it but not to the point of being annoying, and when you back off the throttle from say 3500rpm, it has this really cool fairly loud burble. I wouldn't trade them for any other setup.

 

I run Rineharts on my Road King. I’m extremely pleased with them.