Here is my dilemma, I have a 2007 ultra classic with the 96 CI motor and would like an exhaust that will have a low rumble at idle, be quiet when cruising between 2-3K RPM, increase in sound as I increase the throttle but not be overly loud and have no ear ringing at the end of the ride. I do not want to wear ear plugs either.

The stock exhaust was OK for sound but what I thought was odd is it got quieter as I accelerated.

I installed the Rush slip-ons with 1 3/4 baffles onto the stok head pipes. These were OK but I was getting tiered of the higher pitch exhaust note and the overly loud sound when accelerating. Another thing I found odd was my brother in-law has the exact same setup on his 2000 Road King and they sound much better. They have a lower rumble and are not as loud when accelerating. If my bike sounded the way his does I would be very happy. I believe the longer stroke of the 96 motor makes the exhaust have a louder and higher pitch to it than the 88 motor.

I have now installed the Vance & Hines true duals to relieve some of the exhaust heat. Yes, the exhaust has gotten even louder now (this was expected). I like the reduced heat and the true dual sound just not the higher pitch of the sound and the increased sound when accelerating. I did try different baffle packing materials with the Rush mufflers but nothing has quieted the sound to where I would like to have it.

Next I switched out slip-ons with another buddy, his Screaming Eagle slip-ons with my Rush mufflers (he was looking for something louder). My Rush mufflers sounded great on his bike but again his was a 2006 classic with the 88 motor. Now there are different types of Screaming Eagle mufflers, his are the ones that have the slash down ends built right into the muffler (no add on end pieces). They also have 2 small outlets offset from the center of the muffler. These were nice and quiet when cruising between 2-3K RPM (just what I’m looking for) but as soon as you touched the throttle all hell broke loose (they got really loud). When decelerating they did not sound as good as the Rush mufflers but did have a nice deep rumble at idle. So we switched back.


This is how I would rate the following exhaust combinations on a 2007 Ultra with the 96 CI motor.

Stock mufflers with the stock head pipes.

1) Sound at Idle – medium pitched. (OK, but a deeper sound would be better)
2) Sound when accelerating - the sound decreases with throttle input. (did not like, seems backwards from what you would expect)
3) Sound when cruising – they where louder cruising than when accelerating. (would rather of had the opposite)
4) Sound under deceleration – quiet with no popping

Rush 1 ¾ baffle slip-on mufflers with the stock head pipes.

1) Sound at Idle – high pitched and crackle like jackhammers. (OK, but a deeper sound would be better)
2) Sound when accelerating - the sound greatly increases and increases with additional throttle input, the sound is high pitched and crackle like jackhammers. (did not like but acceptable)
3) Sound when cruising – they do quiet down but you still hear the high pitch of the exhaust. (did not like but no ear ring at the end of the ride)
4) Sound under deceleration – nice low rumble with very minor popping.

Rush 1 ¾ baffle slip-on mufflers with the Vance & Hines true duals exhaust. Over all the same as with the stock head pipes just louder in all 3 areas with the addition of some minor ear ringing after a 1-2 hour ride around town.

1) Sound at Idle – high pitched and crackle like jackhammers. (loud but acceptable)
2) Sound when accelerating - the sound greatly increases and increases with additional throttle input, the sound is high pitched and crackle like jackhammers. (to loud, not acceptable)
3) Sound when cruising – they do quiet down but you still hear the high pitch of the exhaust. This wears on you after awhile and I do have some light ringing in the ears at the end of a 1-2 hour ride. (ear ringing is unacceptable)
4) Sound under deceleration – nice low rumble with very minor popping.

Screaming Eagle mufflers (as described above) with the Vance & Hines true duals exhaust. There are multiple types of Screaming Eagle mufflers so do not base this rating for all of them. Also, I only had these on for a 10 mile ride.

1) Sound at Idle – lower deep rumble sound. (I liked)
2) Sound when accelerating - the sound extremely increases with very little throttle input; the sound is a medium pitched but very loud. (I did not like it at all)
3) Sound when cruising – they quiet down to the point that they are almost not heard at all. (I liked, no ear ringing)
4) Sound under deceleration – a gurgling popping sound. (did not like at all)

Now I’m looking at 2 options.
1) Change out the Rush 1 ¾ baffled slip-on mufflers with the Vance & Hines Monster Ovals. Has anyone done this? And were the MO’s quieter?
2) Replace the true duals exhaust with the D&D Fatcat 2-1 (with quiet baffle). Has anyone done this? And were the Fatcat’s (with quiet baffle) quieter?

I’m hoping that some of you might be able to do the same 4 ratings with the Vance & Hines true duals with Monster Ovals and the D&D Fatcat (with quiet baffle). What would really help out is if anyone has done a similar exhaust switch and what you found.

 

2in1 will give you more performance, but I don´t it will become quieter.

You can think in wrapping more fiberglass inside the pipe.

 

Wrap the stock baffles as he said above. Someone here wrapped their baffles in some sort of stereo speaker absorber stuff and was quite happy with it.

 

Well that's a great write up there. Now I am 100% opposite of you, I want mine to be as loud as I can get them. In my experience, I ran the same type of Screaming eagles on my 04 Ultra for a year and the same thing as you mentioned. They have a nice rumble at Idle, once you twist the wick they bark nicely, but at cruising speeds they are almost not even there, can't hear them, and on deaccel they pop and gurgle. Right now I have a set of Rinehart slip ons on and to me these are perfect for me, they have that nice rumble at idle, even better bark while accel, and nice deep sound at cruising speed and decel is nice rumble. I had tried a set of Vance and hines Monster Ovals, and yes they were a lot quieter. My exhaust are vance and hines true duals also, and the MO's were just too quite for me, at idle they were a real deep low rumble, at accel they were still kinda a deep low rumble, cruising speed coun not even hear them, and decel was nice low rumble. IMHO the Mo's sound like something your looking for. Sorry for the long post.

 

I run the S&S SPO mufflers.I really like them.

I would relate the sound to a good set of glasspacks.
but they will make your *** look fat!!

 

I think that stock SE Touring mufflers and VH true duals would be what you are looking for. I have an 07 Ultra with V & H dresser duals, SE Performance Touring slip on mufflers, Ness big sucker and a Dobeck TFI for fuel management. Nice quiet rumble at idle, fairly quiet at crusing speed and a little back when you crack the throttle.

 

From what you've described, I think you ought to invest in a set of Monster Ovals by V&H...

 

I had the Rush 1.75's on my 08 with True Duals and now have the MO's on my 09 with the stock headpipes. The MO's are quieter and a MUCH deeper tone than the Rush. The deep sound gets a little louder on exceleration but remains the same deep tone. Sounds like that's what you are looking for in sound. IMHO, they look good too!

 

Just went through the same problem. My Ultra had the old style Screaming Eagle slip-ons ( the ones with the 2 small offset outlets) and stock head pipes when I bought it. Added true duels to reduce heat, witch worked but then it was way to loud.

Last week I bought the new street legal Screaming Eagle slip-ons, (part # 80491-07) from Chicago HD for $295.96

Sound is perfect. Nice rumble at idle. A little louder then stock when you grab a handful, but you can hardly hear them when on the highway.

My friend and our wives just got back from a 850 mile trip to the Harley museum in Milwaukee and the trip was much more enjoyable being able to hear my music and my wife... well, the music was nice.
http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/g...bmLocale=en_US

 

S&S Ovals are my pick.