A detailed 'How-To' on converting your stock Harley mufflers to make a proper sound you can be proud of...and for less than the cost of a tank of fuel...!
Good way to avoid paying for a $600 set of pipes that sound exactly the same. I'll be doing this to my 2014 iron. Sounds so much better than punching them out , great job and love the new bike.
+Aaron Cauble Too right buddy, punching them out leaves half the cap material inside, that makes them run hot and causes popping on shut down, plus they are quite high pitched too and it's all about the deep tone !
I just finished the exhaust mod on my new 2016 Iron XL883N and it is beyond awesome in the sound with the new V & H baffles and the mid range power is incredible without any special tuning needed. I tried cutting the tips of the exhaust with a high power dremel but gave up because the metal is just too heavy to cut through. It would work but you will need a lot of cutting wheels but I used my grinder similar to the one you used and cut right through it like butter. Great instruction video and I really appreciate the pro mod which saved me tons of money.
Hey buddy, welcome to your horse power lol ! Doesn't it feel good to set it free?? When Harley sell that bike all the ponies are there, they are just chained up in the stable, all you've done is open the door! The reason it works without any other mods, is that the ECU on a modern Sportster is tuned to be the way you experience it now, then they just choke it up with 1/2ton of baffling to placate the tree huggers... so you can understand that it is simplicity itself to just unplug the bung and enjoy the power! Just a little warning though, power is addictive, and an 883 may impress you now, but it's comparative, swap two pistons and add a Pro-Tuner, and you will gain 30% more power than you currently have, mid-range grunt will seriously make you chuckle! And even beyond that, there are more and more mods you can do... one of the reasons H-D closed down Buell was because the power being achieved from those Sportster engines was embarrassing the regular Harleys and killing sales... your engine has so much potential, all you've done is un-lock 10% of it ! Happy riding, take care, Del
been fighting my '15 883xl super low for months now trying to get the baffles out. I got to the point of shopping for new exhaust until i saw this video. tried everything youtube had to offer. your solution finally made it work! I used a dremel with the black cutoff wheels. took a lot of wheels but finally got it done! finished about 9pm and can't wait to hear it fire up on my way to PT in the morning! can't tell you thanks enough!
+Patrick Syring Hi Patrick, thank for your kind words buddy, and good going getting them done, its a lot of work..but hey, a pair of free loud pipes for your Harley....that has to be worth it aye... hope they sound awesome... cheers, Del.
Thanks mate. Finished the exhaust mod. Sounds amazingly like V&H pipes. such a deep guttural sound. Took my time and found 4 baffles for 20 dollars. So spent 20$ (USA) on baffles & 4 hrs work. I lost roughly bout a mile per gallon, so less than 5 miles per tank. So worth the time effort and $$. 2 thumbs up, this guy right here !!
Wow. Awesome modification. I am going to do this with my 2016. I would buy a separate set of mufflers but since they are black instead of chrome they don't seem to be readily available or cheap. I can still do this mod for around 100 bucks instead of buying the black V and H for almost 400. This seems to make so much more sense than the other videos where people just hollow out the muffler. New subscriber who is going to check out a bunch of your other videos. Thanks!!!
What a superb solution Del! How many of us have a set of perfectly good brand new stock pipes at home gathering dust (which we already paid for). I absolutely love this and the method. Brilliant!
Excellent Vid for a custom exhaust with stock parts. Used a set of V&H tapered baffles with aftermarket packing(2packs) on a 2018 Sportster 48. Burned in the packing so the masking tape would melt before a long ride. Installed a set of DK Thunder Torque inserts. Sounds like a $500 exhaust! Thanks Delboy!
Thank you for sharing your experience sir, im glad the procedure worked for you, and yeah, how cool is it to have an exhaust that sounds perfect for cheap money..! Take care and enjoy your bike.. Del.
Wicked Skills!!!!!!!! I could never do this. So glad you both have another Harley in the garage! Del, you are the best!!!! Penny included, of course!!!!!!
+rockbay79 Hi Scott & Debby, good to hear from you both... we thought the Harley's return would interest you, there are no skills really involved in this, just cut the end of and bolt a baffle in to it... how hard can it be lol !
+Moonfleet41 The sign of a true professional, is one that can take a difficult task, and make it appear simple. You do this all the time! How hard can it be? I'm sure Jimi Hendrix said the same thing about playing the guitar! Just saying......
+Will Service Thanks Will...no major surgery, its too much fun to ride as it is.. most bobber/chopper/brat/cafe bikes are harder to ride than this, so the street tracker style gives me lots of scope....more tom come, hope this will inspire a few owners to do thier own.. thank for watching.. Del.
Absolutely the best Harley exhaust mod on here. Everything I've seen involves a hole saw and a poor result. Top stuff and it worked like a charm. PS I think Penny has a thing for loud exhausts!
at last a sportster again and she sounds fantastic mate, it's great to see you working on the harleys, yer making my mornings again, best wishes, Alan.
+alan bailey Glad we brighten your day buddy, gotta few maintenance jobs coming up, waiting for some parts and like you say, it's great to have a Harley back in the stable !
Really enjoyed this & love the tips you continue to hand down. Down to you I have had the confidence to do everything on my bike myself. Even 1 week away from my MOT I noticed a leak had developed on my front left fork seal. I re-watched your video on it & got the job done without any dramas. I doubt my bike would be on the road if it weren't for you.
+MacBegbie Ayup Mac, thanks buddy, that's really kind... and am so glad we've been such an inspiration... good luck with your MOT... let us know how it goes!
D & P - little HOG sounds wonderful! Appreciate the tips from wrapping the washers in masking tape for stacking to loosening the bolts at the front of the exhaust system to prevent a possible snap - great bits of knowledge. Thanks for sharing! EW :)
Although im reasonably adept with the spanners i would never have attempted this without seeing your vid Delboy so many thanks for the time you take , I did my 2014 883superlow yesterday and bloody hell what a noise ,totally transforms it , so glad i took your advice and ordered another set of factory silencers for £45 coz i may need them for m.o.t . I actually ordered wrong size of V&H baffles i got the 10 inch short ones but managed to Macgyver them in , only thing is when out on road at 60 noise is great but when you close off throttle there is a lot of popping and its really loud in town im guessing its coz the baffles are still a good 6inch short of the end of silencer and the sound is getting bounced around in there, Thinking of cutting a piece of the original baffle and welding it on to the V&H ones Macgyver style to make it longer also for anyone doing the same model there is no balance pipe gasket to worry about as its not on the silencer but is already in situ before the silencer . Again many thanks for the tutorial Del and keep up the entertaining videos which are a lot better than most of the crap on tv .
This is going to be a big help with a project I'm working on. I'm going to shorten a Milwaukee 8 muffler to use on a homemade 2-1 exhaust on a early Softail.
+xFWWONGx Thanks mate, hope it can help a few people make use of those old pipes they have in the loft...they're pretty much worthless anyway. so why not..!!
Fantastic video! Explains everything in a way that made it seem very easy to do at home. I have a 2021 Harley 883. I ordered some Vance and Hines big shot baffles for around 40 dollars a piece. They were a little short so I had a local exhaust shop make me a couple of extensions to get them to sit closer to the end where I could get the set screw in. Everything fit in nicely, no rattling around and most importantly, the bike sounds amazing!! Thank you for the inspiration!
nice to see a recycle mod and doesnt break the bank...great skill mate... just fixed sticky throttle on wee strom 10 years of crud on linkages threw in new plugs n air filter 10 years of crud again!! going on mega hours for a couple of months...but have eye on new zorst so should pan out...
Speaking from bitter experience, if you manage to loosen the two nuts that hold the front pipe to the head then, take the opportunity to clean the threads thoroughly apply copper grease and cover the end of the bolt with a chrome dome nut - this protects against all the roaddirt etc that hits this area.
+Malcolm Venn Wise words well said Malcolm... I always use a little grey anti-sieze, but this bike is practically brand new and the threads are immaculate, so they'll be ok for now... but a good tip on the dome nuts though - thanks !
Hey John, yeah watch out for the assassins buddy... they're out there waitin for yah.... and on top of that, i bet you spend 3 months of the year under snow too..?
Hi!! thanks a lot for these detailed instructions. My baffle removal is in progress, because made the cut at 3 inches and the baffle didn't came out in my harley fatbob 2017. The process is almost the same with this little difference, I will cut 1 inch more to complete the process. Thanks again and keep with make these useful videos!
Far out, Man! That was pretty neat! I did something similar on my 06 XL883. This was before they used the catalytic converter. But there was a solid metal baffle going across the main hole in the muffler to make all the exhaust gases go thru the fiberglass. My mechanic took a 1 3/4" [not sure about this exact size] hole saw which he welded onto a 3/8" shaft 18" long so it would reach the baffle. He'd chuck it up in his 3/8" hand drill and cut the baffle out! The stock mufflers would then have a nice throaty roar considerably louder then stock but wouldn't be obnoxious like straight pipes. Good Show!
Thank for sharing that Kerwin, i love to hear about other riders projects, it all works in different ways aye.. have a good weekend buddy, and ride safe.. Del.
just did this mod today on the wifes 1200 sportster low. thanks for the info man saved me quite a few bucks! also added a PC5 the bikes alive now!!!! see how happy she is when we go for a ride tomorrow
PLEASE DON'T CUT ANY LARGER THAN INDICATED, saving the wadding is irrelevant, you can just replace it, if necessary, but the taper MUST reduce to the size indicated in this video to achieve some level of back pressure - if you cut any larger, by cutting further forward, you will start to cause problems.... glad it worked for you, enjoy the new voice! All the best, Del
Moonfleet41 I had no idea it would cause this type of issue. I edited my post to avoid confusion for others. Thank you very much for that information. Always nice to be informed. I am very excited to see how it sounds, although its going on a Yamaha XS650 so it may sound just a tad different. ha-ha
that dimple is when they take the original straight pipe and taper it down you get excess and they cut it out then weld the ends together. imagine making a cone from a piece of paper then getting rid of the extra. then at the end of the piece of paper the ends aren't straight, hence the "dimple"
I know this is an old video but it saved me haha. Every video I've watched showed you cut it with a hole saw and bam it comes out. I just cut mine with a hole saw and it would not budge 😅 I couldn't figure it out till this video. Thanks!
Glad it helped you, the hole saw method doesn't remove them, it just wrecks them internally and screws up the gas flow without making them much louder!
Hi Brandon, its not kids falling off their skate boards or angry chavs road raging each other....but biker videos are a niche on RU-vid, so it'll always be less than the viral stuff..! Thanks for your kind words brother.. Del.
Del and Penn its been quite a while but I wanted to say that as always your knowledge and experience make all of your videos educational and monstrously entertaining. I have been binge watching to catch up and am loving every minute. Great sound on that muffler and you sir are a mad genius when it comes to tips and tricks! Love the union jack pads and the farkles on the Bonneville. thank you for a great channel!
Clever, simply clever! That dimped area at the end is probably from welding the tapered pipe. Really some good advices for the process. I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I do like Pennys giggle! Tata!
I thought about doing this after seeing it on the Harley forums, but I was to cheap as impatient. Instead, I took an extension bar, put it in the exhaust end and hammered the baffle plug out. Then I took a 1/2" bit and drilled a hole through the intake end right through the catalytic converter. It sounds a lot better now, although I get a fair amount of decel popping. I like the popping, but I'm unsure if it's causing any damage or not to the engine.
+Smack Tapolis Hi buddy.....you wont be doing any real long term harm, but the 'popping' is unburned fuel vapour in the exhaust, being heated by the left over debris of the Cat, (that's what a cat does, the special metal its made from gets 3 times hotter than the regular steel of the rest of the exhaust, and that acts like an igniter to vapourise it silently)...if you take the whole thing out, then the pipe runs cooler, the left over vapour won't ignite, so it just passes out the back harmlessly......you can still do this here method to your pipes if you like..and the inserts will cost you about £20 tops....just google "Vance & Hines replacement baffle"...and then all you need is a drill and a saw or dremel...! get stuck in mate..
After watchin this vid i did the same to mine even though i have short shots i reused baffels the bike runs better as they are linked, thankyou Del boy
Bloody genius....you're da man....love your videos, just refilled the brake fluid on my new XL1200C that I bought, 2011 but 4k km on it (in Spain now, born n bred in Brighton) so only needed fluid changes, used your video to do it, so thanks. Regarding this baffle removal, think I'll just by some slip ons, easier..for me...not good at DIY, I don't have the tools. But great tutorial. Good man. Keep up the good work.(PS your pipes do actually sound better than the slip ons I bought lol).
Thanks for your kind words, am glad you enjoyed the video, I was surprised how well these pipes sounded, nowt like achieving results for free! I bet it's warmer where you are than it is here right now, enjoy the sunshine.
So I just finished this. I did it with Vance and Hines Quiet baffles for the short shot. I haven't driven it yet because I recently had surgery done on my arm....waiting for the surgeon to release me. But they sound goood.
+johnw73 Great news buddy, you'll love them on the road, personally I prefer the baffles out, but hey it's great to have the option - hope you enjoy it !
Hey Del, the CAT actually has platinum inside. It does have palladium and rhodium also, but my money is on the "pt". Its 1:22 here in NYC and I am still watching your video's 👍
Just caught up on the last couple of videos, congratulations on the new bike. The bike already sounds a lot nicer, looking forward to seeing what you have planned for it.
+englishandproud11 Thanks mate...first video done, just needed to make it sound right while i decide what i want to make of it... thanks for watching.. Del.
Yes this reconfirms everything that I've thought and read about. I just wanted to double check before I start cutting on my mufflers seeing how you're pretty keen at this sort. Definitely don't want to spend money ta fix something that ain't broke.
Exactly Kristian, its always good to check twice and cut once..lol The only vital part is cutting at the exact point up the taper to ensure the internals will pass through the hole...! Good luck with it mate..
Sounds great and its amazing how just that little bit less taper makes them look so much more custom.I am interested in seeing what you do to the air intake , gotta get them horses out.
+Andrew Earl Always an immediate assumption mate, I'm not interested in any more power from the Harley... you trash the fuel economy and it hardly goes any quicker... I've got a fast bike so for all the money it would cost, it would be a waste of time... got a huge project coming up shortly which will take the place of all others for a few months, but I'll get to it in the end ...
To save loosing all that carefully wrapped wadding too soon, how about using the bit you originally cut off the muffler, turn it around and weld it to the end of the v&h baffle.
I think I might do this with my old stock exhaust now, I don't like the slip-ons my bike's previous owner put on. I can't say I agree with saving and re-using the gaskets as you mention about 25 minutes in, that's a good way to end up with an exhaust leak. New gaskets are just about $7/£6 on Amazon.
Those 'cheap copy' gaskets from Amazon are the best way to a leak.. not reusing the OEM ones.. they aren't strictly gaskets, more an expansion seal.. and ive never replaced one when chopping pipes over.. and they never leak buddy... Good luck with your,s its a great sound once you get the right baffles in there. !
Oh man, V&H are going to be so peeved that you've exposed their Magic Circle secret of how to create cool pipes, and it involves a rusty Curly Wurly mould. Love it. Ride safe. Spyke. :-)
hello del and penny, A real cool sound, and nice job for making it "look" so easy!! I you would buy a original exhaust, you've would paid a fortune! Great upgrade Tc. Dieter
+campns1 Cheers buddy, got some long term plans for the inlet side... but a massive distracting project coming shortly... but will get to it eventually !
+Moonfleet41 Yeah, what I like most about it is it's done right, too. It's not some hack job just to make it sound better like drilling holes is or something. Retains the stock wrap and doesn't rattle or anything. Very cool.
The catalytic element is made from platinum. And they are worth money at the scrapyard here in Canada. But one or two are not worth all that much. There are rather bold thieves that will cut them out of vehicles sitting in parking lots while you’re getting your groceries and get plenty of money for them.
haha compared to every other youtube Johnny who ram jams a long drill bit through the baffle to turn it into swiss cheese, your video was like a fine surgeon doing it !! well done !
+TroubadourJuggernaut Yeah that's not a good way my friend, it leaves most of the cat convertor in place and that causes un-spent fuel vapour to pop and bang on shut down... which just sounds cheap! Thanks for your kind comments (haven't forgotten the Triumph carb tops lol!)
haha thanks Clive, yeah you're probably right! I could sit and listen to it all day, it was a blast to be able to get out on the road on it, my ears are still ringing, can't wait to get some time to get out again!
I was wondering if same could b done to touring pipes? Was sure if pipe measurements r the same? So wouldn't b sure if the 2 3/4" cut is same OR the lock bolt distance process? Are u saying that it is the same for touring pipes as was on his sportster?
great video. ..informative as usual. .love it did the same with my 2015 iron, the one i mentioned to you before my first service. did also add a set of dk custom tti.they do what they say they do the bike runs great.... and yes you are right about that sound hitting the metal its just too much so much so that at a point it's just abnormal, no to to mention the bass in the sound is missing. I think I am gonna put the same baffels as you did. but I don't know which ones to put.so please need help regarding that. thanks
+Amit Sharma Hi Amit... I know what you mean, there are many fancy products, like little baffle discs that go in the outlet, etc., but nothing sounds like a Vance & Hines! ...these are the ones I used in my video... www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vance-Hines-Replacement-Baffle-for-Vance-Hines-Straightshots-Exhaust-/231451249907?hash=item35e391ccf3:g:VuAAAOSwa39UtD7a The important factor is the 'riflling' style twist to the holes that gives that specific V&H sound... and you can wrap wadding round them to control the volume if there is too much echo! Good luck with it, Del
Nice work bud but people should know if you alter your exhaust in anyway you should do a tune on your ECM or you could do damage. I run a thunder max ECM so I can tune my own bike and don’t have to pay big money to Harley.
Quite correct my friend, wise words well said, which is why I made that clear in the video, my bike has a Screamin' Eagle Pro-Tuner set to Stage1, this is essential with big twins to prevent running lean... there are many options on the market, all will do the job !
awesome transformation dude!!! Be safe be heard!!!!! There is very little that will beat a ghetto mod!! If it's cheap and it works then happy days!!!!! Gonna have to get me and Finn a loud thumping cruiser, that would be sweeet as!!!! Ace job as always! Hope the bump to the swede hasn't knocked too much sense into Penny lol speak soon bro
Yes mate thank you!!! Pretty much doubled with more dripping in every day!! Boosted views too. Got some plans in thr pipeline, some collaboration vids with another tuber amd maybe some visits to local establishments. Thanks for the support dude!!
And one more question. If the baffle wrap is going to get blown out anyway will that affect anything or just get louder? Does it necessarily need wrapped? Does it need to be wrapped again every so often?
You make my day! I received an offer from my HD reseller for a V&H shortshot, air filter, remapping, total 1200$. The reseller told me that if I install a shortshot I must change air filter...by the way is that true? With your mod same loud and no need to change air filter...60$ and as I see in previous post it works with sotck air cleaner. Thanks mate
+k9 Frederic Hi Frederic... this is so commonly mis-understood my friend, so let me make it as crystal clear as I can... You can run open mufflers with no other mods, no air filter change, and no re-map with no ill effects. This will just make the bike louder. You must add some baffles that give a little back pressure, otherwise you will lose performance, but there will be no other ill effects. So you can buy some V&H short shots, fit them and be happy! Nothing else needed... as long as you retain the factory front pipes, everything is fine. Glad we made your day !
+k9 Frederic 1200CA ? Now 'Damn' thats a cool bike, i love those awesome four spoke HotRod wheels... As long as you have the classic tapered factory mufflers then yes, you can. So why not grab a second hand pair from eBay, they can usually be got for almost beer money.....that way, if you mess it up, you've lost nothing.. thats what i did, i just used an old pair i had in the loft..!
