For my '09 XL1200C, I've been on the fence for the past few weeks about ordering the chrome version of the V&H Twin Slash set plus the quiet baffles so this video was very helpful. I think the problem with the QBs is poor quality manufacturing. If they were wrapped properly, they'd literally just drop right in and expand during use, plus the price per baffle is stupid high for what it is, but that's just my opinion. Guess I'll have to take a look to see what Screamin' Eagle has to offer before I buy anything. Appreciate the video and effort made to produce it.
Glad I could help with the decision process! It might be easier to slide the QB in if the Twin Slash were new without any carbon build up but I assume the installation would still be an annoyance.
I'm in Canada so I ordered my V&H Twin-slash slip-ons and quiet baffles from FortNine. I received the parts today so I took my shot at installing them. The regular steel baffles dropped right out since they were clean and oiled from the factory. The steel end of the baffle was having a bit of a hard time starting into the pipe so I used my pliers to very slightly bend the end-flanges inward a little. I also sprayed a liberal amount of WD40 all over the inside wall of the pipe before I started. The baffles needed very firm pushing to get them to slide in but I discovered that the secret is to rotate them one way and back as they go in. It seems to relieve a lot pressure and really reduces the padding from bunching up. When I got them down to the last 2 inches, all by hand (wearing leather gloves helped me), I stopped turning the baffle and lined up the screw with the hole using a steel ruler. At that point, I placed a wooden block on the baffle end and tapped it in the rest of the way with a small mallet. I got the screw hole alignment perfect on both pipes so I really had to stop a moment to thank my lucky stars that the worst part was over and all was well. So it was a win. I'll mount them onto my bike tomorrow and then I'll find out what all the hype is about! 😁
@@bill392 Man that is so good to hear that it actually fits better when it is new without the build-up. If you have been on your stock pipes on your 09 1200C, boy.. you are in for a treat!! Make sure to record the sound of your stock start-up with a few revs and then do the same after you install the slip-ons! It is a great sound track to go to sleep =D Thanks for keeping me in the loop and hope to hear from your first impressions soon
@@KSMotoCafe I finished installing my new slip-on V&H Twin-Slash muffler kit this morning on my '09 XL1200C. It was kit# 16839 plus two quiet baffles # 21899. Note that the baffles sell singly so you have to order two. They look so much nicer than the stock ones. They are slimmer and weigh less, I'd guess a few pounds less each. I re-used the cross-over port gaskets and the original muffler clamps. Everything else was in the kit. The V&H logo was on both covers (only on one if you get black) and I think that the twin slash detail looks really good. The first start-up after installation was glorious. It sounded so good, I just couldn't believe it. With the old mufflers, my bike had a tendency to kinda choke and almost stall out when trying to take off from idle. Now it just leaps forward without any hesitation at all. The idle sounds incredible. It's louder, not super loud, and not at all harsh. It has a low rumble that's like music. Accelerating has never been so much fun. It just roars to life. It's so exciting. If I didn't know better, I'd say the bike has gained a few horsepower. Maybe that's wishful thinking, but to me it does feel like there's more power than there was before. Even while slowing down, say coasting from 50mph down to a stop sign, the engine idles with a super deep rumbling tone that sounds like rolling thunder. I finally get where people get that phrase from. My bike is finally alive, it seems like reborn. I've never been a fan of super loud obnoxious bikes and I'm still not. This is not that at all. It's louder for sure, but it's just such an incredible tone, I can't really describe it except to say that it has a deep growl along with a nice brubb-brubb-brubb and some decel pops that I could listen to all day. I can't believe I rode my Sportster through 12.5 seasons with stock mufflers. They suck. I had no idea. I should have done this a decade ago. I'm so happy the sewing machine sound is finally gone. In hindsight, It was embarrassing. Just boring details... I installed my baffles, same as shown in this video, the evening before installing the mufflers onto the bike. I can say that having brand new pipes allowed the factory standard baffles to easily drop right out with no effort. However, the new padded baffle absolutely will not "slide right in". There's plenty of tutorials that show them practically falling into place, such as this one... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LQam84FI2qQ.html ... but if all the baffles that ship are like the ones I received, then your experience will definitely test your patience, determination, and handiness. The actual product has a lot more wadding wrapped on it that the stock photos. Go slow, use lots of WD40, and twist them as they push in. You can't shove them straight in. If you try to do that, the padding bunches up and it's game over. Honestly, if V&H put a little less padding on them, it would make life a lot easier. Next, I installed the assembled new mufflers onto my '09 XL1200C. The long mounting bar-tube-exhaust-crossover piece on my bike didn't look like any other V&H Twin-Slash Sportster video that I've seen to date. On regular Sporties, 883, and so on, that bar comes off with just two bolts. On my Custom, the bar/tube is part of a large bracket that bends upward and goes under the chrome engine side cover. Quite a few things, including that cover, would have had to come off first to expose the bolts holding that muffler mount. I didn't even attempt to remove it. I did have to remove the chrome pipe-covers (easy) to loosen the pipe flange bracket nuts at the heads. I did not remove them, just loosen a few turns. I had to do that so that the pipe and muffler would swing out enough to separate the muffler cross-over port from the mounting-bar-crossover-tube (sorry, dunno what to call that darn thing). You have to do this before you can pull the mufflers off. I made sure to re-use the little port gaskets. Everything went back together pretty easy. I just took my time, altogether almost 3.5 hours, but this was my first time. Also, the bolt brackets that are welded on the new V&H mufflers (like you see in most videos) are not two separate ones, each taking one bolt, and spaced to fit the original holes on the mounting-bar. Maybe they (V&H) changed the design since a lot of videos were recorded. On my new mufflers, there was only 1 welded-on bracket on each muffler and it was about 3.5" long and designed to accept two bolts. Also in the kit of parts there were two painted-black brackets. Each bracket first bolts onto a muffler with two bolts (supplied). The bracket then provides two holes that line up to the original mounting-bar holes. It was my first time seeing these brackets. I never saw them in any previous video. There was a tiny B&W photo on the instruction sheet that was totally inadequate to see what it was let alone how it goes together. The bracket can be attached any one of 4 ways but obviously only one way works. All in all, I'd say that installing the quiet baffles was the most difficult and the most high-risk part of the job. Pulling the old mufflers off is maybe the second hardest thing to do but I just sprayed them with WD40 and wiggled and twisted/rotated them back and forth while pulling them and it wasn't too bad. I didn't even need a mallet. Everything fit nicely back together.
@@bill392 OH MAN Thanks for such detailed feedback and explanation of your own experience! I honestly can't believe you went 12.5 seasons without upgrading... that is a lot of discipline lol. I can feel the excitement through your words man and I am stoked for you! I know that exact ear to ear grin you get when you just roar out or just stay idle hearing the thump thump thump under your seat. Biggest thing you will now notice is that cars around you will behave differently (in a good and safer way for you). They will notice you better and sometimes even get out of your way because they don't want any trouble from a biker. Will loud pipes save your life? Dunno but it will definitely improve your chances of getting into an accident - especially from hidden driveways, intersections, and parking lots. I am glad that you had a great experience!!
this might be an idea for other riders, at least it worked for me: I had V&H short shots on my 2013 Iron883. The stock baffle in there didn't even deserve the name. Piece of pipe with stamped holes in a helix like pattern. I then bought the QB. My first thought regarding the design: if someone at V&H had the idea to drill a hole in the black heatshield exactly above where the screw for securing the baffle is located... people won't have to fiddle around with the heat shield. But thats just me. When I put the QB in, I was kind of disappointed because they did not have the effect on the sound I was hoping for. Long story shot, what I did was (note that this is for the QB of the short shots, the twin slash ones do have other QB's!): When you look at the QB for the short shots, the part which goes all the way in...its a piece of pipe with a smaller diameter and it has holes in it. What I did was to cut some strips of sheet metal. I think 3 of them. These were measured to fit vertically around one row of holes on this piece I described. I've bent them slighty round to conform to the shape of this pipe section and welded it over one row of holes so that viewed vertically, one row of holes would then be sealed with a strip of sheet metal. The improvement regarding the loudness was definately there and above all it did improve the sound in a general way. I'm very sorry for my poor english and I did not want the be off topic since this is about the twin slash QB...but i plan to do the same since I changed to twin slash pipes, selling my short shots. The QB are different to the short shots in diameter but maybe are made in a similar manner so the same method i described would be possible?? Kind regards and thx for the cool video!
Thanks for posting! you did an excellent job of explaining the steps involved with installation. I've heard of some guys wrapping the fiberglass with packing tape before install, which then burns off.
Thanks for watching! How do you like the new intro!? Also comment below on your experience on the quieter baffles if you got them or if you are interested in getting one. 🤟
Liking the new intro, A hockey stick damn I wish you had recorded that part lol I honestly couldn't tell the difference in the garage great video mate I enjoyed that.
thanks mate! yeah I turned off my gopro at that point when I took out the hockey stick - I was fuming lol. Plus the emotions when I heard almost no difference when I started it in the garage 😭. But luckily it was quieter when I went for a ride, so that helped calm my nerves a bit lol. Thanks coming by!
Maybe I just got VERY lucky but my install of the quiet baffles on a brand new, never run, set of slash slip ons was incredibly easy. Pressed right in my hand and then a few small taps with a wood dowel by hand got it in the last few inches. Thanks for pointing out the screw alignment prior to installing. Maybe 8 minutes total time to put baffles in.
@@KSMotoCafe yes, never had exhaust run through them so the inside was smooth. I can definitely see how some carbon or any kind of rough surface would grab the plastic wrap and make this a nightmare. I went slow and kept working the plastic wrap with one hand as I pushed with the other. I would bet a quick drill powered hone to the inside if there is carbon build up would make a world of difference.
Dude, you need to clean out the inside until it's shiny before attempting the fit,don't even try to take them back out after they are melted in. It's possible to fit over a pole rested upright and use the tube as a slide hammer like a pile driver. It takes a lot of hits. Super quiet baffles can mess up the running and are marginally less loud than quiet.
Don't bother with the fiberglass. It will eventually all burn off anyways. I bought a pair of them for about what you paid for your one, new, here in Europe. I read the installation reviews. I decided straight away to just do without the fiberglass. I cut it out, tossed it, and installation was a breeze. It is still WAY quieter than the standard baffle.
Am I wrong but these are not really baffles but sound deadening… Isn’t it called a baffle when it’s cutting the chamber of the muffler to restrict the sound? Are these quiet baffles include this kind of feature? Asking because I’ve been pulled over twice in a week for my exhaust (V&H twin slash cut ) and got a ticket each time for 317$ 🤦🏻♂️ The 5-0 checks the exhaust by slidding a rod inside and if it’s not stopping at a certain measurement, you get a ticket because you are considered to have a straight pipe installed. What eeally bothers me is that I bought the bike from the dealer with these pipes already installed 🤷🏻♂️ Sound is great, but it’s beginning yo cost me the price of an exhaust each time I go out
These are baffles wrapped under fibreglass sheets to deaden the sound - hence Quiet Baffles. If you got pulled over for loud exhaust sound, I am not sure if these quiet baffle mod will help the situation because from my experience, it only drops the sound by 10-20%. The noise regulation is becoming ridiculous to be honest and I hold my breath anytime I pass a police cruiser nowadays
@@KSMotoCafe Hmm i have no idea, i bought my twin slashes used.. but i know that the stock had gasket.. im having mine over at a friends to fix some scratches, so gonna pick them up and install them tomorrow i guess :D
@@KSMotoCafe hmm carbon build up? hopefully it fits perfectly when i try to installl it tomorrow, maybe if i am lucky i might be able to get the stock gasket off and make that one fit.. hmm we'll see tomorrow :D
Hi I have Screamin Eagle Street canons fitted they not too loud with a lovely deep tone and fit perfectly as OEM. Got the secondhand (almost new) for £200 about 400 Can $
nice! yeah my next bike/exhaust I will be more thorough on what sound I want lol. I thought I saved money when I bought used slip-ons but I blew that savings when I bought the quiet baffles 🥲
@@KSMotoCafe No, they came with stock pipes, l like the sound of them. My neighbours are ok with the sound as well. Although l try not to go too early for my rides.
I'm currently attempting this same installation on my Dyna, RIP. Holy Effin' A Cotton, I just experienced the fiberglass bunching up as I was shoving the baffle in. Hate to remove the provided fiberglass packing but if it won't go in, I suppose I'll use your method. Going for round 3 after a beer. Many thanks for the video content! P.S. Would you happen to know how long the fiberglass packing will last before needing to re-pack?
best of luck! as for when to replace the fibreglass - I am not sure, I suppose when the sound gets louder would be my indicator and so far after 2 seasons, it's not as loud as before.
Nah, I lost my mind on the few last inches when it started to peel off, ripped off the whole freaking fiberglass and installed the baffle without it. If you ask me... it's an overpriced garbage. It's sad, because I wanted it so bad and really had high expectations for a V&H.
Are you still riding comfy with this exhaust? :) As i Said earlier in a comment, i bought these used, they have an awesome sound!!! But i still have them without quite baffles, so i am thinking about maybe buying quite Baffles, or simply just go back to stock exhaust.. Cause the sound is killing me when going for longer rides.. Even though i use earplugs.. 10/10 awesome sound! 6/10 comfy riding.. I love to show off, but going through my streets is just not cool at all, i feel like all my neightbors are hating me, Even though i have never gotten any complaints.. But its just what i feel haha!
@@KSMotoCafe do you feel that the quite baffles makes the good difference? Now that you have had it for a while? I kinda dont wanna spent alot of money on it, if that still doesnt help my ears while riding :/ haha
well I can tell u that if I didnt have the quiet baffles on, I probably would have been ticketed numerous times since the sound police is out here ticketing anything higher than 100dbs. With a full face helmet, I have no issues with the noise
@@KSMotoCafe so it's worth giving it a shot? 😁 The exhaust looks really good on the bile too.. And the stock exhaust makes the bike sound like a lawnmower haha! So i really want to jeep the v&h on xD haha!