Too Loud!

[Hogbear]

OK, I've been riding my Harley clone bike around a bit and it's got plenty of torque and the brakes work very well. I was kind of surprised that there is no vibration at all in the handgrips, just the footpegs shake. It basically handles like an old dumptruck that I drove for a while after high school back in the early '80's, but I pretty much expect that from a cruiser after a long history of riding sporty bikes. My only problem with it so far is the dang racket. I started it up before I brought it home and it sounded a little loud but not too bad, but when I really pull hard while riding, the thing is deafening. I think I'll take off those Supertrapps and see if there is any baffeling in there to speak of and maybe figure out how to quiet it down a little. I always wear earplugs for the wind noise anyway but I don't want to P.O. the neighbors too much. Most of 'em probably moved out here to get away from noise in the city.
Any ideas on how to quiet one of these things a little without a whole new set of mufflers? Can you stuff fiberglass in the mufflers like them old Cherry Bombs?

 

[Hogbear]

Well, it's pretty easy to pull the mufflers apart without removing them from the bike. It's got a screen baffle but no kind of packing in there at all. I guess I'll experiment with some fiberglass or steel wool or buy some of those copper scouring pads from the grocery store to stuff in there around the baffle.

 

[POSSUM HUNTER]

they may be able to be repacked, or get some new exhaust

 

[Hogbear]

I was thinking that regular fibrglass would burn up, then I remembered that I had some leftover Insawool blanket scraps from the last time I relined my little propane forge that is rated to about 2200 degrees F. I cut a couple of pieces of that to wrap the cores and put them back in. It's not much quieter at idle but sounds deeper/rumbly. It's definitely quieter when I rev the motor than it used to be. I'll have to give 'er a test ride tomorrow.

 

[POSSUM HUNTER]

if that dont work try the supertrap web sit to see if they have baffles that you can add

 

[TiminTN]

I put some Vance & Hines on my 1600 Marauder, and they came with the loud cores, I just couldn`t handle the noise, and loss of power due the back pressure now missing. I ordered the quiet baffles, and am a happy camper, sounds great, and the lost power is back. The only difference between the 2 sets of baffles was a wrap of some type insulation.

I think you are going to be very happy with the swap.

 

[Tree Man]

I like the hear a V twin talk when I roll on the throttle. But each to his own. If it is too loud for you try some after market mufflers. But IMHO I think stock Harley mufflers sound enimic (sp).

 

[Hogbear]

Trust me, it's still plenty loud even with all the insawool stuffed in there, but now people don't cringe and give me nasty looks when I ride by. It also sounds deeper and smoother now and not all raspy like it did before. I actually prefer the sound of stock Harley exhaust, might try to find some stock mufflers on eBay or something. I don't mind a little louder but straight pipes are just obnoxious. If I'm inside my house with all the windows closed and I can't hear my TV when a bike rides by, it's too dang loud.

Here's a good article about that: http://www.motorcycle.com/how-to/the-sh ... -3406.html

 

[Spike]

Loud pipes may save your arse.

 

[Hogbear]

Loud pipes may save your arse.

Been riding 30+ years without 'em and my arse is still intact. Like the article says, if that's really the reason people run straight pipes, why not just tape the horn button down? Nah...people just use that as a thin excuse to run loud pipes because they think they sound badass. If you like loud pipes for the sound, fine but I don't buy the "saves lives" argument.

Not trying to sound preachy and I'm certainly not trying to tell anybody they can't run what they want. It's just not something I'm comfortable doing and not my personal preference. I've done lots of things on bikes that were illegal and stupid over the years so I'm not exactly in any postion to point fingers at anybody.

 

[Spike]

I'm going to post something not ever posted on this site. Here goes " I respect your opinion"

 

[POSSUM HUNTER]

I'm going to post something not ever posted on this site. Here goes " I respect your opinion"

I BELEIVE THATS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE READ THAT HERE

 

[Deer Whisperer]

Please forgive me for saying this, because I don't ride. But from a common sense point of view, shouldn't the exhaust pipes point forward if you want the noise from them to protect you? I mean, as of now, most of the noise from the pipes are being projected towards the rear, some to the side, and very little out front of you. If you pointed the pipes toward the front, the noise would be projected out to where you need it to be in order to tell them you were coming. Of course, I don�t really expect anyone to really do this, but it would make the whole �loud pipes save lives� theory more plausible.

Sincerely,
The most ignorant person on this board