Another Exhaust Mod Thread

[TileGuy]

Hey guys,

Just got my bike last weekend and I couldn't stand how quiet it was. I'm coming off a Harley FXRS with a thunderheader which is extremely loud. The XB sounded like a golf cart with a missfire. I don't want to put any big money into the bike right now, and I don't like flashy chrome pipes. So I decided mod the factory can. I have done a lot of research and looked at the ways others have done it and I couldn't find a setup liked. I knew I wanted to run perforated tube and packing like a glasspack, but couldn't find a good cheap source for the tube. Best price I saw was about $50 + shipping for some pipe. I decided to go up to the local parts store and buy a couple glasspacks to cut up and steal the guts. Cost me $20 with my VIP discount.

I also noticed that all the muffler mod threads it seemed people were cutting the ends off the cans which didn't make sense to me. . I cut the bottom off the can, cut the inlet and outlet, pulled the guts out, rebuilt it my way, and welded it shut. Looks exactly like factory but sounds waaaay better. I will throw up a few pics so you guys can see what I mean. No sound clips yet, but it has a nice deep rumble with no hollow crackling.

 

[netty2424]

looks like you put a wig in that thing!

get us that sound clip! [up]

 

[paulda93]

Looks good ... I too just recently picked up a xb and was thinking about doing something like this simple because i don't want to spend 400-600 on a exhaust. About how much time did you spend completing the exhaust?

 

[TileGuy]

All in all probably 5 hours. I could do it in under 3 if I did it again. I have a lot of tools including a good welder and compressor. I have built a few cars so I have plenty of fab experience. The reactive valve was a nightmare to get out. If you cut it open like I did you can cut the inlet and outlet pipes and the whole center section pops out.

This is not a job for the dremel and hacksaw. A decent shielding gas mig welder is a must if you want a nice finished product. If anybody is interested I have more pics and can give ya tips. I tip my hat to the guy (Hawks maybe?) I've seen on this site that customizes these cans for $200. That's a deal for what it takes to do it.

 

[zoink]

Would love to hear a sound clip if possible.

Any major changes felt via butt-dyno?

 

[dflack001]

Gotta hear this!!! My can is just empty...

 

[TileGuy]

Would love to hear a sound clip if possible.

Any major changes felt via butt-dyno?

I am still trying to find the charger for my video camera so I can get a sound clip. So far I've been really happy with the sound. It has a nice deep rumble that isn't overly loud. The problem is that I've always been and overly loud kinda guy. When I fire up the FXR and hear the ridiculous noise it makes then start the Buell it seems quiet. I'm considering opening it up again and eliminating the rear chamber, or possibly trading it to someone and building a louder pipe.

As far as butt-dyno goes I haven't noticed anything, but I did this pretty much immediately after purchasing the bike so I don't have much to compare to. It seems that most mods need to be supported by tuning to get any real results from what I've read.

 

[TileGuy]

I decided to eliminate the rear chamber and direct the flow out the tubes into 2 tips. Between the chamber and the single exit it was getting bottle-necked and producing less flow and sound than I wanted. Quick test proves the sound level is way up. Waiting for paint to dry before test drive. I may open the front chamber up eventually and properly split the incoming pipe. No time or patience for that right now. It's basically a dual glasspack setup in the factory can. I assume the sound is close to the D&D though I've never heard one in person.

 

[ReconLdr]

It's almost like you read my mind.... I was considering doing something very similar.

 

[TileGuy]

It's almost like you read my mind.... I was considering doing something very similar

I'm very happy with the results. For $20 and some of my time it worked out great.

 

[rchuff]

Yo tileguy get us a vid of it running so we can hear it . Buy the way it looks good nice job [up]

 

[iman501]

Yea I can't wait to hear this one!

 

[L8apex1]

I have been contemplating two different DIY setups and this is almost identical to one of them. :tup: can't wait to see/hear the vid.

 

[ReconLdr]

I ended up with a completely gutted can.... My stock muffler was so rusty and corroded, I couldn't do anything but remove the innards and weld a new piece of sheet metal to the bottom. It sounds great but it's a lot louder than I wanted. I'll give it a few weeks to see if it grows on me.

If not, I'm gonna have to start a magnaflow project....

 

[ghost12]

When you cut the bottom of the pipe were the insides welded to the piece you pulled off?

Seems hard to believe that it's that easy to open up the pipe that much with that amount of ease.

 

[ghost12]

???
So
Can I cut the bottom sheet metal off the pipe and have access to the inside parts without having to cut them out?

 

[ReconLdr]

???
So
Can I cut the bottom sheet metal off the pipe and have access to the inside parts without having to cut them out?

Yes. You can cut the bottom off the muffler to gain acess to the inner pipes. If you want to do anything but look at the inner pipes, you'll have to cut them out.

 

[ghost12]

That's what I thought but just wanted to make sure.
Thanks for clearing that up for me.

 

[Whiplash97]

I'm looking at re-chopping my can(not loud enough yet) this mod is definatly going in my top five, I'm researching like a MF'er cuz I want it right this time...loud and no tuning needed

 

[lawdog]

Well I have done three muffler rebuilds and going to do another this fall.

If you run a twin perforated tube setup with packing around it then it will be loud. Small chambers, fast air movement, good HP. Will sound like a loud Harley with straight pipes.

If you run a large chamber with packing around the outside then it will be a deeper sound. More chest thump, more mellow, not so loud. I played around with single vs dual outlet and didn't really notice a difference.

Next muffler I am going to play around with the length of the outlet tube, diameter, and angle. I want to see if I can frequency tune it similiar to a ported bass box theory. Try to get the lowest frequency possible. Large diameter, good packing, adjust outlet length, angle towards pavement.

My favorite muffler so far has been gutting the stock, throw some packing sheet around the outside of the chamber, tack some grating to keep in place, then weld an outlet. Think Hawk..... Nice deep mellow sound.

Regardless of which muffler you run I would tune. Heck I would tune with a stock muffler. You will see gains and your bike will run smoother. Step away from the stock tune. You leave so much on the table with a stock tune. Go for a tune. Run cooler, stop back-firing, pinging, increased power, etc.....