Exhaust valve in the muffler

[Red Gecko]

Hey guys,

As I'm new to the Buells, i have another question that hopefully you can help me out on concerning the exhaust valve in the muffler.

I have heard 2 different sides to this. Some people say that the exhaust valve helps the performance and others say get rid of it.

What is the purpose of the valve?
Plus what are your opinions about it?

Thanks

 

[1001yos]

That valve is being installed on almost every other sport bike manufactured today. It actively changes the tune of the muffler giving more performance. You could take it out, but you will lose torque and power in another range of your rpm.

I say keep it in. A lot of engineering has went into installing it and tuning it and is a very good aspect of the bike.

 

[Red Gecko]

Cool thanks,

One of the reasons why im asking is because like everyone, I want better performance. But all the after market mufflers I have found don't have that valve. (unless someone knows of one I haven't found yet). So am I safe to say that for now, the stock muffler is the best choice? Not buy an after market one cause it might hinder performance?

PS, I was offered to trade my muffler for a Jardine, cause the guy wanted the one with the valve. I decline.

 

[Stevenc150]

With the aftermarkets, you give up a little in the Low-Mid range (torque) but you gain it back in upper ranges (HP). But if you did an aftermarket pipe with a pulley swap and custom tuning, you could probably make up the loss. All depends on the money & time you want to put into it.

 

[henri66]

Look here for a simple gadget to switch of the valve (keep it open) with an emulation for the position feedback.
A cheap way to improve sound. Of course, it will never make it a race exhaust.

Here is a link to a video which shows the operation with sound.
It gives you an idea of the influence on the sound of your xb12.Exhaust valve override video
The product itself can be found her,

exhaust valve manual operation

 

[SeattleBuellMan]

Look at Drummer exhaust (kdfab.com), Voodoo, and Special Ops. They all modify your stock exhaust and retain the valve. They all sound fantastic too. Some of them say that if exhaust is only thing modified then no need to tune.....but that is debatable