replacement mufflers

[Guest]

I have a 650L and the mufflers are getting really loud. I can get free ones from a harley. It would seem other people have done this. I know nothing about harleys but have noticed a lot of different styles of mufflers. There seems to be a hole with a braided hose coming out of some of them. If this is to provide a crossover would I be able to replace the H pipe on mine? or should I get two that do not have any holes? How do you know which ones are workable? Do I just need the diameter of the mount to be close? I was thinking about trying it but did not know if there were other things to worry about, like back pressure to much to little? I searched for muffler replacement but only got a few tidbits of info. The local harley place dumps all their stuff where I work so there are whole exhausts and 4 to 5 different styles of mufflers. I have slash cut mufflers on mine and like the look. Can anyone point me to a place to find some answers or has anyone every done this with good results? I think the baffles are not working as well as they should. My bike is down right now and I plan on doing some work on it. I'm not in any big hurry to spend money on it. I figured free mufflers, they all look brand new. Thanks for any help. Next time they dump a bunch of stuff I will have to take a picture of it. Some parts are off of crashed bikes or they are just takeoffs . I am trying to gather enough parts from the junk they dump off for forward controls. Problems are different styles and types. Thanks for any help with the mufflers.

[Gorminrider]

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Put these on. I don't know what Harley they are off of. But No little holes-still, I think you can just plug them if they have them.

[Phred]

One of my friends rides a Harley and he was on a trip to the US this summer. Said that he could get brand new stock mufflers for as little as $5 a pair down there as a lot of Harley riders ditch the OEM mufflers and install louder pipes on their bikes. That being said the Harley OEM mufflers are likely a lot quieter. Don't know about back pressures and all the ins and outs of muffler design but when it came time to rebuilding my bike (850L) I ended up cutting the mufflers off, having a sleeve welded on to the header pipes and installed MAC slip on mufflers. About $60 per side CDN. These have a sliding bracket that is adjustable and I had to do a little Mcguivering to get it all to fit. The OEM mufflers were dimpled to fit around the castle nuts on the rear axle. The ones that I installed were not dimpled but they come to within 1/4" of the nuts. The baffles on these are replaceable whereas they were not on the OEM mufflers. I did not have the crossover on mine, but these are prone to rusting anyways. When setting up the carbs the 2 center carbs are off a bit on the meter, but not enough to affect performance They may run a few degrees hotter.Looking inside the Mac muffler or the original ones, there is not a lot to them and I would imagine the same with the OEM Harley mufflers.
The original headers and mufflers are no longer available and when I went looking for replacements I wanted something that looked original, hence the Mac slip ons. I had a choice and one of them was a slash cut which looked tempting at the time. I also had to buy some reducer sleeves at an auto parts store ( Canadian Tire) and a special braided muffler gasket to avoid air leakage.
Having said all this and going through the whole gamut since a scrap metal dealer stole the headers and pipes off my back deck, I would say that you would likely be able to cobble a decent set out of your headers,Harley mufflers, and a bit of ingenuity. Keep in mind that the original header pipes were double walled which will reduce discoloration. Many of the aftermarket headers are single walled and will discolor rapidly. Best of luck with the restoration.

[terrylee]

I have set I got at a swap meet for $15. for both of them,nearly new. I like the sound and look good too. I had them welded on to make them fit tight.

[scrapper]

I noticed a couple of them said screaming eagle on them, not sure what they came off. I will try a pair of the short slash cut ones if I can find them. They usually drop off 20 or so pairs. I keep looking for a big headlight, most are smashed.

[Gorminrider]

um, but why would you bother with something called "screamin' eagle" if...I (quote)

and the mufflers are getting really loud

is a concern to you?

[OldVet66]

Screaming Eagles are aftermarket. I have a friend with them on his Harley and I refuse to ride behind him, they are obnoxiously loud and painful , literally. The stock Harley pipes are reasonable and sound fine.

[scrapper]

I was talking about the sound was getting louder so they are probably wearing out. They sound okay. I am guessing the closer to stock the better the bike might run? I am thinking I do not want to jet it, carbs are already bugging the hell out of me. I still have not put them back on. I hate the amount of work to get them on and make sure there are not any air leaks. If something is wrong and you have to take them back off... kinda sucks.

[Grimly]

The stock Harley pipes are reasonable and sound fine.

This.
I have a pair of Dyna mufflers on the XJ and they're Hardly louder than the stock pipes that only came off because they'd rusted out. The build quality of the HD mufflers seems quite good. One thing I found was the packing on the left one had shifted a bit, so had to drill out the rivets and inspect the internals. There's not much to them - they're more or less a straight-through design but with a fixed plate baffle to force the gases out into and along the packing, hence into the main exit tube. Some POs have rammed a long drill or broom handle down the pipe to puncture the baffle, but when it's unmolested it's fine at its job.

[tkent02]

My old 650 came with those little Harely mufflers, when I put a set of stock pipes on it the acceleration about doubled, and the fuel mileage went up a lot, something like 36 mpg to about 48 or so. It went from not quite being powerful enough to feel safe around traffic on an interstate to being completely adequate. With the Harely muffs on the 650 it had less Oomph than my current 450.
They are really restrictive mufflers.

[WolfworksCustoms]

...V-Twin Mfg (friend of mine for 40 yrs) has baffled inserts....both plain and even with fiberglass baffling.....VERY reasonable....I was running a pair of straight pipes into fishtails on my VN for awhile...was too loud for me....I got Ted's baffles, installed, and were too restrictive....so....I cut half the fiberglass off and now theyre titz....
And dont listen to the dopes callin Ted "Taiwan Ted"....he had to offer cheap parts to the whiners that didnt like OEM prices...(Ive known Ted and his Dad since the mid 70s)....
And Ted dont make much on his stuff....he invests most of it into his "Motorcyclepedia Museum" in Newburgh, NY....anyone interested in vintage should check it out.....its a 2 story warehouse (huge) converted into a bike museum.....anyone whos in the NE or visits NY definitely needs to go there....ONE day isnt enough.....thats how much is there....

[WolfworksCustoms]

When it comes to exhaust, you need to know how to balance exhaust with intake and fuel flow....why doesnt anybody understand that nowadays ?....

[WolfworksCustoms]

I build custom exhausts btw....for both performance and other, and have access to a dyno....but I need to have the bike at my shop to do it properly....

[Gorminrider]

My old 650 came with those little Harely mufflers, when I put a set of stock pipes on it the acceleration about doubled, and the fuel mileage went up a lot, something like 36 mpg to about 48 or so. It went from not quite being powerful enough to feel safe around traffic on an interstate to being completely adequate. With the Harely muffs on the 650 it had less Oomph than my current 450.
They are really restrictive mufflers.

Mine are not really short, though the picture makes em look so. They are the same length as the "trumpets" that were on there before. They weigh a ton.
But I think your tip per mileage is a good one and I'll keep an eye on it.

When it comes to exhaust, you need to know how to balance exhaust with intake and fuel flow....why doesnt anybody understand that nowadays ?

(http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...51#post2250251) oh, I hear you, but I'm an empirical sorta guy and were I in Scrapper's shoes, looking at a pile of Harley mufflers, I'd be clamping them on to try. The reasonably priced aftermarket replacements for these '80s japanese bikes are such trash.
Of course, it'd be better to build up a database of what ( and maybe how)the good ones are for various bikes especially these 4 cylinder bikes

[scrapper]

I havent found a complete set yet but will have to take all the advice into account and maybe try a couple of different ones.