2014 Valkyrie Exaust...

[Law Dawg]

I never noticed it before but when I look at the exhaust, there are 3 pipes on each side but out of the 3 pipes, the bottom one is totally open, the top 2 pipes appear to be closed or their blocked off...Are there 2 plugged off and only the bottom pipes is open? Can these two plugs be removed or drilled out for better possible sounding pipes?

[TallRider]

Drill at your own risk. I drilled one out. Sounds like a leaky exhaust. Plugged it back up. I think if someone removed the muffler and were the exhaust entered there is a baffle that causes the exhaust to travel toward the rear were it  filters through an inner liner travels back to the front and then out the tube that you see at the rear of the muffler. If you look into that tube you can see it ends about 2 inches before that front baffle. If someone started drilling that baffle,  small  holes a few at a time  trying out the results you may achieve a more robust sound and not the raspy sounds that you get from drilling the back. The best sounding muffler I have heard for a Goldwing is a Bassani exhaust but they do not make a short version for the Valk. Here is a YouTube link. I think it sounds badass to me. The deep throaty glasspack sound I  like. Maybe if enough cenquired they may do domething. They already have the product just modify to fit 1800 Valks. I tried they never would get back to me. Good luck.



https://youtu.be/CClyT6zQFCk

[sleepngbear]

Drill at your own risk. I drilled one out. Sounds like a leaky exhaust. Plugged it back up. I think if someone removed the muffler and were the exhaust entered there is a baffle that causes the exhaust to travel toward the rear were it  filters through an inner liner travels back to the front and then out the tube that you see at the rear of the muffler. If you look into that tube you can see it ends about 2 inches before that front baffle. If someone started drilling that baffle,  small  holes a few at a time  trying out the results you may achieve a more robust sound and not the raspy sounds that you get from drilling the back. The best sounding muffler I have heard for a Goldwing is a Bassani exhaust but they do not make a short version for the Valk. Here is a YouTube link. I think it sounds badass to me. The deep throaty glasspack sound I  like. Maybe if enough cenquired they may do domething. They already have the product just modify to fit 1800 Valks. I tried they never would get back to me. Good luck.



https://youtu.be/CClyT6zQFCk

That does sound sweeet. Like a Fee-rari under load. Too bad there just aren't enough of these bikes out there to make it worth anybody designing exhausts for it. I'll bet a shortened version of that Bassani would sound killer.

[TallRider]

He was pushing it hard in video, I  bet it has a nice deep sound with normal throttle. I would think if enough people called or wrote them they may be pushed. I suspect shortening the muffler would alter the sound and need to be retuned  but R & D would not be much.

[goldstar903]

Two Brothers has a nice set.  

https://youtu.be/jIN8L-zXbRI

Unfortunately, I've talked to many pipe makers and they aren't willing to put in the R&D. Not enough bikes made. Sad.

[Law Dawg]

Thanks for all the feedback...The new Valk is a Beast and a Rocket and I love this bike, I love long trips on it and the stock sound is sweet once your in a cruising speed..I don't think I'll puit holes in my pipes, maybe wait awhile and just maybe some of these aftermarket boys will make a set of pipes, maybe....
Another question, does anyone have on their new Valkyrie, those chrome "turned down" exhaust tips you see on Gold Wings? I'd like to see how those look on the new Valks, just for grins....

[bscrive]

Two Brothers has a nice set.  

https://youtu.be/jIN8L-zXbRI

Unfortunately, I've talked to many pipe makers and they aren't willing to put in the R&D. Not enough bikes made. Sad.

That sounds pretty good Frank. 

At $665 on evil bay, it is a good price.  I may get a set this winter instead of powder coating my oem set.  With the bags on my bike the extra length would look ok.  I am sure I can modify them to fit. 

[Dragunslayer]

I never noticed it before but when I look at the exhaust, there are 3 pipes on each side but out of the 3 pipes, the bottom one is totally open, the top 2 pipes appear to be closed or their blocked off...Are there 2 plugged off and only the bottom pipes is open? Can these two plugs be removed or drilled out for better possible sounding pipes?

I used a 1" Drill bill to open up those pipes to the main chamber. I think it sounds better as time has gone on. I will have to try to shoot a more current video of a possible drive by under load to better show what it sounds like. All the riders around here that have heard it like it.

https://youtu.be/r3TWlV0mEbg

[bscrive]

Does anyone know if the swing arm on our bikes are the same as the F6B?  I am wondering if our swing arm will have enough clearance with the two brothers exhaust.

[specialdose]

         In the humble opinion of my 70yr old ears it is a toss up between the Two Brothers and the Rush on that fine looking red custom.
Both sound like a Porsche.

[bscrive]

The people at Two Brothers are a bunch of idiots. 

I asked them if they could tell me the distance from the front of the F6B pipe to the center of the hanger, because I would like to see if I need to make a bracket to put them on my bike and the answer I get is "We do not make a pipe for the valkyrie, we only make one for the F6B and Gl1800 which are identical and use the same exhaust."

I know they don't make one for the F6C, all I wanted was a freakin measurement. 

[Robert]

I think it would be the same but dont know for sure, but how about finding someone with a Goldwing and do your own measurements?

It must be a recording because I called another company and got the same response or maybe it was the same guys 

Have since given up on explaining or telling them its for something other than design.

[Bill Havins]

This reminds me of the frustrations many Moto Guzzi owners expressed about dealing with the folks at the former Bub Exhausts.  Bub made exhausts for Harleys and other more common bikes for many years.  Back in the late '60s/early '70s they introduced units purported to fit Moto Guzzis.  They were a hot item for Bub; they are still sought after by some of the Guzzi community.

"Something" started happening to many sets of Bubs as the years passed and as new units were mounted on new Guzzis - the welds that held the mounting tabs on the mufflers began to break.  To make a very long story much shorter, the more thoughtful explanation of the problem was that two very small issues existed in the Bub design relative to new Guzzis - the angle of the inlet bend was wrong, and the position of the hole in the mounting tab was off by a "scooch."  (A third issue was the size of the inlet diameter - just a touch too large.)

The Bubs could still be mounted on many new Guzzis, but it required the installer to pull up hard on the end of the muffler and quickly stab a bolt through the mounting tab hole and into the frame of the motorcycle.  When mounted this way the stress on the mounting tabs would eventually cause the welds to fail.

Bub got so many complaints they eventually said, "No more Guzzis!"  New Bub units were lost as an alternative to the Guzzi community.

Personally, I think the Bubs were designed to fit an earlier version of Guzzi's Tonti frame - the one used on the 850-T and similar.  The Tonti frame was developed in 1967 and continued to be used on many Guzzis until about 5 years ago.  But many details of the frame changed subtly over the years, including the width of the frame at the passenger footpegs (this allowed for a wider rear tire).  And the diameters of the engine headers changed slightly.  These changes in frame width and header diameters threw the Bub muffler design off enough to cause the mounting tab weld failures (IMHO).

I can't blame Bub for refusing to continue to build for Guzzis.  Guzzi muffler sales fell and became a very minor part of their sales numbers.  It was also hard for Bub to get their hands on new Guzzis to assess the changes in frame and exhaust design from year-to-year.  And then there were the evolving EPA standards.  Too much trouble just to sell a few pairs of mufflers!

It doesn't surprise me that the aftermarket muffler guys don't want to talk to F6C owners.  They likely have little desire to compare the subtle differences between the F6B and F6C frames (if there are any other than the steering head attachment and the tail section - IDK).  They probably just want to keep rolling, bending, welding, and plating designs that sell, and sell in large numbers.

So for us F6C owners, we'll just have to keep a tape measure in our pockets.

Cheers!

Bill

[bscrive]

I am now on the hunt for a really cheap right side muffler off a full Goldwing.  The left side shouldn't be an issue, since there is nothing there to interfere with the pipes. 

I will then see if I can mount the right side pipe on my bike to make sure that the swing arm doesn't have any clearance issues.  As far as I know, our swing arm is the same as the full wing and the F6B.

The muffler hanger on the full wing pipe does look like it's further back then ours, but making a mounting bracket to compensate is pretty easy to do. 

I will check with my dealer to see if they have one kicking around that I can borrow, or buy one off eBay.  I don't want to buy a set of TBRs to find out that I can't mount them for whatever reason and then have to return them which would be a hassle.  They are too expensive here in Canada and are still quite a bit cheaper in the US even with the horrible exchange rate these days.  Hopefully that will change by this winter when I plan to buy a set.

I would really like to get a set of Two brothers exhaust for my bike to have the exhaust come out behind my bags instead of underneath them.

[bscrive]

So I put my question in simpler terms:

Hi Danny,

I know that Two Brothers doesn’t make an exhaust for a F6C, but I want to know if I could make an exhaust for the F6B fit my Valkyrie.  If it is only the hanger that is in the wrong position then I could make a hanger bracket for it.  That is why I asked for the measurement from the front pipe to the centre of the hanger bolt.

Has anyone even tried to see if one would fit?  I know the length is more than the oem pipes for the Valkyrie, but that is what I need.


Here is his response:

We never had a Valkyrie in here to see what all needs to be changed, we did have some people say they were going to try but we never heard anything back. I don’t have any of the Goldwing pipes in stock right now to measure, we just shipped all we had to the distributors.


So, it would seem that no one has tried this.  I guess I will have to try it and get back to them on whether it works.

First step is to find a right side oem pipe off a full wing and fit that.

[Bill Havins]

The search begins!

Don't know why anyone would take on a big project....

[Apple21502]

I seen a video of a 2014 f6c that had the cobra 6 into 6 pipes on it sounded ok. I sent the guy a message asking about the modification needed to fit the pipes but never got a response.

[woofred1832]

               I had headers on 3 of the bikes I have owned including the 1998 Valkyrie 6 into 6. Yes it was loud sounded like a modified hot rod. Now being 67 years old I like the quite sound of the 2014 Valk. It has enough low good sound that is more pleasing to my already demished hearing. The saying loud pipes save lives is a joke. And the roar roar Harleys are great for those that think its rad. Not me, at 4000 rpm the Valk sound great to me. Do what you want but drilled out pipes cuts the gas milage and thats another thing I like on my bike 6 gallons and a 200+ cruise range is great. Just MY opinion. Ride safe........

[bscrive]

A guy on another Valkyrie site has mounted a Goldwing exhaust on his Valkyrie and other than the pipes being a little long and the exhaust support mount being further back, the pipes bolted right up without any clearance issues.  Since I have saddlebags on my bike it shouldn't be a problem to attach a bracket to the saddlebag mounts to the exhaust to support them.  They do stick out a bit, but I am going to see if the Rush pipes will be too long, or if the TBR pipes will be as long as the OEM Goldwing pipes.