Cobra 6x6 loudness question

[EM1Pete]

I just installed some Cobra 6x6 pipes on my Valkyrie.  With the baffles, I think they are too quiet.  Without the baffles, I think they are too loud.  What can I do to get the in-between volume level?  Just for s#!ts and giggles, I installed 2 baffles (and left 1 out) on each side and it sounded perfect!  I only tested that in the garage as I'm pretty sure I shouldn't run it like that (right??).  Thanks.

[EM1Pete]

The baffles I have are about 14" long.  Would cutting them down work?

[Tropic traveler]

Wife's Valk has Cobras with full stock baffles installed. They are too loud for me but she likes them & that's all that matters for her bike. The '99 I bought had Cobras without any baffles & was WAY too loud. Came with some off brand baffles that cut down the racket but still sounded like poop. Cobras are gone on that bike & a nice set of glasspack modded pipes are on.  
The stock Cobra baffles seem to be a double wall style & probably won't be easy to cut down.
Everybody has different likes but the Cobras with or without baffles are too loud on long trips for me.  
Good luck.  

[CajunRider]

Trade baffles with me!!    

Mine are only about 5 or 6 inches.  

You could always try cutting your baffles shorter... chopping about 1/3 off would be approximately equivalent to 2 baffles in / 1 baffle out.

With mine being so short, I've actually been looking for some longer ones that will fit... without spending $300 at Cobra.  

[Tropic traveler]

These are the baffles that came with the '99 I bought.


They look nothing like what is in Kim's '98 Valk. Those appear to be a 2 layer baffle within a baffle. I am assuming that the baffles in Kim's Valk are Cobra baffles. The baffles in the pic look like the same generic kind that you can get anywhere. They made the Cobras on the '99 sound God-awful, at least to me. Even though there were Cobras on both bikes they sounded totally different. The reason why the baffle in the pic has the welded on piece is the P.O. couldn't get that one baffle out so he just drove a pipe up in it to smooth it out. He gave me the other 5 loose. I fixed the damaged baffle & reinstalled all 6.
On the other hand the baffles in Kim's Valk make the Cobras sound awesome.. too loud for me but very V-8 like.
You might want to think twice before chopping up stock Cobra baffles if that is what you have. 

[EM1Pete]

Trade baffles with me!!    

Mine are only about 5 or 6 inches.  

You could always try cutting your baffles shorter... chopping about 1/3 off would be approximately equivalent to 2 baffles in / 1 baffle out.

With mine being so short, I've actually been looking for some longer ones that will fit... without spending $300 at Cobra.  

I've looked on Cobra's website, but I can't find anywhere to buy baffles individually.  Could you maybe provide me a link?

I wish you were closer.  I would love to swap baffles with you to hear what it sounds like.  I would hate to swap with you at this distance and end up not liking the sound.   

[CajunRider]

Cobra no longer sells them individually (at least not for the Valk).  The best I could find was an after market vendor (something like Bike Bandit) that sells baffles individually.  It would then be a matter of finding baffles that were the correct size, which is not always clearly marked. 

Sadly, my baffles are not Cobra... they were replaced by the previous owner at some point.  And, as mentioned earlier, changing baffles will change the sound, and you may or may not like the new sound. 

[X Ring]

Funny thing is there are 2 different style of baffles.  ChrisJ found this out a couple of years ago after a wreck.  He had to replace 1 pipe and the one Cobra sent had a different style baffle.  Do a search, the pics may still be active or contact him.

Marty

[Chrisj CMA]

Funny thing is there are 2 different style of baffles.  ChrisJ found this out a couple of years ago after a wreck.  He had to replace 1 pipe and the one Cobra sent had a different style baffle.  Do a search, the pics may still be active or contact him.

Marty

Almost forgot about that Marty.  Heres the two kinds.  the ones without the handle a little bit louder than the ones with the handle.  I arranged them so theres 2 handles and a non handle on each side and it really made the sound puurfect

[EM1Pete]

Funny thing is there are 2 different style of baffles.  ChrisJ found this out a couple of years ago after a wreck.  He had to replace 1 pipe and the one Cobra sent had a different style baffle.  Do a search, the pics may still be active or contact him.

Marty

Almost forgot about that Marty.  Heres the two kinds.  the ones without the handle a little bit louder than the ones with the handle.  I arranged them so theres 2 handles and a non handle on each side and it really made the sound puurfect

Thanks for the info!  I've got the kind with the handle.  Would it hurt anything if I was to just run one pipe on each side without a baffle?

[Chrisj CMA]

I cant see how that could hurt anything except performance.  It would be louder, but if its running right with the baffles it will be running less right with a third of them removed......but I cant see it hurting anything

[Old Geezer Richard]

  Hey Pete , can I offer you a suggestion  ....  when I first bought my 1998 it came with the Cobra pipes and I thought they were a little loud for my liking , SOOOO what I did , was buy some of the baffeling material you can get in the J.C.Whippy catalogue  ....  it comes in different size sheets , so I guess -timated about how much it would take to wrap around the baffel once and cut it  ....  then I used a little bailing wire to wrap around the baffel to hold the baffeling material in place and now they sound nice to my ears even after 7 years the material is still there .... just my .02 cents ....  Thanks the Geezer   

[EM1Pete]

  Hey Pete , can I offer you a suggestion  ....  when I first bought my 1998 it came with the Cobra pipes and I thought they were a little loud for my liking , SOOOO what I did , was buy some of the baffeling material you can get in the J.C.Whippy catalogue  ....  it comes in different size sheets , so I guess -timated about how much it would take to wrap around the baffel once and cut it  ....  then I used a little bailing wire to wrap around the baffel to hold the baffeling material in place and now they sound nice to my ears even after 7 years the material is still there .... just my .02 cents ....  Thanks the Geezer   

Thanks, Geezer, but I don't think that's going to help me out too much.  I think these pipes are too quiet with the baffles installed and too loud with all the baffles removed.

[X Ring]

Look at your baffles.  If you have the kind with the handle, maybe someone with the other kind will swap you.

Marty

[Tropic traveler]

So I guess I had the crappy sounding baffles in the 99. Kims Valk has the much better sounding baffles. Mystery solved. If you have the ones with the cross bar you are in luck. The others sound like CRAP. BTW I tried wrapping the baffles too. Just got me a different crappy sounding tone. Maybe someone else would like it. ???

[Led]

I had a 1980 CBX that I put "6 into 6" pipes on.  Even back then I decided it was just too loud.  Baffles or not!  (By the way....I am dern near impotent now......because I have kicked myself in the nut's so many times over the years......for SELLING it!!!!!!!!     )

I am thinking that if they increased the diameter of the pipe say, by 100% , after the footpegs, it would give it a somewhat "deeper" tone, which would be vastly more appealing to the ears.  Having pretty much the same diameter pipe all the way back, only makes the tone, way too "sharp".  But then there is the issue of "room"........especially with the hard factory bags........

I know that would increase production prices immensely, but just sayin'.......