Is there a way to shorten the baffles in an OEM exhaust to give my 97 a better throaty sound?
Anyone done something like this vs. spending large money on an exhaust.
With Arizona being a year round ride state (weather), I want to be able to have cages hear me when I roll up on them.
The short answer is yes. The long question is will you regret it after you do it.
The usual progression that most people take to modifying the stock exhaust usually starts with cutting the piggies off.
If you do that, I strongly suggest that you don't cut them off flush, but save an inch so you can rebuild your piggies later on if you can't stand the drone. Several people have figured out several ways to re-install (rebuild) their piggies....but you have to have something to attach them to.
There are six baffles in each exhaust can/pipe. Three rear and three front in each exhaust. You can't get to them to modify them without first cutting the piggies off.
Cutting the piggies will NOT make the exhaust any louder, but it will give it a deeper tone.
At that point, you will start to induce "drone". There is a reason mother Honda extended the exhaust out to the end of the can....and that would be the addition of the piggies to get rid of drone.
What is drone you ask? Drone is the exhaust resonating inside your nice chrome exhaust tips.
If at that point the drone doesn't bother you, and you want more sound/louder, you can drill out the rear baffles. There are three rear baffles on each exhaust can. That will give you some growl and make the exhaust louder....but not alot.
If that's not enough sound/loudness/volume for you, there is a procedure called the Ragnar cut. Basically, it's gutting the rear part of the exhaust can. That will give you tons of volume and will make your Valk ready for Harley hunting.
The procedure MarkT is telling you does the same thing, but is a much cleaner way of doing it, AND it allows you to make the exhaust quiet again. Listen to what he's telling you, he's a smart guy.
However, doing all of that WILL induce drone. If you wear a helmet that covers your ears, ride behind a windshield, and/or have tinnitus, it WILL drive you batshit nuts.
That's when you'll be looking for a cure. That's what MarkT is telling you in his post. He has a cure for all of that. Go back and re-read his post.
You'll want to check these two links. They will make sense of my post and will explain the piggie cutting, drilling the baffles (including the front baffles too) and the Ragnar Cut......
http://luiscajiga.com/Exhaustm.htmhttp://luiscajiga.com/Exhaustm2.htmMy Valk (before it's remodel) with the piggies cut and the rear baffles drilled.....
My Valk (again, before it's remodel) with the Ragnar cut.....
After I did all of that, the drone drove me nuts. The sound of the exhaust was great....sounded seriously mean, but I couldn't take the drone and had to do something about it. You might want to read this thread for the cure that I found.
http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,40398.0.htmlSince I've already been there and done that, my advice would be to save your unmolested stock exhaust (hint....they arn't making stock OEM exhausts anymore) and buy a set of Cobra exhausts or some other aftermarket or modded exhaust.
btw.....MarkT sells a really fine exhaust system.
