Too soon to tell - maybe after break in period
By
Jason S.
on
Verified Purchaser
With little time running these it's hard to say how they will be with some actual miles on them. Out of the box and installed, they are not what I expected, when sold as the "loudest" subjectively speaking, as they are quite muffled. Now they are producing quite a bit of overall volume - greater decibels where its hard to talk over them, and this effect may be due to the packing and also the diameter. I have the Whiskey firestorm paint and these in black look not only sharp but the tips have a similar chrome esque pattern that matches the rest of the blacked out engine on my 25' Roadglide, i.e. the floorboards have the same chrome lines. I believe the packing is beginning to break in and a discernible note may be taking shape. Otherwise they are on the bland side for sound appeal. I get the impression that going with a far larger pipe is automatically going to soften the bark or overall sound as compared to something around the 3" diameter as per my last bike and those had plenty of bark. I didn't however like them at idle as they were too mild. So far, I'm pleased overall - mostly with the looks and fit and finish. The fact that they are thunderingly loud in a different yet soft way may be a testament to these newer Roadglides with their higher refinement and tech. The jury is still out on sound appeal. They definitely won't wake the neighbors. Standing about twenty feet away and they are a low hum by comparison. Side note - they come with new clamps for the install, and one side is a smaller diameter where it mounts, per the bike's exhaust design, and the clamp for this side is almost too small to get it onto the muffler. Be careful not to loosen it too much that it falls apart. Also, unlike my previous bike, Harley doesn't make use of exhaust gaskets that fit in between, or perhaps I'm reminded of the crossover joint - either way these slip-ons just slide into place and the clamps compress the 'fingers' down onto the receiving ends. On the left side of the bike, the heatshield needs to be loosened because when sliding that muffler on, it will make contact and if rotating it into place it scratches the finish due to how forward it mounts. This wasn't an issue on the right side. Using a torque wrench to remove the factory clamps, I found them to be ~ 60 ft lb's on the right side and had trouble getting the new clamp to fully tighten on the left while approaching a far lower number. It did leak initially so it's rating is at least 50 ft lb's.