Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Exhaust Fishtails, FishTails, Loud and Melodic Fishtails

Fishtails, Fishtails
Loud and Melodic Fishtails
Fishtails, Fishtails
Fire Them Up, Wow
(apologies to Barnes and Barnes)

I finally got my fishtail pipes and they are on. Thanks to Speedracer for the help. These things are loud. The tone sounds awesome, but I think I need to get a couple more baffles to lower the volume. They already have one baffle in them. It is definitely going from one extreme to the other. It is now a very loud deep growl.

Here is a sound bite of the stock pipes.

Here is a sound bite of the fishtails.

In agreement with Friar John, this post would be useless without pictures So, here are a couple




Soren

I like it! It has a very distinct grumble to it, that's fer sure! The sound clip of the stock pipes makes me remember just how anemic they make the bike sound. Kind of like a sewing machine.

Oh, and they look pretty darn cool too!
Where did you get them?

Wow, Soren that is a great look !!! I also really like those flames coming of your luggage rack... cool.... ride safe... Gordon

Are there any baffles in there at all? They sound like straight pipes... which isn't *necessarily* a bad thing.

I ordered them from Iron City Cycles.

I kind of cheated on the flames. They are actually some of those really thin magnets. Someday, I'll have some painted.

There is one metal baffle in each one towards the end of the pipes, otherwise they are pretty much just straight pipes. I think I should get a another pair of baffles and put thme in the front, just to turn the volume down some.

Soren

Holy cr@p batman! Nice sound, but yeah I gotta agree on the volume side. Can't say I've ever cared for the look of fishtails, but to each their own.

Matt

LOVE THAT SOUND ...

I agree with Sandmann to an extent.
I like fishtails but I'm not sure on the Speedy. Sorry.

The jury's still out, as they say.
It's the same with any 'photos, I imagine they look different in the flesh.
Take me - on a 'photo, I'm a fat bast*rd - in the flesh, I look JUST like Brad Pitt.

Me too! That's why I never wear plaid.

Are those slip-ons? If so did you have to do any modifications to get them to work with your bike? Absolutely loved the look and sound.
I didn’t know there where that many Brad Pitt look a likes out there.

Yes, they are slip-ons. No, I didnt have to modify anything. I used the stock muffler hangers and TonyG's idea of just using sheet metal screws. Worked out pretty darn good. I had Speedracer help me and once we figured out how we were going to approach it, I don't think it took more than about 45 minutes to do. The hardest part was trying to get the fins as vertical as possible and getting both sides to match.

I really like the sound too, but the volume is way too loud. I ordered some baffles from a local bike shop yesterday. I should have them by next Tuesday or Wednesday.

I think they look better in person than they do in the pictures. Sometime I will take some better pics of them.

Soren

I would guess that metal baffles alone won't do a ton to make it quieter. I think you'll probably need to stuff some fiberglass in there to take the sharp edge off it.

Holy crap! You're riding in the back of the pack in Idaho!

Da*n they look cool Soren. I installed mine no baffles, no mufflers just a lot of loud noise. Old women and children hitting the dirt, life is goooood. I still slip the epco's on but not as much as I used to, I like the loud. They must be the 36"ers, they come back to the same point as mine.

Darn good looking Soren but yep, needs the edge taken off with another baffle.

Looks good... sounds good.... I like'um, Soren !!!

Maybe I have gotten use to how loud they are, or gotten over the shock of the sound difference from the stock pipes. But, they don't seem to be as loud as they were when I first put them on. When the bike is just idling, I can still talk to someone. Gong down the road, I can hear the horn. One other thing I have noticed is that the sound seems to mellow a little after they warm up. One thing I love is the hollow echoing sound on deceleration.

I finally got the new baffles last Tuesday, but I havent installed them yet. I was going to do it today, but decided it may not be a good idea the day before going on a long trip. I may not even install them at all.

Soren

Thanks for posting the pics and links for the fishtails Soren, I just bought a set for myself and couldn't be happier, no more "sewing machine" just a deep rumble and roar.

I put in the new baffles today. I didn't take out the ones that were already in (since they are welded in place). I put the new baffles in front. It was kind of tricky.

Here is a new sound bite of them with the baffles. It sounds about the same, just not as loud. If you listen you can hear the cam chain, whereas, you couldn't (or much anything else) at all before putting in the baffles. On a scale of 1-10 where 1 is the stock pipes and 10 is stock fishtails, the sound level is about a 5. I rode for a little bit this evening, I think I got use to them without the extra baffles, but the neighbors will like them better, and I'll get use to them.

Soren