Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Exhaust Remove stock baffles?

Does anyone have a how-to or personal experience on removing the baffles from stock pipes on an America? I've heard different conclusions from everyone, and was hoping we could have a thread specifically for that.

Also, is a re-jet reccommended?

Thanks guys, you're the best!

First of all, you need a baffle removal tool. Mike Sr. made one for my brother and I to use. I am sure Mike will post on how to make one. I think the best way to remove the baffles is to take the slip-ons off the bike and drill straight down with someone holding on to the pipe. The downward pressure makes a huge difference. It took about 40 minutes to remove 4 baffles from a used set of pipes I bought (the first baffle was already removed). Leaving them on the bike took a lot longer. My brother stood on a chair and ran the drill and I held the pipe in place. The whole saw should last you for both pipes. Also, you may want to use some kind of lubricant, this should help the teeth of your saw. I removed all three and I love the sound! I didnt reject, but I did put some tbs needles in my carbs.

Has anyone heard the audio clip of Dmahn pipes ,the sound is really good. Does any one know how what he did to the off road pipes to make them sound so good.

Another way that some of us have done is removed the whole baffle assembly. To do that you have to drill out the welds on the back side of the pipes (1/8 bit) then take your brackets off. After the brackets are off you'll need to remove the cups that they were bolted to. That'll free up the baffles from inside the pipe. To get them out you'll need to grind the lip off of the end of the pipe. You don't have to cut the pipe just grind the lip where it returns in. Then to get the baffles out you need to grab a long pipe or axe handle and pound them out. They are in there pretty tight. Once you get the old baffles out you'll have a wide open set of pipes to do with what you want. I added some aftermarket baffles to mine. I just wouldn't run them wide open like that though. There should be some back pressure.

I will say that toms sound really good, especialy for how easy of a time the brothers mccoy had doing it. just my 2 lire.

Sebastian

Thanks for the post Tinman

Hey Ben,
I have stock Speedmaster pipes on my '02 America. I got them last November on ebay for 99 cents + $20 shipping. I drilled a 3/4" hole through all the baffle plates, using a 3/4" rotary file (it don't take long - baffles are real thin). Remember that each two baffle plates are connected by a 1/2" tube. I think there are four connected pairs of baffle plates. If I had it to do over, I would have left the front two plates and tube intact to provide backpressure and allow expansion of gasses throughout the rest of the pipe. That will create a lower tone also and plenty loud for me. I have a high frequency hearing loss and like I said - they are plenty loud. So, my recommendation would be to remove the baffles starting at the rear, and work your way forward until the last ones are visible You should have removed 2 or 3 pairs of plates and their connecting tube. Forgive me for not remebering exact number. Shouldn't be too hard to tell, once you see how they are installed. I used a 3/4" rotary file to drill into the tubes and broke them off (out), then proceeded to the next one with two extensions of 6 and 12 inches. The America pipes are more open on the ends and give enough access to use a bimetal hole saw, which can be obtained at Lowe's or Home Depot (or a real hardware store). Then rejet to 125 mains and open your pilot screws another 0.5 to 1.0 turns out. Order a pair of 130s and 132s from Brent at NewSpeedmaster.com also (they are a great cheap mod). You may also need to remove primary snorkel and/or secondary snorkels in your airbox to finish you balanced flow.
Hope you get what you're listening for. Use Specialty Spares exhaust if this don't work (other great ones are available, but appear way too loud or too shallow). I promised Dale that I would buy a set of his pipes when I got the money. Be sure to balance your carbs after any and all modifications to jets or air flow.
Please Ride Safe,
Dennis

awesome dennis, thanks

i havent really worked on a bike much before ... im not the most mechanically able but I'll give it a try

I'm just nervous since it's 2 days old ... heh

Hi Ben,

One thing I would do is check with the dealer to make sure any modifications do not screw with your warranty. I know some take a dim view to changing stuff and others do not.

Better to find out now, eh?

good advice bonny, thanks