Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Exhaust Specialty Spares ESPECIALLY loud!

I did a search on "+Specialty +Spares +washer" (without the quotes) in all forums and got 13 results. I don't have time to go through them but you might try it.

Well I added some packing to fill in that part of my SS baffles that wasn't wrapped. Went for a short ride (5 hours) just to see and... marginally quieter, I think, maybe. Anyway, still not enough to make the pipes user friendly. Next, I'll reverse the baffles so the louvers on the perforations face the outgoing exhaust (Richard's idea).

Still got a serious raspy high pitch sound that's got to go before I can enjoy the pipes. Also, I think I'll slide the baffles right out to the end of the pipe. The tips will keep 'em held in there and I'm thinking the longer the empty chamber between the clamp connection and the baffle, the deeper the sound (kinda like a trombone).

I'm working on it.

The void you see here is now filled in with packing.

what kind of packing did you use?

Some sort of fiberglass stuff from an insert made for some other bike. I know that doesn't answer your question very well but a friend at a Yamaha dealership just handed me this thing made up of wire mesh and fiberglass and I peeled off enough layers of glass to fill in the void on my baffles. I then wrapped it with heat tape to hold everything in place.

Keith, did you put in as much as the diameter could handle?
Just had a look at mine and the direction of the "scoops" goes rearward on mine.

They are loud, but mine have a nice tone, not what I would call raspy. One thing I have noticed, "loud" is a very subjective term to the beholder. Dean down in Arizona (who got busted for loud pipes) would not think Specialty Spares are loud. My wife thinks mine are too loud because she can hear me three miles away. I had a trike that could be heard 5 miles away...and I didn't think that was too loud!

I wear ear plugs for wind noise alone is too hard on your hearing.

eddy

Yup Eddy... I wrapped those things as tight as I could get it. The raspy sound has been reduced by a small percentage but it is still there. The 'scoops' or 'louvers' faced rearward on mine too, that is until today. Richard had an idea that turning them into the flow of gas might help make them quieter. I did that, but with little to no noticeable difference. I will try a couple more things like the washer idea and if that doesn't tone them down I'll consider letting them go.

Keith, measure the diameter of the hole in the baffle and post it please. Ill install my pipes in a few days and measure the old baffles as well.
I wonder if Dale used a different baffle.

Okay... I'll get that measurement tomorrow (the I.D. of the perforated pipe, right?).

yes

OK...I went out and pulled one of my pipes and did a comparison:

Baffle - overall pretty equal. The new baffle is a different style which results in a slightly larger opening on the new one but not by much (maybe a 1/8"). New baffle is also slightly shorter BUT again, not by much (maybe 1/2"). Overall length of the baffle pipe is about 12-13". The old one is slightly longer due to the lip. I cant imagine that such a minimal difference would cause such a large gain in volume.

Packing material - mine has about the same as yours did except when I pulled mine out it wasn't all bunched up at the end. I can see it happening over time though. My original baffles, when removed, got all bunched up and made it a bear to remove.

I installed one pipe and started it up and it was slightly louder but again, not by much. Based on hearing your bike there is no way my new pipes would be much louder than my current pipes. As a matter of fact Id still say my new pipes would be quieter that Karens short slash cuts.

The only things I can think of is this:
- theres is problem with your baffles construction. I noticed the new ones look to be hand made vs the old ones that were all one.
- the design of the new baffles is not blocking as much sound. The old baffles do not have that conical shape on the ends. They are more like folded lip that is the same diameter as the baffle pipe.
- you may be leaking exhaust... check your header pipe at the head, check the connection at the bottom of the header and be sure your spares are on so there is no leak.

30k on mine & never repacked

Keith PM sent