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Sportster Exhaust

fatboyjon

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I have a "04" Sportster 883XL that I'm going to change the exhaust on. Looking at Screamin Eagle II Slip-Ons or the Porker Swichblades. I don't necessarily want it extremely loud but to sound and perform good. I have a FatBoy with a Thunder Header and love it but don't need quite that on the Sportster (cost is a factor). Any suggestions? Thanks!
 
I have a "04" Sportster 883XL that I'm going to change the exhaust on. Looking at Screamin Eagle II Slip-Ons or the Porker Swichblades. I don't necessarily want it extremely loud but to sound and perform good. I have a FatBoy with a Thunder Header and love it but don't need quite that on the Sportster (cost is a factor). Any suggestions? Thanks!

I put SE II slip-ons on my '09 883XL last month with a TFi and Million Mile AC. It sounds way better than the stock pipes which were very tame - the SEs have a lovely rich throaty rumble - what to me is a proper Harley sound. I find them to be as loud as I would want as I don't like deafeningly loud pipes and I live in a very quiet neighbourhood and get on very well with everyone there (and want to keep it that way :D). The performance is much better too with more muscle at lower revs.
So I'm really happy with the sound, performance and look of the SE IIs.
JMO but I think you need to hear the two options yourself to decide what you like best for your bike.
 
Hard to justify a suitable exhaust by word of mouth...real tale of the tape is go to various HD rallys, swap meets, shows and experience first hand. That said, a lot of positives from Cedarbrook and others for Screamin' Eagle SE and bonus is they are EPA/Gov regulation approved...so you get great sound, performance and won't be forced to change them out if federal, state and local regulations prevail...and always keep your OEM take offs: they are yours bought and paid for!
 
About 3 years ago, I purchased a used set of factory mufflers off ebay, I was curious to see the insides of these factory mufflers. Using a dremel tool I cut the weld at the exhaust end of the muffler. I was able to remove the entire baffle tube from the muffler body. That tube extends from the exhaust outlet to the header end of the body; the inlet end is expanded to slip over the header pipe.

Taking a serious look at this tube, about half way down the baffle tube there is a flat plug between two sets of holes punched on either side of the solid plate, thus forcing the incoming exhaust up through the holes into the muffler body and the back again on the other side of the plate into the baffle tube and out the exhaust end of the muffler.

After reading much material on muffler design and theory, I cut the tube in half on the inlet side of the baffle plate leaving the expanded end in tact. Turning the remaining tube 180 degrees, reattaching the shorter baffle tube to the exhaust end of the muffler. You can either drill and bolt the baffle or tack weld it back in.

The result after 3 years of using this system has been very satisfactory. The tone is very acceptable, however, somewhat more noticeable than factory. Under full throttle, it becomes very noticeable, but nowhere near drag pipes. Around town you hardly get noticed by the locals. Every once in a while, I’ll get a wild hair and reinstall some old Screaming Eagle turnouts but I always wind up going back to these mufflers.

Price wise, this costs about 3 hours of time and no bucks, making that first cut takes about 2 hours to commit to. My 2 cents worth and two cents is a lot cheaper than a set of new mufflers.
 
+1 on removing the stock flat baffle.

My 2003 Sportster came with the stock mufflers but a previous owner removed the flat plug. The sound was much deeper & louder than stock but not as obnoxious as drag pipes. My 2003 had the crossover pipe which may have made the exhaust a smidge quieter.

I really liked the sound but it actually was a touch loud for my taste. If you are looking for cheap it don’t get any cheaper than this.
 
+1 on removing the stock flat baffle.

My 2003 Sportster came with the stock mufflers but a previous owner removed the flat plug. The sound was much deeper & louder than stock but not as obnoxious as drag pipes. My 2003 had the crossover pipe which may have made the exhaust a smidge quieter.

I really liked the sound but it actually was a touch loud for my taste. If you are looking for cheap it don’t get any cheaper than this.

Does removing the flat plug have any effect on the back pressure in the pipes - does it change performance in any way?? Just wondering.
 
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