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Best aftermarket pipes?

5K views 25 replies 23 participants last post by  BadgerX 
#1 ·
Currently have a 2004 VTX 1300C with cobra slash cut slip-ons - looking upgrade to a new set of full pipes. Any recommendations on what the best ones are out there?

I'm looking for something louder, mainly/especially on idle, where the slash cuts are pretty tame. Done some research on utube, but the sound can be deceiving on many of the videos.

Thanks.

Posty
 
#3 ·
I've had three exhaust systems on my bike. The first was Hard Krome K-2s, and the sound was nice. But after a few years, one of the pipes cracked completely in half and the welds were cracked badly, and so I never recommend anyone to buy Hard Krome products. The second exhaust was the Vance & Hines Bigshots, and for sound and performance they were the best set I had. The third exhaust I have on the bike now is Roadhouse Dooleys. I bought them because of the great deal some of us got from eBay, and I wanted the look for the way I was going with my bike. The performance has suffered a little, but the sound is very nice to my ears after riding with two loud exhaust systems all those miles. Loud is nice, but any hearing loss can never be regained. My .02. 8)
 
#4 ·
+1 on the Vance and Hines Big Shots if you like loud. They are designed for performance gain and sound. I consider them to be almost too loud at idle, though. Under load, they have some authority and turn heads. Many have installed the quiet baffles in them to tame them a little--which I'm considering doing during winter mods.
 
#5 ·
Because you can watch many videos, go to bike events, and even listen to the pipes you think you want installed on a bike like the one you own; and you can still end up spending good money on pipes that don't sound like you wanted them to.

Do yourself a favor: Get pipes with removable/customizable baffles. That way if you don't like the sound, or if it's not loud enough, you can change it.

For my money, the best pipes come with removable baffles & an excellent warranty. They should also add performance and looks to your bike.
 
#6 ·
I am looking too. I am in the middle of a rebuild and have figured out everything I want to do but what pipes. I"m putting on a hyper charger. I guess what I want is a mix of good looks and sound and was thinking Cobra swept backs. Any help on this would be great
 
#7 ·
Spike will be along soon with his canned message but sound it 100% a personal preference. "What I love you may hate. . . "

Anyway, best bet is to try to hear the pipes in person on a bike. When I was looking for pipes I loved the look of the HK 2-1 sideburner, but when I heard it, I didn't care as much for it. I was on the fence with the bub's but then I heard them, and knew those were the ones.


Gotta try to hear them in person, youtube can't replicate the depth of sound nor the quality. If you can't hear em in person your taking somone elses preferences into your decision making process. You might be stuck with pipes you hate the sound of. Now what?


Good luck.
 
#8 ·
For absolute loudness at any speed and idle I'd go with the HKs 2 into 1 side burners. My buddy has them on his X and I no longer ride on his right. I have the cobra speedster longs with the baffles removed, and they make some pretty good noise at idle, mean when getting on it, but can also tame them down while riding through the neighborhood.
 
#9 ·
i am wanting to put aftermarket exhaust on my bike, and am highly considering getting bubs. my buddy has a yamaha roadstar with samson ripsaws on it, and it is LOUD! the kind of loud i am looking for. i know his bike is bigger than mine, but how do the samsons compare to the bubs?
 
#11 ·
Pipes

I have an 04 1300 with V&H Bigshots and Hypercharger. These pipes are loud, so loud that I bought new fiberglass-wrapped baffles to put in. I had the straight-through spiral sharktooth baffles previous and I thought the new ones would quiet it down a little. Not so, not a bit of difference that I can tell. Running no baffles this setup is very loud, but I was getting glances from the local mounties so I run baffled. I like being a good neighbor and after 20+ years of using compressed air at work I have high-pitched hearing loss anyway. But I think it boils down to performance. Can you accelerate up to 75mph quickly to merge onto the superslab and pass with confidence at highway speed? I am very comfortable with this setup and they look pretty good, too. Only my .02.
 
#12 ·
i am wanting to put aftermarket exhaust on my bike, and am highly considering getting bubs. my buddy has a yamaha roadstar with samson ripsaws on it, and it is LOUD! the kind of loud i am looking for. i know his bike is bigger than mine, but how do the samsons compare to the bubs?

I have Samson Warlord Slashers on my 1800. Loudest pipes ive come across on an X. And that is with the baffles installed
 
#15 ·
I am very happy with the sound from my Cobra Speedster Slashdown. Not sure about performance since they were on the bike when I bought it. The chrome is great, no bluing, the sound is very good with several compliments from others. But as a lot of people have said, sound is a personal choice. Go find what you like best.
 
#16 ·
I had VH Big Shots and they were LOUD. I enjoyed them for two years and was ready to put the OEM's back on, just too loud. Instead of putting the OEM's back on I just traded bikes :mrgreen: I do ride a lot and the sound just got to me, especially the long days.
 
#17 ·
dispite what every one has said about them i am running hard chrome 3's and the sound great idel loud and can make it half way queit when i see a cop, one more ticket and my license is gone for 6 monthsnojoke. neighbos hate it but personaly i love them. i had cobra slash cutts on it before and loved them too just not as deep as the hk3's are my next set will be bub jugs though

Dude
 
#18 ·
For absolute loudness at any speed and idle I'd go with the HKs 2 into 1 side burners. My buddy has them on his X and I no longer ride on his right. I have the cobra speedster longs with the baffles removed, and they make some pretty good noise at idle, mean when getting on it, but can also tame them down while riding through the neighborhood.

I concur on this point. I have them on my bike and they are loud. This bike only has 9k miles on it and no one wants to ride on the right side.

I got blasted by a group I rode with a couple of weeks ago because they were all riding HD's and mine was the loudest. Their were 14 of them.

I don't even ride my bike home anymore because my neighbors have complained. If I plan on getting in late I will take it to my shop and drive my truck home.

Interesting point though, they seem to have gotten louder then when I got the bike and put 6k miles on it this year........:dontknow:
 
#20 ·
dispite what every one has said about them i am running hard chrome 3's and the sound great idel loud and can make it half way queit when i see a cop, one more ticket and my license is gone for 6 monthsnojoke. neighbos hate it but personaly i love them. i had cobra slash cutts on it before and loved them too just not as deep as the hk3's are my next set will be bub jugs though

Dude

A non-moving vehicle violation would cause a suspension?...............:yikes:

Holy crap I need to read the vehicle codes for IL since I spend some time riding in the land of Lincoln..............:twisted:
 
#21 ·
A non-moving vehicle violation would cause a suspension?...............:yikes:

Holy crap I need to read the vehicle codes for IL since I spend some time riding in the land of Lincoln..............:twisted:
not just a non moving vilolation. the local cops dont like the fact that im 16 and riding a 1300, they have made it quite clear that they do not like it. so if i did get stopped i know they would bull a lot of bs on me.

Dude
 
#22 ·
I don't understand why people think loud is better. When I was looking for pipes, I went to the local Bike Night.

I finally decided to go with Cobra Speedster Slashdowns with Monster baffles.They're loud, but not obnoxious.

My neighbors still talk to me, my riding buds don't mind following me.The few times I've been pulled over for "Hot Throttling" down the street, the LEOs told me to slow down, never mentioned my pipes.

Eventually all these loud pipes are going to cause even more noise restrictions and inspections for ALL of us.

Rick
 
#23 ·
Vance and Hines BigShots

+1 on the Vance and Hines Big Shots if you like loud. They are designed for performance gain and sound. I consider them to be almost too loud at idle, though. Under load, they have some authority and turn heads. Many have installed the quiet baffles in them to tame them a little--which I'm considering doing during winter mods.

I too have a set of Vance and Hines Big Shots and really like them, they are loud but not too loud. I had a Harley owner tell me that was the best sounding Honda he has ever heard. And I also had another Harley owner, not want to ride behind me because it was too loud(not true) I think he was just jealous that my bike sounded better lol. Big Shots give it that deep big twin sound and my wife doesn't find them too loud when she is on the back.
 
#25 ·
Best mod I ever did to my bike was to put the stock exhaust back on. Went through the Clayton mod, Cobra slip-ons, and Double Eagles. I drilled 1/2" holes in the side of the air box, K&N filter and have the Spyker mod. I love this set up because I can ride at night without worrying about waking people up, and I can hear what the motor is doing instead of just the ehaust. I got a whole 5 horse from the loud exhaust. Not worth it imo. Only real power and driveability difference you will see from this engine is from carb tuning.
 
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