today i called dg performance, the makers of hard-krome motorcycle pipes. i have a set of their k-2 pipes on my bike. they come with a set of standard baffles, which is what i currently have. however, they are replaceable, so i just ordered a set of their straight baffles. when i replace the current baffles with the straights, it should increase the loudness of my pipes. hopefully significantly. they’re already fairly loud when i’m accelerating or at decent speeds, but i’d like for them to be loud even when i’m idling. i can hardly wait to see how they affect the sound.
Is the bike a 4 cyl or a 2? That way I can imagine the sound. My new pipes made a big difference on my old Yamaha. It was fairly loud standing still.
it’s a 2-cylinder (v-twin). 1300cc. the pipes already made quite a difference from the stock pipes, but the straight baffles should hopefully take it up at least another notch or two.
i chose to ride today, and it was a nice day. but while at agora (coffeehouse on westheimer by brasil) a cold front hit, bringing rain, wind, and cold temperatures. i waited until the rain stopped and the streets dried some from the traffic, but man it was a chilly ride home.
Agora? Did you steal me another lighter or two? 😉
lol – I wanted one too, but didn’t end up taking one with me. 🙁
I guess I was just too distracted by the whole Terry/motorcycle/cold front/rain thing.
Grr!! Next time….oh yes, next time…..
no! but jamie asked if i thought the lighters were for the taking…so i did mention that the last time i went it was with a THIEF! maybe that’s the only reason jamie didn’t take one. 🙂 we ended up at agora because the daily grind evidently closes around 10pm or 10:30pm, and empire closes on fridays at 11pm. it did give me the opportunity to smoke my pipe though.
Jamie, we’ll have to go and wipe them out. Thieves must stick together! Don’t let Terry and his awful positive peer pressure sway you otherwise. 😉
great. i’m helping bring together a thieves’ guild of women who rove the countryside stealing disposable lighters. not exactly one of my planned accomplishments in life, but perhaps i could get a contract for a made-for-tv movie on lifetime…
And how exactly does you jumping at the opportunity to make a quick buck make you any better than us, huh Mr. Exasperation? Personally, I’d rather be stealing useless items for my own personal satisfaction than lowering myself to such opportunist standards.
Come on Natalie…I’m bringing my extra deep purse. We can go, sit and chat a minute about what name to give our new thieves’ guild, and then begin craftily making our way around the whole place snatching lighters until nary a one is left. Fun! ::snort::
it would be a cautionary tale. i would be taking something negative and turning it into a positive. making the world a better place from my own experiences. how can you fault that?
and for what it’s worth, it appears some other guild already beat you to the punch on the agora lighters. there was nary a one there this evening, other than the ones a reformed thief trying to commit penance and soothe her guilty concious returned.
‘Tis true. I caved and returned the TWO lighters that I had procured on my previous visit. My karma is back in check.
get OUT!! No way she caved. What did you do to her Terry? Did she succumb to your awful positive peer pressure? How can you look at yourself in the mirror?!?!
Well so much for my life of crime. Maybe I’ll just redirect my efforts on trying to get my own contract for a made-for-tv movie on Lifetime. It will be about an opportunist alt xian that brings women together by convincing them that they share a bond in crime, only to live out his dream of using their escapades to make a movie so he can get rich and then attempt to cover his behind by claiming that he was only doing it for the betterment of society.
On second thought, forget Lifetime. I’m going straight to the box office with this one.
=)
Back to the baffles….if you want it REALLY loud, why don’t you just take the baffles off??
the manufacturer of the pipes does not recommend running with no baffles. i’m assuming because it would create weird pressure levels and make the bike hard (or impossible) to tune. (it also might discolor the chrome outer pipe.)
the “straight baffles” are really just straight pipes with no baffling. they just extend the internal exhaust pipe all the way to the exit. (because the pipes i have are double-wall design from the headers to the tips.) if you just pulled the normal baffles, the exhaust would empty into the external chrome pipes about one foot before the end of the pipes.
i’ve not delved into the world of tweaks one can do to get the pipes as loud as possible, but i’m about to pretty much be running straight pipes, which should be pretty loud.
Hey TeRRY,
Im looking at purchasing the k-2’s… Have you herd the sound differences between the 3″ big straights and the k-2’s?
i don’t have a large number of friends that ride motorcycles, and i don’t know anyone else personally that has any other hard krome pipes. so i’ve not heard any 3″ big straights (at least that i knew that’s what they were).
as far as the k-2’s, i really like the way they look and i have not had any problems with bluing. (i think i’ve put about 16k miles on the bike since i got them.) they were pretty loud on acceleration with the baffles, but pretty quiet otherwise. sans baffles, they are really loud on acceleration but still moderate when idling. they don’t have that real low throaty rumble of some pipes, but they have a decently low tone that’s more harsh and perhaps metal-sounding.
one thing i don’t like is what looks to be the cool wrapping of the rear pipe around the clutch cover ends up being awfully close to the leg when standing — at least it is for me, on a vtx1300 and with a 32″ or so inseam. it can also get close to the leg at times when riding, depending on how you are positioning your leg — like if you have highway pegs that are close to the body and/or lower. again, that probably depends on the length of your legs.