Calling the debaffle experts!

[Old Bear]

You know who you are, don't be shy. Seeing how my Cobra Tru-Flos are cheap rust buckets and I cant afford the ones I want, I'll debaffle the stock mufflers and put them back on. My 1 1/2" hole saw is slightly smaller than the tube diameter. Any reason to not use this size? I ask because I haven't seen a post of anyone using a saw that large.

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[Old Bear]

Never mind
So upon closer inspection, the saw was 1 1/4". Too bad the arbor for it is 1 1/2" and won't fit the tube. Off to the hardware store I go!

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[DragonLady58]

All the wooden dowel stuff is ok if you don't have any metal working stuff.I normally use my plasma cutter, Quick, fast and to the point....all of 3 minutes per side. Install my slide hammer with hook if held inside by a piece or brace.
Or my air hammer with a custom ground chisel on the edge for slicing....done in a minute but makes helluva noise!
However if you do the wooden plug thing, drill your pilot hole, let the hole saw just start to cut. Stop your saw, pull your hole saw out. Take the pilot bit out, put it in the drill, drill the hole all the way thru your plug. Remove the bit from drill. Get a metal rod the same size as the drill...usually a std. size like 1/4", put holesaw back into drill, put that rod thats the same size of your drill, install it where the drill was in the holesaw.
Now alot of the problem trying to debaffle is your pilot drill on you plug wallows out the hole, and the saw is not supported correctly, hanging up frequently. Put a few drops of oil on the rod, start the cut slow rpms, and use plenty of lube....take your time. A good quality sharp holesaw will make the job alot smoother and faster and enjoyable....

After baffle removal on one side, repeat on other....

[smokier]

Greetings,

Having done this procedure three times now, I'll share my method. Right or wrong, it works.
1 3/8" bi-metal hole saw. What DL said...->

A good quality sharp holesaw will make the job alot smoother and faster and enjoyable....

2x 10-12" extensions.
Drill with lots of batteries, or a good ol' corded monster.

There are three metal "walls" or separators for the two chambers in each muffler.
Wall number one is a few inches in from the rear (4 or 5). Getting through this one is easy and quick. Can be accomplished using the first of your two drill extensions.

After the first wall, is an open chamber of a few inches in length. The second wall is the end of the catalytic converter material (Which I refer to as "packing"). This wall is also reachable using one extension.

Once the second wall is out, you will be into the catalytic "packing" material. You will drill as deep as the hole saw is. You will know when your hole saw is at full depth, because the feel/progress will change and stop. Pull out your hole saw, get the packing material out of there. Like the wood plugs you'd pry out if using a hole saw on wood.
You will get two full batches of the packing material out of your hole saw.
It is in this section you will add the second extension. On the third push through the catalytic material you will hit the last wall. This is the last wall, at the front of the pipes. Once you are through that third wall, you are done. It is all a straight line, the "tube" inside the exhaust will act as your guide.
Have done this with the exhaust one the bike. It is easier with the exhaust off the bike. You will see daylight through the right muffler when done. Debris and packing may not all come out. Hopefully, each time you get through a wall, it will be in the hole saw. Having the mufflers off of the bike allows you to tamp, jiggle, shake the junk out. The left muffler, I use a bright flashlight at the front/curve and look in the exit end. You should see the light inside hitting the 'curve' of the exhaust.

You can get er done in less than an hour with a good hole saw and enough batteries. :)

Ride safe,
Smokier

[DragonLady58]

Originally Posted by smokier

Greetings,

Having done this procedure three times now, I'll share my method. Right or wrong, it works.
1 3/8" bi-metal hole saw. What DL said...->
2x 10-12" extensions.
Drill with lots of batteries, or a good ol' corded monster.

There are three metal "walls" or separators for the two chambers in each muffler.
Wall number one is a few inches in from the rear (4 or 5). Getting through this one is easy and quick. Can be accomplished using the first of your two drill extensions.

After the first wall, is an open chamber of a few inches in length. The second wall is the end of the catalytic converter material (Which I refer to as "packing"). This wall is also reachable using one extension.

Once the second wall is out, you will be into the catalytic "packing" material. You will drill as deep as the hole saw is. You will know when your hole saw is at full depth, because the feel/progress will change and stop. Pull out your hole saw, get the packing material out of there. Like the wood plugs you'd pry out if using a hole saw on wood.
You will get two full batches of the packing material out of your hole saw.
It is in this section you will add the second extension. On the third push through the catalytic material you will hit the last wall. This is the last wall, at the front of the pipes. Once you are through that third wall, you are done. It is all a straight line, the "tube" inside the exhaust will act as your guide.
Have done this with the exhaust one the bike. It is easier with the exhaust off the bike. You will see daylight through the right muffler when done. Debris and packing may not all come out. Hopefully, each time you get through a wall, it will be in the hole saw. Having the mufflers off of the bike allows you to tamp, jiggle, shake the junk out. The left muffler, I use a bright flashlight at the front/curve and look in the exit end. You should see the light inside hitting the 'curve' of the exhaust.

You can get er done in less than an hour with a good whole saw and enough batteries. :)

Ride safe,
Smokier

What He Said! While I don't personally do the wooden plug thing unless I'm not with my tools (I constantly work with metal so I have some specialized tools), I'd go with his rendention.
What I use....except its been angle ground on the end by a tool sharpening co., taking less pressure to cut, like a punch press tool. Made for leather, plastics, soft metals and sheet metal. 5 sturdy blows with a 5 lb. shop hammer, its a done deal....

Thats a 1 3/8" from McMaster-Carr....
Theres several posts on the boards here, its all close to the same, and they work. As he said, its alot easier with the mufflers off the bike.
Plenty of YouTube Vids....

[Old Bear]

With all three plugs cut out as well as the "packing", can you provide a comparison in sound volume? Louder or quieter than Cobra Tru-Flo, for instance? The mufflers are already off the bike, having been replaced with the rust-bucket Cobra Tru-Flo mufflers, so I have that going for me.

[dhuttonkc]

Not sure if this any help or not. I bought new take off StreetGlide cans for $25 and a piece 12 inches long of strap aluminum x 3/16 inch. A couple of bolts and lock nuts finished the bill of materials. The SG cans slid right on the VH headers. I supported each with a floor jack and made a simple template for cutting and drilling the strap to match the SG mountings from the stock muffler points. The chrome quality on the SG cans is excellent, the exhaust sound and tone is good, performance was not effected negatively. I found the detailed instructions years ago on the Gadget page. The whole process took less than an hour. The VH cans just could not be quieted down enough to suit my riding style. I had tried re-wrapping them and also tried stove rope solution. Neither was right for me. Removing baffles and going to straight stock pipes will screw up torque, reduce mileage, lower important back pressure, and piss of your neighbors. Just saying.....

[smokier]

Originally Posted by Old Bear

With all three plugs cut out as well as the "packing", can you provide a comparison in sound volume? Louder or quieter than Cobra Tru-Flo, for instance? The mufflers are already off the bike, having been replaced with the rust-bucket Cobra Tru-Flo mufflers, so I have that going for me.

IMHO debaffled stock pipes are still quieter than the Cobra Tri-flows. The 'rumble' is starting to be noticable. Since a hole has been 'punched' through the 'packing' material, there is still packing material in there, which must still provide some 'muffling'. The sound of "debaffled" is not bad or 'tinny', just wish there was a bit more volume.

Hope that helped,
Smokier