putting baffles back in?

[blackdogbrian]

Hi Folks,

Toying with the idea of taking the baffles out of the nomad. Hesitant because I had some cobra's on my shadow and they were really loud - but I do want a bit of a deeper tone to the bike.

If someone takes the baffles out, how tough is it to put em back in, using JB weld or similar?

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by blackdogbrian

Hi Folks,

Toying with the idea of taking the baffles out of the nomad. Hesitant because I had some cobra's on my shadow and they were really loud - but I do want a bit of a deeper tone to the bike.

If someone takes the baffles out, how tough is it to put em back in, using JB weld or similar?

You need to weld them back in. I don't think JB Weld is gonna cut it. The debaffled cans will be nowhere near as loud as the Cobras you had. I went from debaffled to a set of Cobras because it wasn't loud enough.

[ringadingh]

Youll lose some low end torque as well if you run with no baffles.
And JB Weld won't work in this case.

[recumbentbob]

earlier this year I de baffled my stock mufflers and took it to work the next day and our welder used a wire gun and welded them back in for me. I like quiet.

We soaked a rag in some icewater and wrapped it around the mufflers so the heat from welding would not discolor the chrome, it worked.

I have since put valkyrie exhaust tips on the mufflers and they changed the tone and gave it a deeper sound.

I really like the sound of it now.

[macmac]

No J B Weld! The best way to get J B Weld off is to heat it up.

[mobandy78]

I think you will like the debaffle on the Nomad. It gives it a really nice sound, not loud at all.

But, you could try the Valkyrie exhaust tips first. I went that route and it does deepen the sound somewhat. I eventually went ahead and debaffled mine after a couple of months. I put the tips back on after the debaffle and I love the way it sounds now. I don't think I will ever put aftermarket pipes on it now. You will be surprised at how well it sounds.

Go check out Ebay for some Valkyrie exhaust tips, got mine for $30.

[blackdogbrian]

Thanks for the input folks,
I actually already acquired a set of Valk tips, just haven't gotten around to putting them on yet. I wasn't sure how much of a difference in sound they would make if I was still running baffles.
From what you're suggesting it's worth the effort to put em on, and if I want I can try to de-baffle later.

Thanks
B.

[roox]

Originally Posted by Ringadingh

Youll lose some low end torque as well if you run with no baffles.
And JB Weld won't work in this case.

If you use a cobra FI200r will that rectify the lost low end torque?

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Don't think any fuel processor will help with the loss of low end torque. I may be wrong but that is the way I see it. The fuel processor will help with a lot of issues such as your bike running cooler and smoother but it isn't going to increase the torque issue. I live in north Alabama and it gets hot here and I don't think my fans even come on any longer. Before I installed the Cobra FI2000R they would come on every time I stopped and sat for a couple of minutes.

[trosco]

Blackdog, ring and mac are right about several things in their posts, but ...... they might be misleading you a bit.
First, I love JB weld but don't repair an exhaust system with JB Weld. I think they make a high temp version of it and that might stand up better but, a weld would be a better choice on the exhaust.
Second, removing the baffles from any muffler decreases back pressure. Lowering back pressure can be good if the motor is choked by the exhaust. Or it can be bad if you lower it too much.
In the extreme lowering back pressure will decrease engine efficiency especially at lower rpm.
Our Nomad's are restricted by the intake system more so than their exhaust so they see no real benefit lowering exhaust restriction. Cautioning you about lost torque would be valuable advice IF you were already running a low restriction aftermarket exhaust system (ex. V&H duals). If you removed those baffles you would suffer loss of low end torque and the loss might be significant enough that you could actually feel the difference. If I remember right it was about -2 ft lbs at 2000 RPM. And that was after the pipes themselves had cost a couple ft lbs on the low end.

BUT, you were talking about removing the rear baffles from a stock exhaust system. That changes effect on back pressure in that system is negligible. Other than a very slight increase in sound you will notice no change. The bulk of that system's back pressure is created in the reductions in the exhaust header pipe diameters up stream of the Goat Bladder and in the Bladder itself. The chrome "mufflers" are really functioning as resonators and decorative tail pipes.

I know people that don't debaffle because they like their bikes quiet. And I know people (like me) who take after market systems off because they are too loud and go back to the stock system but recumbentbob is the first person I have ever heard of that actually thought the debaffled stock system was so loud that putting the baffles back in was necessary.

If done correctly, debaffling will have little effect other than a small increase in volume of the exhaust note.

[tomm]

Hi Blackdog - I went back and forth for quite a while deciding whether to de-baffle or not. I like quiet, but I often ride with a Harley and got tired of not being able to hear my own bike running. So I pulled the baffles earlier this summer.
Definitely adds a nice low rumble and is a little louder, but not obnoxious. Was about the third time out before my wife commented that the bike sounded a little louder. I didn't notice any loss of low end torque. Stock air on the the left side and a K&N filter on the right. Seemed to run a little better actually, and seemed to get a little better gas mileage. I do have a Cobra fuel processor.
However, there are times when I thought it might be good to be able to put the baffles back in. So I experimented over the last few weeks with being able to add and remove them as desired.
What I did was get a metal cover plate for a square electrical box, a couple of 1-1/4" fender washers, and a 1-1/4" outer circlip, all available at my local Aubuchon Hardware. Oh, also a 1-1/4" and a 2-3/4" hole saw. Screwed the metal cover plate to a block of wood and drilled a 1-1/4" hole in the middle of it. Then using the center hole, I drilled a 2-3/4" hole. The result was a 2-3/4" inch ring with a 1-1/4" hole in the middle of it. Then with a metal file, cleaned up the cut on the baffle so that it was even all around. Next was to push the two fender washers over the end of the baffle followed by the 2-3/4" ring. Lastly, I put the circlip on and flared the end of the pipe with a socket. A couple coats of high temperature black enamel and a couple of screw holes on either side, and I have baffles that I can insert or remove in about a minute with two screws.
Not sure if there is any reason that this shouldn't be done, but it seems to work well and doesn't look bad either. Just figure it gives me an option with all these new laws being proposed about EPA certified exhausts.

[dandantmm]

any pics of the stock pipe with valkarie tips on them?

[recumbentbob]

Originally Posted by Dan Dan The Motorcycle Man

any pics of the stock pipe with valkarie tips on them?

Here you go: My 08 nomad