debaffle-stuck

[redtail]

Hello everyone! New here. Just joined. Have been reading all the info you guys have given on the debaffle thing. Trying to save a buck or two on getting a better sound out of my '03. I got the baffles sawed, tried to pull them out by twisting and pulling. Made the slide hammer and tried it.Nada. Added a 10 lb. weight to the hammer and was able to move it a 1/4" after I heated the pipes up. Yes, I have tapped them back in a little and back out.
Now Ive been a machinest and fabricator for 28 yrs. and consider myself fairly smart but humble enough to ask for HELP!!! Has anyone got any advice and compassion. Thank you for any help. My wife and I hope to meet some of you someday.

[Top Cat]

Welcome to the madness
When I did my baffelectomy they wouldn't come out very easy either. I had to twist them with a pair of vice grips and hit the vice grips with a hammer at the same time. Trust me they will come out after awhile. Just keep twisting and pulling ;)

[v0lusia]

I did my 03 last year and had a bitch of a time. I ended up spraying liquid wrench through the little straw that comes with it and letting them sit over night. I bet I had at least 1.5 hours into wiggle-tug-pull-wiggle ;)

[v0lusia]

Oh and welcome to the site....

[ringadingh]

And Ive heard that others have done the job in 20 minutes, go figure.

[dandolfn]

Video makes it look easy.

[madcow]

have you tried rheaming out the drilled area a little more, with either your hole saw or maybe a die grinder? they can get a little tight if you have drilled them out on a slight angle. it dosent take much to make them stick.

[redjay]

Hi. I debaffled the mufflers on my 05 last week. It took about 5 minutes a muffler to drill through with the 1 3/4 hole saw. When the saw broke through the weld the saw pushed the baffle about an inch into the muffler. The baffles were very loose inside the muffler and would move back and forth very easily. The first one came out of the muffler real easy with a pair of pliers. The second one needed a little persuading but only took a couple of minutes. Try and make sure the baffle is rotated (if you can rotate it) to the position where it was cut relative to the muffler. Look at whats left of the weld and try and orient the baffle to the muffler in its original position and then pull on it. If all else fails push the baffle into the muffler and buff the inside end of the muffler with a dremel or die grinder to make the hole bigger. I suspect that the hole that you cut and the hole for the front of the baffle are not inline thereby making the baffle harder to remove. I made a snug fitting arbor for the end of the muffler out of aluminum as a guide for the hole saw. I also gutted the goatbelly.

[redtail]

Thanks guys. I'll keep working on it. I don't give up that easy. I suffer from chronic lower back problems so I have to wait awhile before I can work on it again. It actually sounds better already with just the drilling. I'll let you know how it goes. Meanwhile keep the rubber side down and hairy side up.

[cactusjack]

The ease with which the baffles slide out is inversely proportionate to the age of the bike. I pulled mine out with about 10,000 miles on the bike and they slid out like "buttah".

The older the bike, the more carbon has built up in the exhaust system, which is what's making your life rough right now.

[radco]

Mine was super easy,, Bought a set already done :)_

[baddad]

I would try putting the wood guide block back in and ream the hole out with the hole saw. Maybe there is a burr in there causing the baffles to get stuck. I did my 2002 about 2 weeks ago and it went fine. good luck and welcome.

[jamiep24]

It's not as easy as the video and I bet he didn't do it with that cordless drill, either. He had to use that electric one. I just did mine and it was Hell. Two important things here, fellas, you must do or you will invent new profanity like I did today.. You have to use a bi-metal hole saw (I ruined 3 wood cutting blades on it, I had no idea it was that thick) and you better keep oiling the bit or it will get dull in no time. I made a 10 minute job take 2 hours, but I when I finally got it done the baffles came out easy and it sounds great. At the Bike Expo today a fellow Vulcan rider and I were talking about our bikes and when I cranked it up he said I might want to take a long rod and knock a hole in the baffle. I told him I had started taking the baffles out last night and when I got home today (with the appropriate bi-metal blade) I would finish the job. I'm glad with all the trouble I had that the baffles came out easy.

[schoeney]

I wedged + hammered a closed pair of pliers into the end of the baffle. This gave me alot more leverage to twist and turn back and forth.

Good luck + welcome to the board.

[mrfuni]

redtail

If you look back in this thread I had the same problem a few weeks ago. Tried everything mentioned here, but can't get those suckers out. So now I am semi-debaffled! They are in there but I've got the bafflectomy sound. I'm good with that.

After hours of frustration I decided to leave it alone. Maybe one day riding on the interstate they'll fly out like torpedos and my problem will be solved.