Messin' with baffles

[Pretzel]

So... after spending an hour removing the 1 (ONE, solitary, only... UGH) bolt that wouldn't come out of the baffles, I tried to slide one of the baffles out of my V&H baggers for a little modification/experimentation, and it will only slide back about an inch. Any hints or tips for a rookie?

edit: Primarily, the left (or rear jug) pipe. Worked the right side back and forth until it came out. The left won't budge.

[Pretzel]

And... in my impatience, I did the unthinkable (sure it coulda made things worse, but life without risk is... ?) and pushed it IN as I could get more leverage that way. About 2 inches, then back, then worked it back and forth until I got it out. Now the baggers are running straight baffles, no fiberglass! The fiberglass wrap was odd anyway. On the right side, it was all squished up to the front of the baffle, only covering about half. On the left side, it was all squished down to the rear of the baffle, covering about 2/3. Put 'em back in and set one bolt in each, and it sounds a bit deeper, a little cleaner, but not all that much louder. Will have to ride it for a week and see how I like it before I consider a rope wrap or potentially Chuckster's ultimate baffles instead.

[macmac]

Give the baffels a good wire brushing where they make contact with the tin cans.. Then goop on a pretty thickish layer of antiseize, in the attempt to get some where the front baffle flange rests on the cans....

Spin the baffels as best you can to distribute the anti seize.

'IF' you want to go hogwild anyway you can attach course steel wool to a broom stick and scuff the rust out as best you can on both places per tin can too.

This is all about rust and crudlings.....

Then you can play with wood stove rope, different glass sheets, cloth roving, mat, and or steel skeeter screen and roofing flashings, and anything else you can stuff in a pipe .

[Pretzel]

Originally Posted by macmac

Give the baffels a good wire brushing where they make contact with the tin cans.. Then goop on a pretty thickish layer of antiseize, in the attempt to get some where the front baffle flange rests on the cans....

Spin the baffels as best you can to distribute the anti seize.

LOL, I remembered you and your love for anti-seize, so while the baffles were out, I bought 4 new stainless bolts at the local Ace, and anti-seized 'em before reinstalling. I didn't even think about putting anti-seize on the baffles themselves. May have to get 'em back out some time this week and do just that!

Anyone messed with the baffles before? Anything, other than ultimates, that's going to get me a bit deeper sound without cutting the volume? Without any insulation, they sound ok, just not quite the depth I was craving yet.

[macmac]

The me and anti seize is all about living in the rust belt. You can goober and slather that stuff on, and or do what other people do, and take the rusted on busted off fasteners to a guy like me who eventually will get the broken stuff out and new stuff in but it does cost hard.

Usually by the time I get things like this, it is a broken off exhaust stud(s) with the flange still on, and holding a set of twin tapers, and there is broken high speed drill(s) and ez out(s) both broken off in a moon crater.

It takes me a while, but i can usually fix this BS, but wish I didn't have too. At this point I wish I saved ever busted off bolt and stud I ever took out from any engines, and made a necklace of them all.

[spoon059]

I cut one of the ends off my baffles and put just the end in. Its still louder than with baffles in, but toned down and with less droning at speed.

[ringadingh]

I have cut down baffles in mine now, they are about 4-5 inches long and sound pretty good. Before that I wrapped the baffles with sheet metal, it sounded pretty good as well.

[DR1600]

I was unable to get my righ baffle out. I noticed it would only slide out a couple of inches and put the one I was able to remove next to the pipe so I could look around the pipe to look for dents and found that the bolts that hold it to the hanging bracket must have been too long for the previous owner and now there are a couple of dimples in the top of the can. Has anybody run in to this before and come up with a solution to remove the baffle or do I just need to live with what I have?

[MAS Tequila]

Slidehammer

MT

[DR1600]

I thought of that, but I did not want to destroy the baffle.

[oldbikers]

Pretzel just remove baffle and cut the big end off where it tapers down and then bolt that piece back in and put the rest away for safe keeping. I have run mine this way for the past 4 years and I am told all the time by Harley riders how good it sounds.

[lonewolf]

I did like ring did , cut mine down to about 5 inches, very happy with that except.... When i hooked my trailer on behind my bike, the sound reverberating back at me was unbearable. My solution was i bought another pair of baffles that i switch out to on long trips, pulling my trailer.

[MAS Tequila]

Or take the muffler off and use part of a broom handle to drive the baffle out.

Like Ring, I cut the entire perforated section out and welded the two ends together.

You really need front and back support. I had one I did like oldbiker and it evetually broke where the nuts are welded.

MT