Exhaust systems

[Jamtndll]

i am thinking about putting either vance and hines or cobra pipes on my 98.  However, with all the talk about how loud they i am wondering if i should.  Any suggestion on how I can try this out and see how i like the noise without letting go of my money.  Anyone have an old set sitting around collecting dust i and put on and try. I will pay for shipping and handling.  
Thanks for any suggestions

[Chad in Michigan]

here's a sound clip/video of my bike last year with the vance and hines on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGkvcUTy2l0

[Charles S Otwell]

The Cobra Drag pipes, and the Vance and Hines I have are slip on's. You would have to have the whole set are you have to cut your stock. You are welcome to come up and ride ours and try out both if you want. It only takes a few minutes to change from the Cobra's to the Vance and Hines. Just let me know..

[Jamtndll]

Thanks guys.  Charles i sent you a PM, I was thinking of coming up this weekend to watch the painting session.  I had a clip of mine when i modified my stocks.  So i put them on seperate computers next to each other and listened to the difference.  The V&H were definitely deeper and louder.  How loud are they on a passenger, Chad?

[Chad in Michigan]

never carried one so I don't know They are loud. I wear a full faceand it is quieter and tolerable for me, but when i wore a 3/4 helmet it was loud. over long trips it can get a little annoying. I like them the best out of all the ones i've heard, but if i could get them quieter and still have that same rumble, i'd do it

[DavidJRoberts]

I had cobra slash cuts on mine. Much louder than stocks but not overpowering at all. I put stocks back on because I thought the pipes, combined with the jet kit, were reducing my mpgs a tonne. Well, now that I have stocks back on, smaller jets (and re-synced again) I only get a couple mpgs better, hehe. Oh dear. Must have been my riding after all... So, I'd like to put the cobras back on. I don't mind the quiet purr of the magnas v4 but it does feel a little weird being so quiet on what looks like a semi-mean looking bike hehe.

Being on the freeway between LA and Orange County and splitting lanes when 'safe', and when going to the front of lines at lights, louder pipes let people know I'm around, too. Although not a safety strategy and the direction of the sound waves isn't on the riders side so that argument isn't water tight but possibly a scoach safer, maybe.

Like I said, the cobras aren't overpowering like those really loud bikes but they do sound cool. If I didn't have my cobras I'd consider the baffle operation on the stocks for much less $, although irreversible I think, right?

Best, cheers, DR.

[lragan]

Jim, you may not remember exactly how they sound, but I have Cobras on my blue '96.  They are loud, but not as loud as the Jardines, at least to my worn out ears.

If you can wait until after MOOTMAG8, you can get a sampling of what is out there before you decide.

[Greg Cothern]

Vance & Hines have much better chrome, and a bit more refined sound. 

Cobra's are easier on the wallet.

[tmds3]

I actually swapped the Vance and Hines I had on mint to Charles for a set of stock pipes, they were LOUD and on long rides became unbearable to me and the wife.

[lragan]

I don't know if the Cobras are as loud as the V&H, but inasmuch as I am mostly deaf anyway, and wear earplugs or hearing aids under the helmet, I can tolerate the pipes, even on long rides.  Since my wife will not go near the bike, much less ride on it, I am the only one that has to be satisfied.  If the guys start asking me to ride drag, I'll know they are too loud.