Drilling stock mufflers

slaw32 · Aug 11, 2016

My brother in law just bought a new freewheeler . He has stock mufflers on a stage 1 setup , head pipe , intake , and tuner . Before buying a new set of mufflers he wants to try to drill stock mufflers for more flow . 64 dollar question , how does he go about it ??

rhino 2 · Aug 11, 2016

slaw32 said:
My brother in law just bought a new freewheeler . He has stock mufflers on a stage 1 setup , head pipe , intake , and tuner . Before buying a new set of mufflers he wants to try to drill stock pipes for more flow . 64 dollar question , how does he go about it ??

Maybe Apples to Oranges here...:Shrug:
I drilled out my 2011 Tri-Glide's stock mufflers with a drill bit' on a drill bit extender. And drilled straight in with a small bit 'then working the way up one size larger at a time...Don't know if the Freewheelers are the same but with my stock Tri-Glide the left muffler has a more restricted baffle to keep the back pressure /Pulses even on both cylinders ...Any way' Doing that only gave me a tinny sound :gah:... So i ended up putting on Slip-ons...
...

HDB0B · Aug 12, 2016

Your stock mufflers can be re-cored to the baffle size you like. Fullsac Performance sells kits to change baffle size. These instructions might help you see what is exactly inside your mufflers. http://fullsac.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Recore-Installation-Intructions.pdf

Bob

Trike4u · Aug 13, 2016

slaw32 said:
My brother in law just bought a new freewheeler . He has stock mufflers on a stage 1 setup , head pipe , intake , and tuner . Before buying a new set of mufflers he wants to try to drill stock mufflers for more flow . 64 dollar question , how does he go about it ??

If you drill out your original equipment baffles you will detune your bike and a deceleration popping will be the outcome. Then if you don’t like that popping you will have to buy a $400 fuel pack-3 from V&H to retune (fuel map) the bike once again. Is it worth it? I have drilled out my baffles to Harley’s only to regret that I did it because of the popping.

You may think you’re saving money in the long by not buying slip-ons, but you just may spend more money if things go south on you.

1dn5up · Aug 13, 2016

Trike4u said:
If you drill out your original equipment baffles you will detune your bike and a deceleration popping will be the outcome. Then if you don’t like that popping you will have to buy a $400 fuel pack-3 from V&H to retune (fuel map) the bike once again. Is it worth it? I have drilled out my baffles to Harley’s only to regret that I did it because of the popping.

You may think you’re saving money in the long by not buying slip-ons, but you just may spend more money if things go south on you.

By instaling DK lollypop bafels, should bring the oem muflers back to original . A little lowder with out the pop. Give kevin a call to be sure. JMO

Jack Klarich · Oct 25, 2016

The M8 does not pop at all with the centers of the baffles opened up, I bet because each cylinder has its own knock sensor

rhino 2 · Oct 25, 2016

1dn5up said:
By instaling DK lollypop bafels, should bring the oem muflers back to original . A little lowder with out the pop. Give kevin a call to be sure. JMO

Yep... Thunder Torques AKA Lollypops....They will add back-pressure that you lose buy opening up the mufflers too much and stop the popping..... I have them on my Tri for a few years now...ThumbUp

Bill G · Oct 25, 2016

With the laws getting the way they are concerning bikes. There is no telling when they will check your bike or even start smogging them. Just buy proper slip on mufflers. (That way you will have the stock mufflers if you need them). Also having the stock mufflers available is better for resale on your trike.

Also if you modify the stock mufflers your bikes performance may suffer. Also there is no guarantee the mod will sound good and now you have wrecked your stock mufflers.

To be honest my stock Freewheeler mufflers have performed better than the aftermarket ones I have tried so far. Back to stock happy with the sound and performance.

Ride Safe,

epper:
Bill G

Springman2007 · Oct 26, 2016

I have stock, modified Freewheeler muffles with removeable V&H cores and I LOVE them! I made them myself and have NO issue with them...... All for less that $100.00.....

Springman

Jack Klarich · Oct 26, 2016

I have 1 pair of stock Freewheeler mufflers if any one wants to experiment with them

Bill G · Oct 26, 2016

Springman2007 said:
I have stock, modified Freewheeler muffles with removeable V&H cores and I LOVE them! I made them myself and have NO issue with them...... All for less that $100.00.....

Springman

Springman that dose not surprise me at all.

Replacing the baffles is one thing and will give good results. Because the hole baffle was replaced with a designed performance baffle. Drilling holes in stock baffles or punching them out like some guys do with a rod is another thing. This normally dose not give a good result and destroys a perfect set of stock mufflers.

I would suggest a baffle replacement like you did or just buy a set of aftermarket mufflers. I would not butcher the stock mufflers by just drilling holes in them.

Just my 2 cents from many years of experience working on Harley's.

Ride Safe,
Bill G

Taylor · Nov 12, 2016

Jack Klarich said:
I have 1 pair of stock Freewheeler mufflers if any one wants to experiment with them

I just might be interested in that idea.

hogcowboy · Nov 12, 2016

Bill G said:
Springman that dose not surprise me at all.

Replacing the baffles is one thing and will give good results. Because the hole baffle was replaced with a designed performance baffle. Drilling holes in stock baffles or punching them out like some guys do with a rod is another thing. This normally dose not give a good result and destroys a perfect set of stock mufflers.

I would suggest a baffle replacement like you did or just buy a set of aftermarket mufflers. I would not butcher the stock mufflers by just drilling holes in them.

Just my 2 cents from many years of experience working on Harley's.

Ride Safe,
Bill G

.
I've never been successful doing the drill way. Yes it may make it louder but every single time I've done it, what I ended up with sounded tinny. Hollow tinny but louder. But that tinny sound is awful.

Drilling stock mufflers

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