Cobra muffler thoughts

[CocoTN]

On my wife's '16 HD Freewheeler I am putting Cobra head pipes, Cobra mufflers and a Dynojet Powervision tuner. I'm wondering how the 2 styles of the Cobra mufflers available for the Freewheeler compare. (RPT slip-ons and the 909-twins)

I've heard the RPT's, with the stock headpipe and cat still on, and they sound real good. Deep sound, noticeably louder but not annoying or ear splitting. I'm curious what changing the headpipe and removing the cat will do to the sound.

I've never heard what the the Cobra 909's sound like. We really like the look of the 909's and the cheaper price. They're listed on Cobras web site at $399 for the 909's and $724 for the RPT's. Quite a difference. She doesn't want an extremely loud, tinney, popping exhaust. She likes the deep exhaust notes.

I'm hoping someone here is using one or the other and can tell me how they like them, with or without the cat.

Thanks.

Tom

[Red59]

On my wife's '16 HD Freewheeler I am putting Cobra head pipes, Cobra mufflers and a Dynojet Powervision tuner. I'm wondering how the 2 styles of the Cobra mufflers available for the Freewheeler compare. (RPT slip-ons and the 909-twins)

I've heard the RPT's, with the stock headpipe and cat still on, and they sound real good. Deep sound, noticeably louder but not annoying or ear splitting. I'm curious what changing the headpipe and removing the cat will do to the sound.

I've never heard what the the Cobra 909's sound like. We really like the look of the 909's and the cheaper price. They're listed on Cobras web site at $399 for the 909's and $724 for the RPT's. Quite a difference. She doesn't want an extremely loud, tinney, popping exhaust. She likes the deep exhaust notes.

I'm hoping someone here is using one or the other and can tell me how they like them, with or without the cat.

Thanks.

Tom

I have the RPT's on my 2015 FW along with Fuel Moto's Jackpot head pipe and I really like the sound over stock setup. I installed the RPT's and head pipe at the same time so really can't compare the difference between the stock head pipe and RPT setup.

Red

[CocoTN]

I have the RPT's on my 2015 FW along with Fuel Moto's Jackpot head pipe and I really like the sound over stock setup. I installed the RPT's and head pipe at the same time so really can't compare the difference between the stock head pipe and RPT setup.

Red

Thanks Red!

So how did your performance change? How did it effect the fuel mileage?

She wants her bike noticeably louder, (deep) with a little better performance but she's afraid that putting on the new headpipe and removing the cat could be ear splitting loud. The only ones she's heard or seen are the Cobra slip-ons. Our dealership said they haven't installed an aftermarket headpipe on the Freewheeler yet. She likes the looks of the 909's a lot, and even though price isn't our main concern the significantly lower price is also a big plus!

She'd also like any mileage improvement or heat reduction if possible. (Doesn't everyone)

I'll look into the Fuel Moto pipe. We liked the Cobra slip-on's she heard and just figured we'd use the same brand all the way through.

Tom

[Trike4u]

On my wife's '16 HD Freewheeler I am putting Cobra head pipes, Cobra mufflers and a Dynojet Powervision tuner. I'm wondering how the 2 styles of the Cobra mufflers available for the Freewheeler compare. (RPT slip-ons and the 909-twins)

I've heard the RPT's, with the stock headpipe and cat still on, and they sound real good. Deep sound, noticeably louder but not annoying or ear splitting. I'm curious what changing the headpipe and removing the cat will do to the sound.

I've never heard what the the Cobra 909's sound like. We really like the look of the 909's and the cheaper price. They're listed on Cobras web site at $399 for the 909's and $724 for the RPT's. Quite a difference. She doesn't want an extremely loud, tinney, popping exhaust. She likes the deep exhaust notes.

I'm hoping someone here is using one or the other and can tell me how they like them, with or without the cat.

Thanks.

Tom

A 2016

Freewheel is still under warranty so if you remove the Kats from the exhaust

H-D may not fix a problem with the bike without a court fight because of EPA

regulations. As long as you keep the Kats on and only add exhaust slip-on’s only

without head pipes then you’re okay. Go with the 909’s or any other slip on

like Harley’s SE Cannons or VH slip-on’s and you will sound bad without being

bad.

I have the H-D Cannons and they are gooooooood sounding.

[Red59]

Thanks Red!

So how did your performance change? How did it effect the fuel mileage?

She wants her bike noticeably louder, (deep) with a little better performance but she's afraid that putting on the new headpipe and removing the cat could be ear splitting loud. The only ones she's heard or seen are the Cobra slip-ons. Our dealership said they haven't installed an aftermarket headpipe on the Freewheeler yet. She likes the looks of the 909's a lot, and even though price isn't our main concern the significantly lower price is also a big plus!

She'd also like any mileage improvement or heat reduction if possible. (Doesn't everyone)

I'll look into the Fuel Moto pipe. We liked the Cobra slip-on's she heard and just figured we'd use the same brand all the way through.

Tom

I don't have any verified numbers (dyno) on performance but just by seat of the pants it made a difference; I installed RPT's, Jackpot head pipes, Fuel Moto air cleaner and Power Vision tuner.

I'm a right above knee amputee so the heat that everybody talks about from the stock pipes with cat wasn't an issue for me, but by reaching down with my hand a few times it did seem cooler. Mileage? Still playing around with the tuner to find the right settings, I did notice a little improvement.

As far as sound it's definitely not ear splitting, a little louder and deeper rumble, it will bark if you get on it. I like it. Almost forgot to mention I have the ceramic coated head pipes that are also supposed to help with heat.

Definitely check out Fuel Moto.

Red

[CocoTN]

Thanks. All good info.

If anyone is running the Cobra 909 Twinns I'd like to hear your thoughts on them, but I kinda think we're going to go with the RPT's just because I already know she likes them. I won't save any money if I have to change them twice! Gotta keep the little woman happy after all!

I like the thought of the coated pipes and am purchasing the tunner through fuelmotousa.com so I'll check them out too.

I haven't been real happy with her mileage so far but the bike only has a little over a 1000 miles on it so that'll change some yet. Just curious, what kind of mpg is typical for the Freewheeler? She goes right along but is pretty light on the throttle over all.

Thanks!

Tom

[Jack Klarich]

Do not let HD fool ya, Check out ALL options on head pipes. Exhaust flow formulas are set in stone, in other words changes will affect all out put. Check out the Big Twin hand book for the formulas, JMO

[CocoTN]

Do not let HD fool ya, Check out ALL options on head pipes. Exhaust flow formulas are set in stone, in other words changes will affect all out put. Check out the Big Twin hand book for the formulas, JMO

I don't know much about the air flow figures, wish I did. I do know that if you change the mufflers it sounds better. If you also remove the stock head pipe and cat. more exaust gets out so more clean air and fuel can come in which results in a better sound you can hear and a power improvement you can feel in the seat of your pants. That's why I'm reading forums etc and listening to the advice of others who hopefully know or have figured it out somehow. Thanks!

[FuzzyWuzHe]

On my tri, doing a stage one air cleaner, catless head pipe, good slip-ons and LOTS of tuning with the power vision, I got the mpg's up to about 35 when running 70 mph. Keven of DK was using my map for at least awhile and was getting similar numbers. He's done a bunch of mods since then, so not sure what he's doing/getting for map/mpg's now. IMHO the $$$ was worth the performance and efficiency improvements. As a side note, the heat generated was noticeably less and worth the effort.