I saw the post by Gperson advising of a black version going into production. I thought about going that route but with the season around the corner and no ETA, I simply couldn't wait. I can always have them coated later if desired.
I talk to bassani yesterday he told me you would have to have your heat shields
coated black yourself and he should have the black in two weeks, to call him
back March 12.
Definitely have changed my mind and adding these to my mods list. I have done some more research and these pipes look and sound great! With me cutting out the cats and adding the Torq Loopz I'm thinking the performance and the sound of my Bagger will be just right!
Thanks Jim - a.k.a. Bama Bagger
"Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny".
~ Thomas Jefferson
I received my mufflers this week and got them installed yesterday. The install was very straight forward taking about 30 minutes in all with me taking my time. I am extremely happy with the sound of this flat 6 with these pipes as I can actually hear it running (my personal preference). It is extremely mellow at idle but really growls when you twist the throttle hard. Everyone was asking about drone which I don't believe is an issue, depending on your definition of drone. You certainly hear the pipes tone while in operation and more so up to around 60mph. But at greater speed say around 70, it becomes more high pitched and begins to fade behind the wind noise. All things considered I ride with a skid lid, almost deaf in one ear, and suffer from tinnitus so I may not be the best reference on this subject.
Now, there is an issue I plan to contact Bassani about on Monday. The fit of the existing and retained front shields to these mufflers is at best atrocious. The tabs that hold the shields in place are welded to the outer edge of the muffler which is not tapered at the front like the factory muffler. This causes the shield to protrude and leave a gap of 1/4 to 1/2 inch between the shield and the muffler. They may have been better served to weld these tabs to the inside which would have closed these gaps better. There is at least a 1/4 inch difference between the left and right as well and I have confirmed that the tabs are completely in the factory slots on the shields.
Here is a side shot showing the complete muffler.
Attachment 4482
Here is the fit on the left side which has a little less than a 1/4 inch gap
Attachment 4483
Here is the right side with closer to a 1/2 inch gap
Attachment 4484
And this shows how far they protrude past the rear bags, in all about a couple of inches.
Attachment 4485
I love the endcaps and sound. Not crazy about the gap between the pipe and forward shield though. Let us know what they say.
The slip-ons themselves have no heat shields, correct? (What we see is the 'exterior' of the muffler body itself, not a separate 'shield' that covers over a separate muffler body like OEM)
I do like the tips!!!!
GONRDN, I will advise once I speak with someone at Bassani. I believe a simple redesign would resolve the issue with the gap, though that can become extremely costly in the manufacturing world.
Scotrod, there are no heat shields on the slip-ons themselves. What you see is the actual muffler cans which Bassani states is polished stainless, no chrome.
I like the sound and the look of these tips as well. They also offer slash cuts in black and polished.
I can see where a small gap may be required/desired, but of course, they should be equal on both sides. I wonder if a slight 'field adjustment' (bending) of the tabs might bring them closer to equal? Not sure what/if any adjustment in the remaining OEM shield may be available,,,
I had the same problem with my Torqmaster Daytona exhaust. I contacted them and it was found that the were made wrong. The tabs were welded too close together on the batch I got. Jimmy sent me a brand new set of pipes. I am installing them this week so hopefully all will be well. The gap drives me crazy....some people aren't that picky.