Still have to say these pipes sound great. I don't know what "drone" so many say they hear. Yes, they are bad-ass loud but not the "blat-blat" sound of VTwins.
You can tone them down with the baffles in, but they still are aggressive sounding - which is the whole idea.
I can hear my radio fine wearing a half helmet.
Around town 30-50 mph the sound is especially cool with a lower tone.
Once you hit 70-100+ they are higher pitched. That's the nature of the beast, higher revving and power.
There is no compression or power loss because they are slip-ons and we still have the Cats providing back pressure.
BUT if you don't like loud, these pipes ain't for you. Good luck tweaking them but they are a bad looking, bad sounding pipe - period.
Mine are sold. I like the stealthiness of the stockers.
Sound is always subjective. If hearing the exhaust is a large portion of your riding experience, you'll want it dialed in to suit your taste.
I like the staccato sound of a V-twin. V-8's sound good. 4's & 6's,,,, eh, not so much. Just 'what I'm used to', I guess.
I may be delusional (again!) but the sound of OEM pipes on many of my bikes has gotten better w/age vs. brand new. Not sure if a little carbon builds up and 'cancels/absorbs' some of the higher tones,,, Not a night and day difference by any means, but seems to be noticeable.
The mod bug keeps biting me for some pipes, but I'm not sure I really would appreciate the increased sound level. Been spending my $ elsewhere.
For all intents and purposes, the F6B is a 6 into 2 system, regardless of slip on or even t-loops. The true 6 into 6 pipes on the old Valks had a 'character' of their own which did have an appeal. Not gonna happen on the F6B until a 6 into 6 system is created. (Don't hold your breath!)
Scotrod...Good write up on exhausts...At my age of 74 loud pipes mean nothing to me..Although being an old "car guy"( 5.0 liter Mustangs), I like the a little throaty noise once in while...I had Stage 1 pipes on my last two Victory's and they were fine for me...I always loved the sound of the old Valkyrie 6 into 6 pipes even though I never managed to put them on my 99 Tourer..Was kind of hoping the current Cobras would do the same, or similar, with my F6B and it ain't happening...I like the looks of the 6-2-6's and will probably keep them on for now, but the "drone" is still somewhat of problem for me....I had the dealer keep the stock pipes for me, just in case, and I will go back to them this year sometime if I cannot deal with the Cobras,,,although I like the sound so far but have only 650 miles on the bike due to this "lousy"winter....
Bill,
Thanks for giving your take on the six-2-six sound. We did everything we could to get rid of any "drone", which I personally think there is none with baffles in. But everyone's ears are different, some are more sensitive than others. I have done a lot of riding and been to a lot of concerts, so I'm sure my hearing is pretty bad to begin with! haha
For those of you who think the "drone" is too loud, many members here have mentioned to me that restricting the crossover makes it leaps and bounds better.
Thanks!
Dustin
www.cobrausa.com
Anything's Possible
After a few hundred miles I have been noticing some torque drop at slow speeds with all the baffles out.
I put them back (4) except the top 2.
My low speed torque (power) has improved considerably and cruising rumble is quieter.
Looks like there is a drop in back pressure, even with the Cats left in, if you take all the baffles out.
So, 4 baffles in and I like the sound and power.
Still getting allot of compliments on these pipes.
Bill
I was ready to take my new black Cobra 6's to the scrap yard as I wouldn't want to sell to another member knowing what a horrible drone sound they create….
BUT, I installed the Torq Loopz maybe a 2 hour job, and YAHATZEE awesome sounds 1,2,3,4,5,6 baffles in. The cats are the problem. I notice more power and torq
( hence the name Torq Loopz) I can tell you first hand that if you want good sounding pipes Loopz work!!
The less you bet, the more you lose when you win
So you're basically removing the Cats and replacing them with a piece of pipe with a circular loop in it which creates back pressure that you lost when you take the Cats off? Seems like the same thing with a different mechanism.
Maybe I'll try it when the Cats go bad.
As for now I like the sound and torque with the top 2 baffles out.