[64946]

I have heard that modifying the factory exhaust on an 07 V Star 1300 is pretty simple and basic. That is what i am trying to do is remove the baffles. I have looked and found several pages of people removing the baffles from the bike, yet there directions really sucked.......So my question is to you all has anyone here ever removed the baffles on a stock 1300? If so all the help is greatly appercatied. I have TWO sets of exhaust to try on but want to get it right. The reson is the dealership scratched my pipes really really bad, so i made them order me new pipes for my bike. I am going to practice on the old ones and make sure the sound is good and i dont damage the pipes. The dealer even said that removing the baffles will sound really good but they wont do it or tell me how. Thank you in advance and have a great day/night.

BigBram

 

[mscuddy]

The baffles are spot welded in, so get a drill and a 1/4 inch bit, drill a bunch of holes in the baffle-plate, get a sharp chisel and a big hammer and cut the plate between the holes with the chisel, grab the badly fornisqued plate with a BIG pair of vice grips and twist and yank on the baffle plate/baffle until it comes out. Baffling, eh wot?

 

[bbtowns]

Cuddy sounds like he has more expertise on this than I, but I wanted to suggest that listening to the exhaust with the holes drilled into in the baffle as an intermediate step might not be a bad idea. Your bike is going to be louder, so invest in some good earplugs.

 

[sarnali2]

You won't gain anything by doing this. Most likly your bike will run worse. Either do yourself and everyone else a favor and stick with the stock system or buy a performance exhaust made for the bike. Even then about the only thing you'll gain is noise at the expense of low end and mid range performance plus you'll most probably need your EFI recalibrated.

You're really better off not messing around.

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

Some of 'em you just run a chunk of pipe down in there and whang on it good with a hammer. They bust right out. Ya gotta do it from both ends though or you don't get the good sound.

 

[sarnali2]

Some of 'em you just run a chunk of pipe down in there and whang on it good with a hammer. They bust right out. Ya gotta do it from both ends though or you don't get the good sound.

A chunk of rebar works good too, I'd go from the inlet to the outlet so the mangled and curved over metal doesnt creat eddies in the exhaust flow that would hinder your nonexistant performance gains....

 

[seruzawa]

A chunk of rebar works good too, I'd go from the inlet to the outlet so the mangled and curved over metal doesnt creat eddies in the exhaust flow that would hinder your nonexistant performance gains....

I know you're all having a good time here, but some bikes do benefit from some exhaust mods. Some of the dirt bikes and cruisers have way too much restriction. Both often use small pipes..... cruisers for looks and dirt bikes for weight. The sportbikes are designed with large canisters, dual canisters, etc so they can meet noise standards and still flow well. Exhaust mods on sporbikes usually don't gain much. It's not uncommon to get a good bump on a dirt bike by changing the exhaust and the jetting is not too difficult.

Cruisers can benefit some too, but most owners opt for really loud pipes... a big mistake. The warrior is an example of a cruiser with a huge muffler so changing to a loud pipe won't help much if at all. Some of the Shadows on the other hand have such restrictive small mufflers that the engine is being strangled. Problem with a cruiser is that the tune is so mild that not much gain is there to be had, but a freer exhaust that's not too loud might give a noticeable improvement. On recent 4stroke dirtbikes the difference can be striking like my buddy's XR250.

All that being said I think that knocking baffles out is pretty mickey mouse. You're still going to get a lot of distortion of the air flow and who knows what harmonics reflecting back up the exhaust ports.

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

All that being said I think that knocking baffles out is pretty mickey mouse. You're still going to get a lot of distortion of the air flow and who knows what harmonics reflecting back up the exhaust ports.

Well if you're gonna be all technical on us then I guess we're just gonna have to leave the pipe up in there!

 

[64946]

mscuddy did you happen to have any of the pics that you took of the project? If so would you be willing to share them with me? I am going to try and get started asap on this. If none has any pics i will try and take some as i go along. I haave not really looked at the pipes in depth, can you see the spot welds and where they are? Also when you removed the baffle did it open the whole pipe or is there that tiny opening as well? Thanks again.
BigBram

 

[mscuddy]

What project? That's the way people have been fixing clogged up stock exhaust systems since the Model T.

Depending on what the muffler looks like yes and no.

Sorry, I'm kind of cranky right now as it feels like someone has replaced my spinal column with an electric eel. All the friggin morphine in the world can't touch this....

 

[sachiwilson]

Da*n, man. Sorry to hear it.

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

Ok, ok, if you must:

Also when you removed the baffle did it open the whole pipe or is there that tiny opening as well? Thanks again.
BigBram

Ok BigBram, here's the secret exhaust opening technique that has been handed down from father to son for many generations:

Get a tape measure and get a rough idea of the inside diameter of the exhaust pipe. It's probably in the 3/4" range, but they vary.

Go to Home Despot and buy:

1 4' length of allthread rod, 3/8" in diameter.
2 plain steel nuts that fit the allthread and matching flat washers.
1 nylock nut that fit the allthread.
1 hole saw bit just slightly smaller than the inside diameter of your exhaust pipe. You may want to get a set of 4 holesaws so you can work on domestic bikes too.

Thread the two plain nuts about 1.5" to 2" down the allthread. Drop a flat washer over them. Tighten the nuts against each other so they're locked.

Slide or thread the hole saw bit down the allthread till it hits the two nuts. Drop the other flat washer down the allthread and thread the nylock nut down till it tightens against the two locked nuts. A deep socket is needed for this. Adjust the three nuts so that you have a clear opening down the holesaw bit for the exhaust baffle cutouts to fit into.

Take the exhaust pipe off the bike and put it in the vise or have your pal hold it. Put the allthread and bit in a drill, run it down the pipe till you hit the baffle, and let'er rip. Usually the baffle is just a little plate of thin metal and cuts right out.

When the first baffle cuts out, pull out the allthread and dig out the metal with a screwdriver. Turn the pipe around and have at it from the other direction. You should be able to see right through the pipe when you're done.

Now you're all set to spend endless hours readjusting your fuel and ignition systems to try to compensate for the total loss of backpressure in the exhaust. But, the authoritative bark of your pipes will more than compensate for that.

 

[sarnali2]

What project?

Sorry, I'm kind of cranky right now as it feels like someone has replaced my spinal column with an electric eel. All the friggin morphine in the world can't touch this....

As Chief Dan George said in The Outlaw Josey Wales..."You must endeavour to percivier"