Almost ready to purchase a new 48 but am wondering on exhaust upgrades. First harley and heard the vance and hines short shots, and althought loud the tone was just way too raw. Can anyone recommend either a slip on or full exhaust that sounds deeper and not so loud? wanting a deep tone and unsure what to get on my delivery of the bike. Im confused at what to do. They were trying to tell me to purchase a stage 1 or something kit with the short shots. Can an upgrade be done say slip ons , air cleaner and tune? Cheers guys

Stage 1 is what you described.

Air cleaner, full system or slip on and tune.

The tune from the dealer will be a generic canned map that will most likely run like a dog.

For exhaust, the stock head pipe flows fantastic, with a slip on you get 90% the performance of a good full system and sound the goods. Plus easy to transform to stock should the EPA send you a love letter.

I'll go out on a limb and just say it, Short shots are just noise machines. Don't flow that fantastic and will bring undue attention from the boys in blue. Plus every man and his dog has them for some reason.

This is a great read about exhaust. - http://www.1250kits.com/ttxlexhaust.shtml

A good 2 into 1, a PROPER dyno tune and a good intake with external venting breather will net you a good gain without the dealership wallet spanking.

so should i hold off on the dealers options? any recomendations in where in sydney can help me out. thanks for the input as i said 48 is my dream bike but dont want to burn my wallet...just yet

Agree with brash, if you can afford it go a two-into-one, also agree worth his view on short shots, had them on mine when I bought her, sold and replaced with D&D bobcat two-into-one, not cheap but great sound and way, way better low and mid range, even without a tune. Keep your originals and save for two-into-ones. And you won't have a bike that looks like everyone else's as well, that's my opinion anyway. Good luck!

I don't think I've ever wanted the same things before buying a vehicle as I did after learning the vehicle. I'd recommend skipping dealership upgrades, riding the bike and researching a little, and then getting what you'll like for the long term.

I've got cycle shack slip ons, nice side cut, not too loud, pretty happy with them.

Also remember if you're buying a new sportster, you can only use MY13 or newer exhausts without modification.

What do you guys recommend for a good sounding slip on? Are there any decent sounding slip on available ? i appreciate the info you guys have gave and you have broadend my horizons so far

How do the cycle shack slip ons sound? Are they much louder than the stock exhaust?

Youtube how to....

Hi, I got Rush slip ons on my sporty.Pretty happy with them look and sound good only thing is  lots of popping on over run is that normal fairly new to Harley's myself.

wrong post

anything other than stock with harley exhausts is pretty much louder , I have seen slips ons that are quite loud.

I have the short shots , which came with my bike , got it dyno tuned by brian at eastern big twin with the quiet baffles and its pretty awesome , not that loud and runs great.

it would be nice to see someone in the exhaust game with innovation to make a nice looking full exhaust with performance that is a whisper over stock sound that would be awesome , but hey thats wishful thinking

If you like the look of stock pipes and want a quick cheap my exhaust mod. Cut the baffels out of your stock mufflers with a dremal you will be very suprised about the sound and performance. As I said quick, cheap and sound great.

I have a '16 48 with v/h straight shots slip ons. They sound unreal. Definitely louder than stock but not crazy loud. I haven't done the air cleaner and tune yet. Bike runs great

I agree the slip on is the best way to go, if you get poping  just runing on lean side.

A good place in Sydney to do a custom map & could tell you the best slip ons to get, is L . A Cycles at Hoxton Park rd Prestons.

Hi AlHD48,

What air cleaner are u running? and what HP did you get from the Dyno?

I have a 2014 Sportster with V&H Short Shots and SE Heavy Breather with a V&H tunner so wondering if the dyno is worth the spend.

74.1 hp and 79.9 ftlbs torque . The graph curve is a smooth upward trend . Brian at eastern big twin is awesome. I also have quiet bafflea in my exhaust

Worth the money

I have a se heavy breather too

Could have got more with s&s tapered slip ons with stock headders but i dont like the look. If i want more power o would have kept my super sports bike.

The 48 is not a smooth ride .

Also its much quiter than before .

Brian is very good at tuning

I had mine run on Harley Heavne Ringwoods Dyno night at got 70hp wiht 71 for Torque but I think I had an exhaust leak as my V&H short shots failed buit I didnt notice straight away.  Brian wont tune wiht my tuner so have to pay $900 all up so not worht it if all I am going to get is 2 or 3 hp.  Want to do cams soon so maybe after they have been installed lathough pretty happy wiht teh V&H tuner as my bike keeps up with most big twins.

thats not bad figures, but be careful on readouts, some people can but out a different reading /higher reading with different gears, but most importantly its about getting your air and fuel ratio right , the canned maps are set for American standards not australian.

but if I was you I would wait till I got my cams done and get it done , strange he wont tune it with the V&H tuner ,

just find a good tuner who can do it. and that the graph shows a strait air to fuel ratio line and also that the curve is smooth not all choppy like some people get when they go for horsepower and not a correct tune