I know pipes are ungodly expensive here in Canada so I understand your hesitance to spend that kind of money. I priced the ones that are on my Nomad and it would be over $1000, plus tax. If it hadn't come with them I would never have spent that kind of money on them.

I'm not familiar with a mod where you drill holes in the pipes, and personally I would be very reluctant to do it. I've seen a few where you drill holes in the baffles, which are inside the pipes and shouldn't create any issues with water getting in. I've never done any exhaust mods as mine came with V&H pipes but I was considering doing it on my last bike and found several YouTube videos on it, most with before and after sounds. If you do end up doing it, go a little at a time. It's easy to drill more holes if it's not loud enough but much harder to refill them if it's too loud.

 

I know pipes are ungodly expensive here in Canada so I understand your hesitance to spend that kind of money. I priced the ones that are on my Nomad and it would be over $1000, plus tax. If it hadn't come with them I would never have spent that kind of money on them.

I'm not familiar with a mod where you drill holes in the pipes, and personally I would be very reluctant to do it. I've seen a few where you drill holes in the baffles, which are inside the pipes and shouldn't create any issues with water getting in. I've never done any exhaust mods as mine came with V&H pipes but I was considering doing it on my last bike and found several YouTube videos on it, most with before and after sounds. If you do end up doing it, go a little at a time. It's easy to drill more holes if it's not loud enough but much harder to refill them if it's too loud.

Yes, the few videos I have seen online were of people drilling the baffles.
My only concern is what could go wrong by introducing these holes; could I drill too deep and damage something?
And you are right. TBR and Arrow are close to a 1000, plus extra for the shipping...

 

I don't think you can do any damage internally, but remember you're only drilling through the end of the baffle and the metal isn't very thick - maybe 3/16 or 1/8 inch. Maybe someone who's done it will chime in, or see if you can find a good video or tutorial online that gives you some good details on how to do it. I know there was a proven method for my Yamaha that showed where to drill, how many holes, what size holes, etc for the sound you wanted. I was very tempted to try it but I never did.

 

Check this one out

 

My Yamaha 950 had the baffles in it drilled out when I got it.
It does sound a bit better than stock but I doubt its going to get you what you want.
It isn't going to do any harm but can cause popping on deceleration. Depending on how much you drill out you might need a fuel tuner.

 

Many people on this forum has done this mod including myself. There isn't really anything to damage by drilling into the exhaust. It seems like a scary thing to do but honestly it takes like 10 minutes if you have the right drill / drill bit and I personally think it sounds a lot better. Not as loud as i'd like it but I am happy with spending $5 on a drill bit vs. 600 for an exhaust. Any questions let me know

 

How much is the increase in the sound? Should I drill the holes where the guy in the green kawasaki video has drilled them? or can i drill them on the lower side of the exhaust to avoid water getting in?
Have you had any problem getting water into the exhaust?
My biggest fear is not being able to ride for the short little summer we have because I screwed up my exhaust pipes haha.

 

I’ve had no issues with water gettin in. I would recommend drilling the holes on the bottom edge of the muffler as opposed to the side only because the exhaust will bleach the flat black paint on the muffler cover. I’ve also seen where people have tapped threads into the holes they drill, so they can close them back up if they want to go back to the original sound or somewhere in between.

 

There is a Youtube video of a guy drilling and tapping six holes in his pipe at the end. He can screw bolts into the holes to modify the sound if it's too loud. Pretty simple fix. He drilled the holes into the side of the exhaust pipe and after tapping the holes painted them with high heat black paint.

 

I did 3 holes on mine based off of this video and im really happy with the sound. Also great idea to tap the holes in case you dont like it and you can plug them up. I would say try to stay on the left side of the muffler like he does in the video... The more you go toward the right you could hit the catalytic converter, but you would really have to try to do any real damage to it

 

How is the sound with 3 holes? Is it significantly louder? or am I better off just waiting for an exhaust?

 

I did 5 holes on mine two years ago because I wanted it a bit louder but didn't want to spend the money on an aftermarket exhaust. I arranged them in a three above two staggered pattern similar to what is in the above video, closer to the end of the exhaust to avoid problems with the sensor but hidden under the exhaust cover. I did not tap them so they can't be plugged but I did mask the area and painted over them with a flat black heatproof paint.

I have been quite happy with the result. The bike sounds much better but is not so loud that I wake the neighbours when I leave for work in the mornings. It's still not as loud as any of the cruisers my friends ride which is ok. It just sounds way better than it did before and the mod only cost me about $20 and a half hour of time.

 

so it's more sound you want? that why you drilling holes in the baffles? I used to mess with pipes and baffles before, but no more, because it's a never ending effort to achieve the sound you like and it will never happen, never by drilling holes in baffles, if you want loud pipes, buy Cobra or Vance & Hines pipes

 

I drilled my muffler. Bike is fixed. Sounds good at idle and low rpms. Not much louder under load.

Loud but not car alarm set off loud. Can still be 'talked' over.

I drilled three 1/2' holes. First on the left of the muffler, then right then center.

I ran the bike and listened between holes.

I have listened two 3 other videos of similar experiments.

The 5 hole sounds good....But the 3 hole seems to be deeper and less 'tin-y' less noisy but just as loud.
1/2 holes are the largest I've seen. They sound best... based on what I've heard.

Also the change in tone and sound of each hole also seemed to vary on where the hole is
(relative front, rear, or middle) of muffler

I theorize that the bigger the hole (to a degree) the lower the tone or 'exhaust note'

I am considering making my center hole bigger...comments?


2015 white S abs 2-12-20 600mi
Las Collinas (Irving DFW)

 

I drilled my muffler. Bike is fixed. Sounds good at idle and low rpms. Not much louder under load.

Loud but not car alarm set off loud. Can still be 'talked' over.

I drilled three 1/2' holes. First on the left of the muffler, then right then center.

I ran the bike and listened between holes.

I have listened two 3 other videos of similar experiments.

The 5 hole sounds good....But the 3 hole seems to be deeper and less 'tin-y' less noisy but just as loud.
1/2 holes are the largest I've seen. They sound best... based on what I've heard.

Also the change in tone and sound of each hole also seemed to vary on where the hole is
(relative front, rear, or middle) of muffler

I theorize that the bigger the hole (to a degree) the lower the tone or 'exhaust note'

I am considering making my center hole bigger...comments?


2015 white S abs 2-12-20 600mi
Las Collinas (Irving DFW)

I'm getting ready to poke two or 3 3/4" inchers in mine. Think i might do it closer to the bottom however.

 

I had Harley CVO mufflers I bought new take offs for $60 at a swap meet. I Loved these, not obnoxiously loud but a nice deep tone. I had V&H head pipes so I don’t know if the Harley mufflers will bolt on the stock stuff.

 

Harley mufflers are the way to go....you can get them with or without removable baffles, with steel/ asbestos/fiberglass packing or without....plus you can pick them up cheaply at custom bike/chopper shops/craigslist dirt cheap.....
The holes are fine for small differences....cutting the baffle is is definitely louder, but not throatier or deeper as most folks want.
$25-$30 + about a hour is all it takes to change the mufflers....

 

What Harley muffler do you buy?

 

Try the Sportster mufflers, they usually sound deeper/mellower....or any o the harley performance model big twin mufflers, people usually put new systems on those bikes after the warranty is over and they want to make them their own. Alot of times, the dealers or shops get stuck with them, they usually just ask a few dollars for them.....some folks just give them away to get em outta their shops....
Just pick a style you like or looks good on your bike.....

 

Hi DragonLady - I thought the exhaust system was all one piece for the Vulcan S. How do you replace the muffler without cutting & welding?

 

Thanks very much!

 

So I experimented on my bike drilling different size holes. I started 5cm from the rear in a straight line above where the vents in the guard were. I went thru the first 2mm of metal, then thru the 2mm fibreglass and then thru the next 2mm of metal. I started with smaller holes of 5mm each and eventually drilled 4 holes in a row approx 6cm apart. What I found was each hole made it louder but I didn’t get that deep end note. So I enlarged each hole until I got the note I wanted. It wasn’t more holes I needed but larger holes. I ended up with the first 2 holes closer to the rear at 14mm and the last 2 holes at 20mm that were towards the front. I sounds really nice. I was worried that the exhaust heating would protrude to much from the side. But once I put the shield guard back on as the holes were above the shield guards large vents there was little heat and air escaping the side of the muffler. There is a bit but not as much as I expected. I used a Decibel meter on my phone and place it on my bike seat with the mic facing toward the right hand side where the exhaust is. Attached are the pic of the dB before and after in idle. 78bB stock standard and 90dB after the modification. I like the sound and for context I personally am not a fan of the two bros exhaust as they are too loud and like the bike to be heard so safe but not wanky so the hole street hears you leave in the morning. An hour and 20min latter I had the sound I wanted without the $$$