Sportster pic straight from the Harley factory manual showing the 2 into 1 exhaust like one of the ones Surly brought down for me. If it hadn't have been hacked off and was still chrome, I'd have been all set. If whoever just wanted to make the bike louder would have taken the end cap out of it, there'd have been plenty of noise without destroying the looks of the pipe. Or better still, just open up the hole in the center of it.
I'm finding this whole episode of dealing with pipes exhausting, pun intended. The drag pipes look cool, but they cause a loss of torque and in my book, they're just too loud. I've suffered enough hearing loss, primarily from the workplace, but also from firearms, cars, motorcycles, and rock and roll music. I also don't see any reason to irritate the neighbors.
And one more thing, years ago in the town I was living in, the police were on a crusade against motorcycles. The cops would stop a loud bike and stick their nightstick up the pipe and it better hit something like a baffle or they'd write you a ticket. And while they had you pulled over, they'd measure your handlebars to make sure they weren't too tall. They'd also measure car bumpers if you had the rear end jacked up. Loud pipes don't seem to draw much police attention anymore, at least around here, and of course, with all the front wheel drive cars, no point in installing long shackles or air shocks like they used to do.
These are what big twin mufflers should be. Straight through, no loss of horsepower, and make beautiful music. These are Conti pipes as found on bevel drive Ducati motorcycles like my '73 750 Sport. Them Eye-Ties had it going on when it came to designing things of beauty and function.
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