Possible to make my exhuast sound meaner?

[Mrtinajero]

Hello Forum.
I was wondering if I could get some insight from the bright people here on the site to see if it is possible to do what the subject says. Can I make my exhaust sound meaner. Here are some pics to show what my exhaust looks like, I don't know what kind they are. Thanks ahead of time for the help. They are 4 into 2 by the way

[WMarshy]

You have stock pipes... to be blunt about it, an modifications you do to them will ultimately become a trade off between cool factor (sounding louder) and performance loss. Most everyone will agree that they offer the best driveability and performance. Some people have drilled a few small holes on the end to get more sound but retain the back pressure... looks like someone already added 4 holes, could make them bigger...

[lee_dutcher]

i got a 4-1 does not look good but wrap it in exaust tape and u got a mean sounding exahust. please dont hack up a stock exhaust. there so hard to come by now a days. but if u do then so be it.

[natemoen]

Agreed, don't trash the stock exhaust, if you want a different sound I will trade you my stock headpipes and collectors (non stock muffs too but I didn't like them but they work and are louder) for your exhaust and then you can do whatever you want with them.

[DGXSER]

Those are special exhaust pipes I believe so they woudl not fit well on your E Nate.

My first XS11 had about 6 holes 1/4" in diameter drilled in the end plates, similar to those four holes in yours. Definitely gave it a deeper sound. Mostly only louder when in enclosed areas. But a fellow local XSsive with a stock bike and stock exhaust did note that mine sounder louder and deeper than his.

[Mrtinajero]

Alright. Well for now I'll just drill bigger holes to see what that sounds like. I'll update you guys when I'm finished. Keep filling me with ideas though

[natemoen]

I would make it fit! Just takes a little creative bracketry!

[James England]

What actually is the definition of "meaner"? If you mean make it louder, by drilling holes in the stock system, I really don't think an update will be necessary since I suspect many people on the forum know what will happen. The exhaust will sound louder and adversely affect performance. On the last system I had, where someone had done that (a Marshall Deeptone), I was able to put plates back over the holes and improve the performance, as well as allowing me to ride home at, say 2am. without falling out with all my neighbours....

[fredintoon]

Hi Mike,
my best guess from the photos is that your Standard has a Special's stock system on it.
Thing is, that's a fully welded system so it'll take a hacksaw to remove the mufflers and a welding job to attach stub pipes to the headers to fit slip-ons.
My advice, wait until the stock mufflers rust out so you hafta do something.
Gotta say that my swapmeet $30 the pair ex-Triumph cans sound really mellow.

[tom clisham]

muffler adapters

You can buy pipe adapters @ autozone,o'reillys,advance, etc to fit aftermarket mufflers to your stock headers.
I bought HD fishtail exhaust ( no baffles) @ a swap for $20.00,.cut off the rusted out Yami mufflers, & used automotive pipe adapters to fit to exhaust headers. Attach with sportster wide clamps. available on ebay.You can find different size hangers & clamps there & JCW. I used 3" hangers that encircled the mufflers to hang.

When you cut the headers you need to leave as much pipe as possible. Heavy duty tubing or pipe cutter works better than a hack saw.

I didn't really notice any performance change. But, we only use this bike for 2 up riding.

[cywelchjr]

Hi Mike,
my best guess from the photos is that your Standard has a Special's stock system on it.
Thing is, that's a fully welded system so it'll take a hacksaw to remove the mufflers and a welding job to attach stub pipes to the headers to fit slip-ons.
My advice, wait until the stock mufflers rust out so you hafta do something.
Gotta say that my swapmeet $30 the pair ex-Triumph cans sound really mellow.

The 81 standards use the special exhaust system along with some other special features mixed with standard features to go with the extra large tank.

[mharrington]

I often though how nice it would be to be a little louder- more of a snarl when the throttle is blipped but I am not willing modify my exhaust and am too lazy and cheap to buy a MAC 4 into 1..or 2. In the end it is your bike and you may do what you want to your exhaust- drilling ect. In my opinion here are the options I will list- Just my opinion. 1. Drilling holes in original exhaust. This has been discussed and we know how valuable and rare a good OEM system is. 2. A MAC 4 into 1 or 2 aftermarket ex system. These are sold on ebay and if I recall the 4 into 2 system requires no re jetting/mixture changes. They are very expensive!! 3rd option to increase the sound is with air pod filters- eliminating the airbox. I will not do this because I dont want to touch my 4 carbs AND I ride in the rain sometimes and the OEM airbox is pretty damn water tight! The air filters are less $$ than the MAC exhaust but you would still need to re jet the carbs. I personally would not go with the Emgo filters and K&Ns are waaaay too $$$. I have heard great things about UNI and recently saw these on ebay. Sold out of the UK and $134 for a set of 4. Cheaper than K&Ns and look to be true high quality. Mikes XS sells pod filters that are better than the $10 Emgos. (I have nothing against the Emgos- I just would rather have a pod bolt directly on without having to buy the rubber plumbing sleeve to keep the air jets unblocked)

[soccer4m]

use harley muffs

I used a set of harley softail mufflers on one of my xs's that had the originals rust out. They give a nice rumble at idle and a growl at revs, moreso than the originals, and they are cheap. Planedick has them on his bike and I copied his set. They were off the dyna models pre 2005, and are a dime a dozen on ebay. Takes about 20 minutes to mount, and no big mods needed other than an adapter from any car parts place. Or you can weld and have no mods at all. Someone has a pictorial under the search for the harley muffler redo. So, if you want a grumble,,,,,the harleys are pretty close to the same performance, a slight loss off the line, but after that its about the same, just louder...Mike in San Diego