[DMAG]

WOW!!!! After the seven or so hours it took...it was well worth it.

My father's first words after I started Priscilla up with the new V&H's on? "It reminds me of my old Sportster"...I may even have saw a tear.

Well, why did it take seven hours for a 45 minute job you want to know?

Well, naturally nothing can go right on April Fool's day right? Well, Priscilla had a couple tricks up her sleeve today.

First off, the two studs on the rear head snapped off two minutes into the job, but luckily they left around an inch of stud to work with outside the manifold. (The front head acorn nuts came right off with no problems). So off to Home Depot to buy some stud removers. Got the stud removers on the busted studs and promptly sheared the remainder of the studs off clean with the manifold.:doh:

Off to Pep Boys to buy a tap. I drill and tap the first stud no problem. Drilling the second stud out the drill bit breaks in the stud making any further drilling almost impossible. After some careful manuvering, I remove the remainder of the drill tip and finish drilling out the stud. Time to tap! 3 or 4 threads in and the tap breaks off in the stud! Another half hour with some needle nose vise grips and the tap is removed. Off to Pep Boys for another tap...naturally they are out of the size I need so I buy an ENTIRE set!

Back home, the tap isn't too happy with the hole I drilled, but after another 45 minutes of fighting it, I get it done! On goes the exhaust (which only took about 20 minutes!)

My quick impression of the V&H Cruisers? Loud at first. I really wasn't expecting them to be that loud, but after a minute or two you get used to them. What an absolutely AWESOME sound at idle.

I can see why some people say they are too loud, especially if they are living around neighbors who they want to stay friendly with....but it does sound very cool. :smiley_th (Even if it takes seven hours to install) :loser1:

More impressions later as I ride some more.

 

[Hizzo3]

just incase anyone else has the tap and die prob.... lowes and home depot have a decent set for not too much (here is lowes...home depot site was down at time of post http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=215273-353-21781&detail=desc&lpage=none )..... never quite heard of them breaking like that though, must have been a bad batch... congrats though on the V&H. i've been wanting a set....keeping my eye open on ebay for once my bike gets back from the shop...

 

[whistle clean]

It must be time for studs to break off as my friend had the same problem on his Katana the other day.

I've heard the V&H pipes on an 800 Kawasaki and they really sounded good. Loud...but good.

 

[fergy]

Here's the kind of reply you might hate to hear at this late hour in your experience, but did you by any chance shoot all the bolts and nuts with PB Blaster a day or so before you started into your encounter with the pipes?

PB Blaster never ceases to amaze me. I've shot old rusted nuts and bolts a day or so ahead of an install or what ever, and nock on wood, from the day I first heard of and tried PB, to this day, I've never busted a bolt. It is magic in a can.

 

[DMAG]

I just realized I have to bring the bike in for inspection before I can register her. Are having the V&H's going to screw me on the inspection? This is NY.

Here's the law:

No person shall operate on any highway a motorcycle which is:
● not equipped with a muffler to prevent excessive or unusual noise;
● equipped with a muffler from which the baffle plates, screens or other original internal parts have
been removed or altered;
● equipped with an exhaust device without internal baffles, known as “straight pipes”;
● equipped with a modified exhaust system that amplifies or increases the exhaust noise so it is louder
than the noise made by the original exhaust system.

 

[InsuredDisaster]

"Well, this is Ben Franklin and he says my muffler isn't too loud."