DP, on a toy run me and a riding bro were looking over the bikes there and we noticed that most all of them with V&H long shots had the browning on the rear pipe in about the same place. It was a toss up for me in choosing the 2 1/4" Hookers over the V&H. I'm kinda glad I went with Hookers now. But that was only after two bad experiences with Samson Big guns.(two sets). They had the optional heat shields which were fine(maybe a little vibee) but the mounting brackets kept breaking and finally cracked the pipe at the mounting tab...both sets. I know what you mean by $400. I'm about piped out. If I have any more problems I am going to go back with the factory headers and Cycle Shack slip ons.