Hey, all - thanks for your feedback on my "Roasting Sack" post. I've scoured the board, reading all of the other advice and opinions on the issue of exhaust heat, and it's all been very well-reasoned and sensible.
To me, nice days are for riding, not wrenching. Besides, I live in a townhouse community in Godforsaken Fairfax VA, where wrenching in the lot is expressly-forbidden by the Gestapo - er - HOA. It's a $150 ticket when they catch you, and yes - I've been caught before. Thus, I don't feel like half-assing the problem: if there is one thing I can do that will solve the majority of my woes, I'll go for it.
This brings me to an inescapable, and unfortunate conclusion: I need to change the exhaust.
I have Stage 1 Sceaming Eagles on her at the moment, which - to me (and the HOA) are far, far too loud.
Ignore the "loud pipes save lives" debate: I agree with the sentiment, and my SE's have saved me at least 4 times I can count since I bought Ellie last summer. My wife and friends all disagree with me, saying the bike is just fine with the SE's, but I miss being able to hear my stereo.
So, I'm looking for a nice, relatively-quiet set of duals (versus 2:1's - I like the symmetrical look).
I have access to all the catalogs, websites, etc... what I really need are opinions from people that own such a system, and your thoughts as to how quiet they are. Some manufacturers will say right up-front that a particular model is loud (and I commend them for that) but none will say whether their pipes are quiet. That's a damn shame.
I'll even give up a couple HP, if it eases the heat situation and quiets the bike down... so I can hear the stereo again and not cook things that ought not be cooked.
Any thoughts? What do you use? What will do the trick?
To me, nice days are for riding, not wrenching. Besides, I live in a townhouse community in Godforsaken Fairfax VA, where wrenching in the lot is expressly-forbidden by the Gestapo - er - HOA. It's a $150 ticket when they catch you, and yes - I've been caught before. Thus, I don't feel like half-assing the problem: if there is one thing I can do that will solve the majority of my woes, I'll go for it.
This brings me to an inescapable, and unfortunate conclusion: I need to change the exhaust.
I have Stage 1 Sceaming Eagles on her at the moment, which - to me (and the HOA) are far, far too loud.
Ignore the "loud pipes save lives" debate: I agree with the sentiment, and my SE's have saved me at least 4 times I can count since I bought Ellie last summer. My wife and friends all disagree with me, saying the bike is just fine with the SE's, but I miss being able to hear my stereo.
So, I'm looking for a nice, relatively-quiet set of duals (versus 2:1's - I like the symmetrical look).
I have access to all the catalogs, websites, etc... what I really need are opinions from people that own such a system, and your thoughts as to how quiet they are. Some manufacturers will say right up-front that a particular model is loud (and I commend them for that) but none will say whether their pipes are quiet. That's a damn shame.
I'll even give up a couple HP, if it eases the heat situation and quiets the bike down... so I can hear the stereo again and not cook things that ought not be cooked.
Any thoughts? What do you use? What will do the trick?