Removing mufflers

Can anyone help? Im trying to remove the mufflers from the h collector while everything is still on the bike. Have removed the clamp holding the muffler and h collector together..and removed the bolt holding by the rear footpeg. Ive been pulling and twisting and tryi g to get the mufflers off but no go...forgive me because im new but there has to be an easy way to get them off? Thanks in advance

 

they may have been put on in Japan. get some penetrating oil on them, support the weight so their not binding then try tapping on them someplace where you won't see a ding

 

To get the stock mufflers off my parts bike, I had to get into the point where the attach to the collector (where the ring clamp is) with a screwdriver and pry the connecting end of the muffler open. It's got slots in it, which made the process pretty easy (relatively speaking) - they were the stock silencers, and unusably rusty... But I don't think they'd ever been off the bike. Was still a lot of work; there's a... Gasket? Kind of material in there, and it'd been reduced to a wired wire/carbon substance that did not want to let go.

 

I recently removed mine and like Wintersdark said, whats left of a gasket will come out in pieces, or whole if your lucky and look like frayed wire and rubber chunks. You can open up the tabs with the screwdriver and then bend them back in place once your new muffler or exhaust are in place. The diameter to fit inside the stock pipe opening I believe is 1 3/4" OD if I remember correctly.

 

There is indeed a gasket there. Often times the gasket will rust to one (or both) mating surfaces. It's important to carefully remove all of the old gasket or the new gaskets will act like pipe expanders and make it darn near impossible to get the mufflers back on without causing damage.

 

Sweet thanks...i got them off finally...they are pooched. I was wondering since i still have the h colllector on can i run the bike without the mufflers? It shouldnt hurt anything right?

 

Your ears. Your body if the neighbors get annoyed enough. Otherwise no.

 

I ride with my gf who has a harley sportster bored to a 1200 with vance and hines straight pipes ..i cant hear my bike even without the mufflers off if im within 5 meters of her

 

Permanent hearing damage begins at 85 decibels. Keep that in mind.
The damage is gradual. You probably won't even notice, until you begin asking people to speak up so you can hear them.

 

As a guy who's worked in manufacturing for decades (and even not particularly loud manufacturing), with a lovely collection of cards from twice annual hearing tests, I can attest to this. Also having owned a Ironhead sportster with 2" open straight pipes too.

I never used to wear ear plugs, and you can see a gradual decline in the hearing test results over the years despite never feeling like I was losing hearing. I do now, of course, when I realized that while I don't feel at all "deaf", while everything sounds just as loud to me as it always did there are certain tones I just can't hear well anymore. This means while I can hear my wife and kids just fine, I struggle to make out some of what a buddy of mine says. Good times. There's a joke I'd make here, but I suppose it's best left unsaid

But, I should be the last person to preach safety, as I don't practice nearly as much as I ought to. Still, it's worth saying: hearing damage happens WAY before sounds are so loud as to actually feel uncomfortable; it happens very gradually, and it is irreversible.

 

The nurse at school says my selective hearing is just fine

 

I don't like the constant bells (ringing) but have to live with it now. So as far as pipes to, keep them, love to be quite and a "attentive head on a swivel" kind of rider then a "pipes save lives" ride. That is just me though. As for your bike I think the exhaust valves will suffer in the long run but k-moe would know more about that then me. Lack of back pressure and something to do with heat.

 

These bikes are very free blowing, and there's virtually no back-pressure. Exhaust scavenging is primarily what we are dealing with

 

I've been dealing with tinnitus since I was 15 (I forgot my hearing protection one day at the range. Dumb of me to shoot without them).
Heavy machinery, firearms, rock concerts (and even loud exhausts at one point) have all contributed to hearing loss in the upper frequency range.
My dad was a radio operator and machinist. He was more hard of hearing at my age than I am now, due in large part to my getting smart about my ears before they got too bad. I wear earplugs on every ride; even short rides in town.

IF anyone needs more encouragement to keep a good set of mufflers on their ride, go price hearing aids (and find out that most insurance policies do not cover the cost).

 

Eacactly. Free flowing, and quiet.
It's been decades since a fella could get an increase in horsepower simply by pulling the mufflers off of an engine.
Loud ≠ powerful.

 

Heh it's funny, my hearing loss is almost entirely in the lower middle range - unusual, really, pretty strange. I'm fine with everything but typical male voices unless they're unusually deep. It's a really specific band I can't hear.

What's bizarre is that it's almost unnoticeable to me. Everything is as loud as always but it's like certain guys just speak really quietly for no apparent reason - which is really annoying in otherwise noisy surroundings. Makes trying to have a couple drinks with the guys at a bar really frustrating.

Ah well, it is what it is. Sadly, it's a lesson most of us only learn after the fact.

 

Fireworks close to my ear in junior high gave me my tinnitus. The very loud college stereo in the 70's didn't help....

I may be minority, but I like a smooth sounding, fairly quiet motorcycle.

 

What?

But seriously, if you still have the original Sportster pipes, they may slip on in place of the ones you've removed.

 

A man had 12 children.

Someone asked him why he had 12 children.

He replied, "Because my wife is hard of hearing."

"What does hearing loss have to do with having children?" he was asked.

He replied, "When we go to bed, I mumble 'do you want to go to sleep, or what' - and my wife replies "WHAT?"