Stock Mufflers

[crazy joe]

I have been looking for some different mufflers for my 98 RK... read about using newer pipes
and that people like the way they sounded and bike ran better...  a friend of a friend has some
take off 09 pipes. I looked at the pipes and when I picked them up I notice the right pipe felt
heavier so I wrote down the part #'s and  campaired the #'s as best I could with my 03
parts book.   The right one according to my 03 parts book says it has a catalytic in it....as best
I can tell with my 03 book (the last digits in the part # in my book says -95A the pipes I'm
looking at have 09. Why would you have two different muffler on a the bike if it for restriction
why put a catalytic. OK enough rambling   would these pipes work on a 98 RK?  Oh I forgot
took the stock mufflers off because I thought they were too quiet the ones I have on there now
almost sound  cheap  if that makes sense.

Thanks for all input

[77S-Glide]

are the 09 mufflers you're looking at from a CA. bike? if so, it's possible the right one has cat. in it. when i changed the exhaust on my OL's 06 Heritage, the muffler for the front cylinder had cat. in it but the back one did not. i just changed the mufflers on her 09 Streetglide and neither had cat. in them. (MO. bike)
Dick

[crazy joe]

That's what I thought    I believe the guy bought the bike in Indiana
(both guys are drivers) I don't know were he bought the bike

[apendejo]

If a friend of a friend has some '09 take offs and they are nearby, ask if you can bolt them on and give them a spin around the block, if you like them make him an offer. I posted earlier about the '10 mufflers that I got from EdS here on the forum and I am so far impressed with the way they sound and perform on my 95" '03 Ultra. They sound pretty similar to my kerker slipons with a fresh baffle wrap, but they are really quiet at cruising speed when not on the throttle, I can actually hear the radio again. My cousin is using '09 mufflers, the right one has a cat, on his '04 EG, they sound about the same as the '10's on my bike.
AP

[crazy joe]

There both drivers so I don't know when I will see them again.  Do you think these
pipes would work good on  a 98 RK?

[apendejo]

Yes, they should work fine on that bike.
AP

[crazy joe]

Thanks for the help..... you think that the catalytic would make
a difference in sound or performance.

[seattledyna]

I thought the cat was in the crossover on the 09s

the muffs off my '95 bagger were a direct fit onto my 09, no problems at all, I'm sure it would work the otherway also

[crazy joe]

What caught my attention was the weight the right side weighs more.

[77S-Glide]

if you look in the inlet, you should be able to see the cat. just inside the inlet....if it's in there. on the OL's 06 Heritage, i used an air hammer with a long, sharp chisel bit and broke up the cat. and it just poured out like broken cement. took about 30 min. of work to get it all broken up and out of the muffler. her 09 Streetglide didn't have any cat. in the mufflers or the x-over.
Dick

[crazy joe]

I don't want to modify the mufflers if the price is right I'll
buy them if not I'll look for a set that don't have the catalytic.

[apendejo]

Cut and paste from anothe discussion in the TC forum, compliments of smoserx1,  AP
Here are some part numbers for you:

65846-07      MUFFLER, RH, CAT, CHRM, DOM
65538-07      MUFFLER, LH, CHRM, DOM

65846-09      MUFFLER ASY, RH/CHRM/DOM
65538-09      MUFFLER, LH/CHRM/DOM

65592-07      MUFFLER, LH, CHRM, DOM
65591-07      MUFFLER, RH, CHRM, DOM

65354-07      MUFFLER, RH, CAT, CHRM
65547-07      MUFFLER, LH, CHRM, DOM 

The OEM mufflers come in a straight end (FLHT style) a slash up (road king classic style) and a slash down (street glide style)  EBay always has butt-loads of them, and most are like new take-offs real cheap.  I have heard dealers have lots of them too.

As you can see, at least two of the 07 models shows a CAT in the right side pipe.  I tried a set of the 07s on my 99 FLHT, and then went to a set of the 09s.  Got both sets off of eBay cheap.  The 07s were were the ones that supposedly have the cat in the right pipe.  I used them about a year and got a set of 09s.  The reason I went from the 07s to the 09s was I smelled more fumes out of the 07s that I liked, and I think it was due to the end construction.  The 07 mufflers have a core that extends all the way to the very exit of the pipe.  With the 09s this core ends a couple of inches back, and I believe this allows lower exit velocity and better dispersion of the exhaust.  I don't smell them as much.  I think it looks better too.

Both the 07 and 09 models are configured differently right to left, and this make sense, since the stock header flows different volumes of gas right vs left.  My bike runs real good with the later style mufflers.  It has practically ended all the snorting, bucking, and carburetor farting I used to put up with in cold weather.

I'll never go back to a loud pipe again.

Good Luck.

« Last Edit: October 08, 2009, 08:03:12 PM by smoserx1 » 

[dbhwt]

I've drilled out cats on stock pipes w/good results

[crazy joe]

What is the purpose of the cat.

[Ken R]

I wonder if they have Platinum in there.   It's more valuable than gold.  I've read that converters are being stolen off cars for the precious metal they contain.

[harleyjt]

What is the purpose of the cat.

Emissions control. Thats it. Cleans up the exhaust and can actually be your friend. 

Back in the dark days of emission controls (early 70's), automakers couldn't make cars run right.  They surged, hesitated, stalled, etc, etc.  In general for a few years they ran like crap due to making them run lean enough to pass emissions.  Then in 1975, catalysts were mandated.  They were expensive due to the precious metals they contained, and due to the fact one had to run unleaded fuel.  Leaded fuel will kill a cat in short order. But very quickly, automakers found they could make the cars run right again by richening up and tweaking the timing, changing cams, etc for better performance, and let the cat clean everything up on the back end.  It was a shame most people really never understood that and many just wanted to take the cats off simply because it was an emission control device, therefore couldn't be a good thing, which simply wasn't true.   
jt

[crazy joe]

OK cleaning the exhaust that's what I thought    so why do some bikes come
with just one cat (I'm not sure about this but still doing some research).