Diezel asked:

I have a Road King that I want to build into a bit of a sleeper. Don't get me wrong, I know it's a Harley but I want a Harley that has some get up and go and that sounds awesome doing it.

What exhaust will give me the most power gains of all of the Harley exhaust pipes available? I want a deep sound at idle and I am ok if it has some bark at WOT, I just don't want it to be obnoxiously loud. Any advice on pipe choices? Should I go with a 2 into 1 exhaust pipe or a true dual setup from Rinehart? Which will do both, increase the performance and still create a nice, deep exhaust note.

Our Answer

Diezel...first thanks for asking our opinion, we appreciate it. Harley's are cool aren't they....at least we think so. As for your Bagger, way cool idea....I am so going to build a badass bagger when I am done with my Nightrain.

Ok to answer your questions.....I can only speak from my experience but I will share my thoughts....first for a DEEPER exhaust note, I would go with a 2 into 1 exhaust pipe. The 2 into 1 pipes that I have experience with were all deeper and had more "bass" at low and part throttle than a 2 into 2 exhaust pipe setup. They sound similar at WOT but in the drive around town and idle range...a 2 into 1 is deeper in my experience.

As for performance...again my nod would go with the 2 into 1 exhaust pipe again. A 2 into 1 Harley exhaust will SHINE in the idle to 4500 rpm power band, which is where you probably spend 95% of your riding time. A nice torquey Harley is an absolute JOY to ride and you can get up and out of the hole faster than your buddies, which doesn't suck.

At WOT the performance gap is pretty narrow and a 2 into 1 doesn't seem to have as much advantage over a quality 2 into 2 pipe but that is not always the case, just speaking in generalities. So I guess to answer your question, it sounds like a 2 into 1 exhaust pipe seems perfect for what you are trying to accomplish. One of our favorites for a Touring bike is the Rinehart set up. It looks great, sounds great and should do all you need to do.

Check out the Harley Rinehart exhaust systems below. They're hot and they come in black or chrome.