Vance and Hines Big Radius Exhaust Review

If you've been involved in the motorcycle world for any length of time then you have undoubtedly become familiar with a company called Vance and Hines.

Vance and Hines cut their teeth in the superbike world but they have quietly been taking the Cruiser world by storm over the last 10 years.  They have quickly developed into a company that prides itself on being on the cutting edge of both motorcycle style and performance.   So given all this, when we were asked to review  a set of Vance and Hines Big Radius Harley Davidson pipes, we jumped at the chance.

Background

What I love about Vance and Hines is their attitude, to quote their website...."we live and breathe innovation, never accepting status-quo."  That's an easy claim to make but tougher to back up but from my experience, they do an admirable job of building outstanding products for the motorcycle community.

In case you aren't familiar with them, Vance and Hines makes products for American V-twins, Metric Cruisers, Sportbikes and even Dirt bikes.  Product lines that they are involved in include exhaust systems, fuel injection management and air intake systems and they are considered by most, to be an industry giant.

So all of this said, as good as they are, my expectations for any pipe that I review from them are going to be pretty darn high.  In order for the Big Radius exhaust to impress me, it will have to be very good.    Let's find out.

Vance and Hines Install

The test mule for the bike is going to be my trusty 2007 Nightrain.  This bike has been breathed on a bit and I use it to tinker and play with a lot of things, including a number of different exhaust systems obviously.  My Train has been breathed on a little bit and is punched out to 107 cubic inches with ported heads and cams so it makes a nice test bike for anything I want to try.

I currently have a set of D&D Fat Cat exhaust pipes on the bike which I quickly removed in order to install the Vance and Hines Big Radius exhaust.  The Big Radius comes in a 2 into 2 version as well as the 2 into 1 model and we elected to install the Vance and Hines Big Radius 2 into 1 exhaust pipe.   As you can see, my bike is "performance oriented" and according to Vance and Hines, the Big Radius 2 into 1 is  a "race inspired" pipe and designed to produce maximum torque and horsepower compared to the standard 2 into 2 version of the Big Radius.  My kind of pipe.

My wife jokes that I change pipes on my Harley so often that I should put them on with Velcro, she might have a point.   I know some new Harley owners are very, very hesitant to work on their motorcycles.  I was the same way when I first bought my Harley Davidson but after trying a few things....I was amazed at how simple these things are to work on.  Installing these pipes is a piece of cake and a person of average mechanical ability can easily install them.

The best thing you can do is open the box, lay out all of the parts on the floor of your garage and look at them closely.  It should quickly become obvious how the system goes together but don't be a typical guy, read the directions.  They might save you some trouble down the road.

I won't go into the details of the install but the most difficult part is installing the heat shields, which is pretty easy actually.  It just can be a pain maneuvering the clamps so everything lines up out of sight and in the right position that you can still get a screwdriver on the clamp.  This will make perfect sense when you go to install but trust me, it's not difficult, it really is simply a matter of unbolting one set and bolting on the new set.

Make sure you accomodate your O2 sensors and that you have a fresh set of exhaust gaskets on hand, don't be a dummy and try to skip replacing the gaskets..they are about 5 bucks at the Harley dealer or you can order them when you order your pipes.  Cheap insurance.

Take your time, lay the pipes out, test fit and assemble everything loosely and then tighten everything down once you have the pipes in place.

Fit and Finish

Something I have found to be consistent on Vance and Hines pipes is that the finish is extraordinary.  The heat shields wrap around the head pipes a full 220 degrees of coverage which accomplishes two things...it gives you a fat pipe look and it hides the head pipe and gives you a "blue proof" chrome finish that will look fantastic for years.

The pipes installed easily and the only issue I had was getting the front head pipe bolts to start.  It isn't a problem with the pipe, just the way the Harley pipes are designed.   It's always a good idea to leave the heat shields a little bit loose until you get all of the bolts started but not always necessary.

Once installed, the pipes fit the bike perfectly.  The brackets all line up and slots are cut in the rear muffler body bracket to allow a bit of adjustment as necessary.  The pipes look amazing...big, beefy and GLISTENING chrome.  At least they glistened once I cleaned all my finger smudges off em.

Fuel Adjustment

If you are installing these pipes on your typical Harley Davidson then you are going to have to accomodate adjusting your fuel supply somehow.  If you are riding a carbureted bike then you need to rejet the carburetor and if you are on an EFI Harley...then some kind of Fuel Pak or reflash of the PCM is going to be required.

My bike uses a Daytona Twin Tech TCFI so adjusting fuel curves on my bike is an automated process.  If you are going to be keeping your modifications at the Stage 1 level, pipes and an air cleaner, then a Twin Tec is not necessary.  I would recommend you either run a Vance and Hines Fuel Pak or maybe a Dyno Jet Power Commander.  Either way this needs to be a consideration BEFORE you install your pipes.

Exhaust Note

Nothing beats the sweet sound of a Harley Davidson right?  Some would disagree but I would challenge them to listen to a Harley Davidson equipped with a 2 into 1 exhaust pipe.  They sound completely different to me than a 2 into 2 system and I have to say I LOVE the exhaust note that a 2 into 1 Harley pipe produces.

A 2 into 1 pipe is obviously physically different, the pipe design scavenges the cylinder differently and the exhaust pulses end up sounding different than a 2 into 2 pipe.  It's hard to describe "sound" but a 2 into 1 pipe is a deeper exhaust note that sounds like it has more "bass" to it than a 2 into 2 system produces.

Deeper and more gutteral in my opinion.....reasonably quiet at idle and part throttle but it will absolutely WAIL when you crack the go throttle.  A number of Harley owners always say they want louder pipes but not too loud......for this type of rider a 2 into 1 Harley pipe would be perfect.  I should note that the Vance and Hines Big Radius pipe is one of the louder 2 into 1 pipes that I have experienced.  It's still not too loud in my opinion, but definitely louder than my Fat Cat.

Exhaust Performance

If you are building a performance oriented Harley Davidson then many builders will tell you that you shouldn't consider anything but a 2 into 1 exhaust system.  A number of big names in the HD world will recommend a good 2 into 1 pipe over just about any other exhaust.  I don't think they are meant only for performance oriented Harley Davidsons as even a street driven Harley that you putt around town with your spouse on the back will benefit from a 2 into 1 exhaust.  Here's why.

I can't get into the physics of it, as I am not that bright, but I can tell you that the way a 2 into 1 pipe is designed, each exhaust pulse almost creates a kind of suction on the cylinder.  The exhaust pulse from cylinder 1 helps to create a vacuum as it exits the head pipe, that helps evacuate cylinder 2.  That sounds complicated and I may have explained it wrong, so let me summarize.........a 2 into 1 flows better.

2 into 1 Harley pipes are generally recognized as producing more low and mid range torque than a 2 into 2 system with no loss of flow on the top end.  Don't underestimate the value of having more torque right in the rpm band that you ride your motorcycle on the street most often in.  It makes for a much much more enjoyable riding Harley Davidson.  This is great for the power junkies but is also especially noticeable when you are riding two up.

Exhaust Power

At the time of this writing I was not able to do any dyno tuning with the Vance and Hines Big Radius Harley pipes.  I was able to find a comparable dyno chart from a reputable shop online.  This dyno chart shows that you should expect to see about 6 to 8 horsepower gain on a stock Nightrain.

I can tell you that my bike with the D&D Fat Cat on it dyno'd out at 120hp and 115 torque and is a great setup to rip around town.  After a few days of letting the DTT do it's thing and adjusting the fuel curves, I finally got the chance to take the bike out for some "spirited" riding.

The "butt dyno" can be quite misleading so take this for what it is worth but Big Radius pipes felt as good as the D&D Fat Cat did at every RPM range and might have even had a stronger feel to it on the top end.  You might think I would be disappointed with that, but I most assuredly was not.  The Fat Cat is a hell of a pipe in it's own right and I expected it to perform quite similarly to the Big Radius.  Rather than being disappointed, I was ecstatic that the Vance and Hines Big Radius performed as well as the Fat Cat and if you are replacing a stock set of Harley pipes, the difference will be extraordinary.

I can't say this enough, not much will beat a decently built Harley Davidson with a well tuned 2 into 1 pipe on it.  Great sound and awesome power combined with an exhaust note that I think is one of the sweetest around.  It's a quiet beast just waiting for someone to wring that throttle and uncork the power within.

Conclusion

In summary, I guess its obvious that we liked this exhaust pipe.  It looked great, fit the bike well, installed easily and performed GREAT!  What more really could you want out of a Harley Davidson exhaust pipe?  The Vance and Hines Big Radius is expensive....we priced it out at 700 bucks at our dealer but it's definitely a case of  "you get what you pay for" though and we would still recommend it at this price.

The Vance and Hines Big Radius pipes come in Chrome or Black and also a 2 into 2 type setup as well, for those of you who may prefer that look.   If you shop smart you can easily find a much better deal than 700 bucks, so make sure you check out the Vance and Hines Big Radius Harley Davidson exhaust today.

Vance and Hines Big Radius Deals

VANCE HINES BIG RADIUS 2 INTO 1 EXHAUST HARLEY SOFTAIL    US $699.85

VANCE HINES BIG RADIUS 2 INTO 1 EXHAUST PIPES PIPE HARLEY 1984 2011 SOFTAIL    US $573.95

VANCE HINES BIG RADIUS 2 INTO 1 EXHAUST HARLEY ROCKER    US $560.90

VANCE HINES BIG RADIUS 2 INTO 1 4 HARLEY DAVIDSON DYNA 2006 2011    US $624.95

Vance Hines Big Radius 2 Into 1 Exhaust for Harley    US $577.99

VANCE HINES BIG RADIUS 2 INTO 1 EXHAUST HARLEY DYNA    US $775.00

Big Radius 2 into 1 Exhaust Harley Rocker FXCW C    US $649.95

VANCE HINES 2 INTO 1 MOTORCYCLE EXHAUST PIPES BIG RADIUS HARLEY DAVIDSON H D    US $600.00

BIG RADIUS 2 INTO 1 VANCE HINES EXHAUST HARLEY DYNA HARLEY PIPES FULL SYSTEM    US $659.00

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