Cat bypass

[BigNorm]

Look under the "Performance" forum for the thread, "Another way to Skin the CAT" I did it while documenting it for that very purpose. In my opinion it is the simplest, cheapest and easiest solution. Even if you can't weld, you can do all the steps yourself and then take it to a welder to simply re-seal the can. You retain the stock look and gain the benefit in performance. I prefer it over the TOR's as it's just a touch quiter.

Thanks. I do weld AND know a welder.

 

[Rocket3Pilot]

Thanks. I do weld AND know a welder.

Another thing to consider is, unlike the TOR's that are hard to find, there are lots of stock mufflers (cans) out there for cheap from all the guys buying new header systems to increase the HP and torque of their Rockets, it's most obvious shortcoming! I bought a brand new pair of stock 2012 roadster pipes for $150, removed the CAT's in one day. It's gonna be hard to find TOR's or aftermarket anything for that?

 

[BigNorm]

Another thing to consider is, unlike the TOR's that are hard to find, there are lots of stock mufflers (cans) out there for cheap from all the guys buying new header systems to increase the HP and torque of their Rockets, it's most obvious shortcoming! I bought a brand new pair of stock 2012 roadster pipes for $150, removed the CAT's in one day. It's gonna be hard to find TOR's or aftermarket anything for that?

I just read the thread and appreciate your time in writing it. You gave big props to Paul's exhaust but didn't give a lot of feedback on the decatted pipes. Enquiring Norm's have got to know. Is it worth the time to just take the cat out?

 

[Rocket3Pilot]

I just read the thread and appreciate your time in writing it. You gave big props to Paul's exhaust but didn't give a lot of feedback on the decatted pipes. Enquiring Norm's have got to know. Is it worth the time to just take the cat out?

Well it's hard to tell because I don't have any hard data like a dyno chart to quantify the differences? My real goal was to get rid of the CAT's but not get much louder. To that end, it was well worth it to me. I compared the De-CAT's with the TOR's without changing any other variables and I could not detect any significant power difference, just that the TOR's were slightly louder at any RPM's above 1500. A little deeper tone too, as you might expect. The TOR's cans are thinner and the single barrel baffle is 2" diameter compared to the stock baffles that are 1.5" diameter with a thicker shell to accommodate the heat of the CAT.

Logic would tell you that while I can't feel any difference performance wise, the TOR"S would breathe better at higher outputs? So if you were after maximum performance and didn't care about increasing the noise or doing a lot of other expensive mods to achieve that then I think it would make more sense to go with the bigger bore to match it.

One other advantage to taking the CAT out is it doesn't get nearly as hot?

Your avatar says you have a touring and I don't know what the inside of that pipe looks like? Could be different. If I see one cheap or damaged I may get it just to find out? Curiosity kills the CAT! I couldn't help it

 

[BigNorm]

Well it's hard to tell because I don't have any hard data like a dyno chart to quantify the differences? My real goal was to get rid of the CAT's but not get much louder. To that end, it was well worth it to me. I compared the De-CAT's with the TOR's without changing any other variables and I could not detect any significant power difference, just that the TOR's were slightly louder at any RPM's above 1500. A little deeper tone too, as you might expect. The TOR's cans are thinner and the single barrel baffle is 2" diameter compared to the stock baffles that are 1.5" diameter with a thicker shell to accommodate the heat of the CAT.

Logic would tell you that while I can't feel any difference performance wise, the TOR"S would breathe better at higher outputs? So if you were after maximum performance and didn't care about increasing the noise or doing a lot of other expensive mods to achieve that then I think it would make more sense to go with the bigger bore to match it.

One other advantage to taking the CAT out is it doesn't get nearly as hot?

Your avatar says you have a touring and I don't know what the inside of that pipe looks like? Could be different. If I see one cheap or damaged I may get it just to find out? Curiosity kills the CAT! I couldn't help it

Yeah. The heat reduction would be worth it right away. At least it's behind me. When I first got my 2011 Road Glide I was looking at the stock system and said to myself, "well that doesn't make sense, the crossover pipe goes right under the ABS box" I pulled the stock pipes and went with a 2 into 1 Rinehart system which is a good setup for that bike. A few months later Harley put out a recall telling me I had to bring my bike in to get my ABS box wrapped to prevent boiling brake fluid. I didn't bother since I had already fixed the problem on my own.

I am a performance junkie and don't care for a real loud exhaust but if I can make more power with what I've got I'll go for it. I'm glad you took the time to open up the stock pipes. They look like they would flow real well for what it is, a catted pipe. You have to give them credit for that. I really like the look of the stock system. I'm not sure if I want to play with it much because I feel a turbo is in my future. I kind of like how the boost is good people set up their system but I'd want to add an intercooler which wouldn't be stealth anymore but would make me more comfortable about riding my bike on a 100+ degree day. I dont' know how many times I have dumped money into projects just to spend that money again and again. The R3 makes stupid power stock which I love and hope to enjoy it for a long time before I get the itch again.