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Dual Exhaust for BW

11K views 28 replies 10 participants last post by  Shisno 
#1 ·
So I've been looking at exhaust lately because I can't stand the stock exhaust. I can be pretty picky when it comes to pipes and I've got my eye on doing a true dual exhaust for my 2013 boardwalk. I'm only aware of two companies that make dual exhaust and they are Hacker and RPW. I'm not sure if the RPW pipes would work with the BW but I don't see why they wouldn't, and I already know the Hacker ones fit. My problem is which one to go with? Price difference really isn't a big deal. I'm more concerned with the difference in performance, sound, quality, installation issues, and customer service between the two companies. Can anyone help me out on this?
 
#2 ·
Hi mate, I'm in exactly the same boat as you.
I'm in QLD Aus, RPW have a dealer in melbourne i've been talking to, got a price & confirmation from RPW USA that the True Duals definately fit our 2013 Boardwalks. I'm currently waiting to hear if there is a quiet baffle option. Given the quality (generally rubbish) of the sound samples on youtube it's a bit of a risk, some seem ridiculously loud & others have a nice deep but not obnoxious tone (what i'm after, needs to be touring friendly)
It's north noting RPW installation instructions mentions cutting the chassis slightly.

Haven't had too much to do with the hacker as seems a little harder to get down here...
Once i hear about the baffles i'll probably pull the trigger, got a local dealer teamed up to do pipes & PC5 at the same time. I'm interested to hear what your thoughts are to?
 
#21 ·
Just PM'd you mate, I got a nice set of pipes for sale, brand new bought em when all this 'anti bikie' **** started, got paranoid my slash pipes were illegal and was gonna change em but the slashs have grown on me I love the way they follow the lines of my Vegas and the sound!
So contact me if ya wanna have a look at em.
 
#5 ·
I did ask about the fishtails but RPW strongly recommended against it, something about the gases not flowing freely & possible performance loss.
Unfortunately i've had to waylay my plans to upgrade for the time being.
 
#7 ·
I like the look of fishtails on certain bikes. But I'm not quite sure how well it would go with the boardwalk. I was either thinking of slash cut with the longer end at the top or a down turn exhaust. The nice part is I can always change out the ends.

Still haven't decided yet on which exhaust. Been taking it easy with finding mods for the bike this winter because it will just make me wanna ride that much more.

I wish there were just more pictures out of the two exhaust but it's almost impossible to find pictures even with my google-fu. I think so far the most concern I have is which exhaust is closer to the fender. Whichever one, RPW or Hacker, sticks out on the sides less is probably the one I'll go with. When there is just too much space between the fender and the exhaust it just doesn't look right to me. I like em close in. But that's just my preference.
 
#8 ·
Well I ordered the RPW true duals. Chrome straight muffler with slash cut tips. Also ordered PCV and Lloyd's air box (the torque tubes were backordered and I'm impatient). Should be here soon and I'll post pictures of the final assembly. Man I'm looking forward to this...
 
#9 ·
Hi mate, glad to hear you pulled the trigger!
I'm very eager to hear what you have to say about the whole thing, this might very well set the precedent for any other Boardwalk owners out there who haven't spoken up.

I've been looking and looking over the months aswell and haven't found anything else remotely close that i like. the D&D Slip ons come close but they emailed back today and said they won't fit a boardwalk.

Looking forward to your results, if you have the chance for a video it would go a long way!
 
#10 ·
I think this may set precedent. To me, the boardwalk is the perfect body style for dual pipes. Just like the kingpin was before it. I can tell you one thing, mine will be the first boardwalk with dual exhaust on YouTube. And I can't tell you how much I searched, but I have never seen a boardwalk with these exhaust.

Maybe one of the reasons nobody else pulled the trigger is because there were no pictures to show them the end product. I know that was one of my concerns too. Almost made me go a different route.
 
#11 ·
My boardwalk came factory with dual exhaust, just wish I did not have to change the air flow and fuel control just to add louder pipes.
Or you referring to a pipe on each side of the bike? as I have yet to see that on a boardwalk or king pin, don't mean it aint out there, I just haven't seen it yet.
 

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#12 ·
I have been searching for the right sound for my TC. The previous owner cut out the baffles & is truly obnoxious! I finally got turned on to Big City Thunder exhaust. I order mine tomorrow. Anybody here have experience with them?


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#16 ·
Well my bike has been in the shop for two weeks. And we've run into some problems with the heat shield on the right side exhaust. The heat shield for whatever reason is about an inch and a half too short from the factory and doesn't come out far enough to meet the muffler. Obviously it's an eye sore how it is. Thankfully, RPW is standing behind their product and shipping me a new heat shield free of charge. Once that is on, I'll post my follow up and my impressions of the exhaust. I plan to do a ton of pictures and even a walk around on YouTube with sound sample. But while we're waiting, here's a sneak peak.

 
#17 ·
Show stopper

Such a wonderful idea and I am floored by how well that looks on the bike. Can't wait for the walk-around.
 
#18 ·
Well I have a bit of an update for everyone. I still don't have my bike but the exhaust, Intake, and PCV are all installed and the bike is back together. I'm just waiting on the shop to dyno it and I can pick it up.

But I am not at all pleased with the RPW pipes. I will start from the beginning. All this info is coming from the shop owner. He does great work and turns out top quality custom bikes and parts. He knows what he's doing and an exhaust install should be a piece of cake for him.

First, the exhaust did not want to go together. Apparently whoever designed these things doesn't really know what they are doing. It is impossible to put the heat shield on or off without completely removing the entire exhaust pipe first.

Second, the right heat shield they initially sent me was short about an inch and a half and did not come all the way out to meet the muffler.

This is the left side exhaust. Note the heat shield comes all the way to the muffler...


This is the right side...


Seriously how do you miss that when you're sending it out?

Well this just wouldn't do. So I called RPW to see if we can resolve this issue. I talked to a woman named Cindy. Told her about the trouble we were having and emailed her these exact pictures. Plus a few others. They then called up my mechanic to talk to him. He was on the phone with them for about an hour trying to tell them that he followed the instructions correctly, and exactly how short the heat shield is from the muffler. Anyways they eventually decide to send a new heatshield. But they opt for 5 day ground shipping so that's a whole week my bike is on his lift not being able to be worked on and just taking up space.

Well last Saturday the new heat shield finally came in. AND IT'S STILL SHORT!


Now granted it's not as short as before, but it is still short nonetheless. And it is still an ugly eyesore. I have to really question RPWs quality control if they let TWO heat shields go out to the same customer and both aren't the right size. My mechanic gave them specific measurements. And it is unacceptable that the second time around they couldn't get it right. I'm willing to forgive the first time, because no company is perfect. But they should have been paying extra close attention to what they were doing when they sent out a part to fix their mistake.

Third issue. The left and right exhaust are different lengths away from the fender.


Seriously RPW, what the hell? How hard is it to get the pipes the same distance from the fender so everything is symmetrical?!? I understand the belt drive makes the right one come out a bit farther. But how about compensating for that by having the left pipe come out farther?!? Every time I see this bike, I will see that difference in space. Again, this is just bad design and I'm half tempted to throw these in the trash because of this issue alone.

Fourth issue... The chrome is sub par. This wouldn't be such a terrible problem, as I could always rechrome it when the time comes. And I would be willing to do that, if the pipes were worth the effort in the first place. Not to mention that to even get the heat shield and muffler rechromed would involve me taking the ENTIRE exhaust system off since you can't take them off without removing the entire system. Stupid design...

Fifth issue. This is minor, but it adds insult to injury. The kickstand will not go all the way up. The rubber piece contacts the left exhaust mount. I need to either remove the entire rubber piece or cut an area off it so it slides past. Stupid design.

I am not happy with this outcome. Hell I'm not even neutral about it. I have half a mind to throw these away and put the stock exhaust back on even though I can't stand those either. I wish I could say screw it and go and buy the hacker tru duals, but the RPW pipes have taken up any available funds. I've spent as much on the pipes as I have on the installation of these pipes because they were so problematic.

I didn't buy these pipes for their performance, as I was happy with the stock performance. Any power gains I would get would be an added benefit. And I didn't buy them for the sound. Anything other than those stock pipes would be an improvement. Hell a lawnmower sounds better. I bought these pipes for how they would look. I wanted something that would complement the design of the boardwalk and be something I could show off. These pipes, and RPW, failed to deliver. And now I'm stuck with these things for the foreseeable future.

For the record, I still think the true dual design looks great on the BW, I would just steer very clear of RPW and their true duals. Go with Hacker. It would be pretty hard for them to be worse. The pipes I got certainly aren't worth the $900 I paid.

I'll still post more pictures and video when I get the bike from the shop. From far away, the bike will look good. But when people come to check it out, these problems will be starring them in their face.
 
#19 ·
Thanks for taking the time to post this information, real shame & hopefully this will help any other Boardwalk owners avoid similar difficulties in the future.

Knowing the pipes weren't symmetrical alone would have been a deal breaker for me. No photos or instructions indicated that from what i've seen. Not allowing the kickstand to retract fully is a safety issue & below average chrome on a set of $900 pipes is a bit disappointing, manufacturing defects aside.

Did you end up having to cut the frame? Will that piece show up if you change the pipes back to stock or make any other modifications?

Has RPW made any more comments yet?
 
#20 ·
Yes the frame had to be cut. I know it's possible to get another piece so that I could reattach the stock exhaust if I was so inclined, but I'm not. My displeasure in these pipes is only bested by my displeasure in the stock exhaust. But at least there was nothing actually wrong with them. I just couldn't stand the way they looked and sounded.

I haven't contacted RPW again. To be honest the reason is threefold. One I'm still trying to calm down. It doesn't do me any good to go yelling and cussing at them in an email or phone call. Need to keep my head about me when I try and get what I want. And two, I still haven't seen the bike in person. My dad took the pictures when he went by the shop. I'm over an hour away and can't just pop in like he can. When I can see them myself, I'll know even better how I want to word things. And lastly, I don't even trust RPW to be able to fix the problem as they failed to fix such a simple problem as lengthening the heat shield.

It's possible to fix the symmetry issue. Might be able to put some shims or something in the mounting for the left pipe and get it closer (well, farther actually). Close enough to at least not be so glaring. But it is completely unreasonable that I would have to do that in the first place for $900 pipes. If I would have known it wouldn't be symmetrical, I wouldn't have bought the pipes.

It's also possible to fix the heat shield length issue on our own too. We would need to shorten the left pipe heat shield to the same length as the right, them cut the exhaust on both sides to allow the muffler to slide back on both to the point they reach the heat shields. I would only lose a fraction of an inch in length and nobody would be the wiser. I'm still considering having this done.

If I fix the symmetry and heat shield issue, the only two problems left would be the kick stand, and the chrome. Two problems I can live with. Take the rubber piece off the kickstand solves the first problem, and getting the chrome redone at a later date would solve the second.

I'm just so disgusted by this whole thing. I'm even more disgusted that after all the money that's been spent, I'm practically stuck with these pipes. I make 30k a year, so it will be a good long time before I can even think about replacing them.

If there are any BW owners that like the idea of dual pipes, go with hacker. It can't be any worse. Truly, the dual pipes look really complements the design of the BW. but the RPW pipes fall very short of reaching what I wanted the bike to be.
 
#22 ·
Well I was finally able to pick the bike up yesterday. Couldn't take it for a long ride, only 10-15 miles back home, but I can say that I've gone from hating what a disappointment these pipes were, to moderately to highly liking the pipes. I don't love them, because of the issues covered before. But in person, they are not as glaring as I believed they were. The symmetry issue you don't see unless you're really looking, and the gap in the heat shield is barely noticeable.

But the real reason for my change of heart is what happened when I started it up! WOW! Those pipes are loud! They have this deep, guttural power sound. At idle it sounds like a deep powerful hum. Kind of like an idling dragster. But I am now "that asshole" with the loud pipes. You know, the one that everybody just assumes is overcompensating for something. This wasn't my intention, I wasn't trying for really loud, but I gotta say, I like it. Oh, the the bike friggin moves now! Remember o put the Lloydz intake on it. I had also ordered the PCV to go with it, but my dumbass got the touring model instead of the cruiser model. So in the interest of time, we ordered the cobra autotuner to go with the bike. I really want to get this on the dyno because I really want to know what it's putting out. The shop guys were raving about the power and sound of the bike. The one had said that after all the yelling and cussing he did during the install and hating the bike, he rode it and he likes it again. Super comfy and powerful.

I don't have pictures or video of the exhaust. The bike was too dirty for me to do either. And I'm going on vacation starting now (3am). I'll be gone for over a week riding a rental bike around Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. But when I get back, I promise to take many pictures, and get video of it idling and riding past the camera.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Hi Mate, glad to see you are enjoying the sound & performance!
There is something that happens when you hear that growl..

I've gone and put on Victory genuine straights & a PC5/autotune once i saw your intial post. They gave it a good kick in the pants & i am yet to do the airbox/timing wheel. The sound is perfect for me, rumbles at idle & roars on WOT but is nice and calm at cruising speed which is exactly what i wanted. Even with the genuine pipes they had to cut the frame & the heatshield is a few mm off total coverage (if you look hard)

Glad to hear you are enjoying the outlay though, keen to see the results!
One massive thing i noticed is the weight difference. the stock pipes weigh an absolute ton! My boardwalk now rides straight without being on the handlebars where she used to lean right with some gusto. you can definately feel the weight difference in the corners, did you get a feeling for that at any point?
 
#24 ·
Hey brotha, post some pics of it all cleaned up. I'm dying to see the finished product.
 
#25 ·
Whoops I completely forgot I promised pics. These should satisfy. I included some of the exhaust mounts because, well, they are big and noticeable. Could have been a better way to mount them methinks. I'll post a video of how they sound with a better walk around maybe Friday. I don't want to go out and cold rev the engine.
















Apparently I'm limited to just 8 pictures so the next post will finish this off...
 
#26 · (Edited)




So to kind of recap...

The con's: these exhaust were a hell of a headache. There were welding marks inside the muffler that wouldn't allow the muffler to slip over the exhaust. Had to smooth those over before we could get them on. The right heat shield was too short (twice). Although the second time is barely noticeable in person and I can live with it. The symmetry of the left and right pipe is off. The left pipe is 3 inches from the fender. The right pipe is 4.5 inches. However I will give them credit that the right pipe is 3 inches away from the belt drive. So depending on how you look at it, it is kind of symmetrical. But I still say it's not. You cannot take the heat shield off without removing the entire exhaust. I think that's pretty silly. The exhaust mounts are unnecessarily big and kinda stick out. I don't mind them too much, but maybe I'll do something with them later on. The chrome is sub par. I'm sure I'll have to rechrome it later on. Maybe I'll chrome the exhaust brackets while I'm at it since if they are going to stand out, they might as well be pretty. Lastly, the left exhaust mount is in the way of the kickstand. I can get the kickstand to FULLY retract by kind of picking it up and over the frame mount, but that will wear a notch into the rubber and I don't want to do that. Instead I just let it rest on the side. The spring on the kickstand keeps it snug against the exhaust mount so I know it's not going anywhere. But I just think that issue speaks volumes about the designer's capabilities. Whoever thought these exhaust up didn't do a very good job of covering all their bases.

The pros: They sound AWESOME. At idle, its has this quiet but menacing hum, like you know this thing has tons of power and it doesn't need to be a show off about it. Its great. If you blip the throttle, it gives a real loud bark. I try not to do that too much cause I don't like being "that guy", but occasionally I will. At WOT, the thing screams. You literally can hear me coming a mile away. And at cruising speeds, it's still pretty loud, more than I was going for, but I like it. It's not too obnoxiously loud to where you will get pulled over (I hope), but it is definitely loud enough to put you into the category where everybody thinks your overcompensating... Then we come to engine braking. Man oh man is engine braking fun now. On deceleration, it's somewhere in between cruising speed, and WOT. I've found myself downshifting all the way to first just to hear it more instead of my usual routine of after second is done, just pulling in the clutch and using the brakes to stop fully. If only it didn't backfire so much, it would sound beautiful. I'm guessing the backfires are more because my cobra autotuner than the pipes, although I'm sure they don't help. And the performance is on par with what you would expect from RPW I would imagine. Haven't put it on the dyno, but the seat of the pants feels like it has more oomph now. And when I show people the exhaust, they don't notice the issues, so I have to say that to the layman, they look great. I even think they look splended except for the few issues. But if you look at it anywhere except from directly behind, they look good.

All in all, I don't know if I would recommend these pipes. If you go into it eyes wide open you might be satisfied with them. The pros for me have started to outweigh how much a pain in the A$$ these things were. I like em enough that I'm not seriously regretting buying these. But I still think it's unacceptable that $900 exhaust like these had so many stupid problems and that I'm STILL not done correcting them. I would like to find a way to get them within about .5 inches difference away from the fender if I could. And the chrome will have to be redone in a few years.

Don't worry, I'll get a video up soon. It won't do them justice, but maybe you'll get an idea.
 
#27 ·
One more quick note about the symmetry. Like I said the right pipe is 3 inches from the belt drive but 4.5 inches from the fender. Remember the left pipe is 3 inches from the fender. So when looking at it from behind and a few feet away, it looks right because there is the belt drive is filling the gap between the two differences. But when you look at the turn signals and where the exhaust is underneath them, that's when you notice the difference.
 
#29 ·
Sorry for the late reply. I'm sure it wouldn't have fit out the box. Could it have been modified to fit? Maybe. But I'm not mechanically inclined so I would have had to pay someone to do that. Had I know about the symmetry problem, I would have looked into it more. But at the time, this was the best looking option.
 
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