Samson Exhaust has been in the exhaust business for quite some time and has earned a reputation for making a good set of pipes. If you are in the market for a new set, no matter whether you want something with good looks, good sound, good performance, or all three, Samson has several different lines of pipes to suit your needs.
One of the company's latest lines is the Caliber high-performance exhaust. The Caliber line of pipes was designed to show increases in torque and horsepower while maintaining that deep sound for which Samson pipes are known. Caliber pipes feature a state-of-the-art four-stepped header system designed by Caliber's R&D team under the watchful eye of Kenny Price, owner of Samson Exhaust.
Except for a couple of covers here and there and a different seat, this '96 Springer Softail looks pretty much the way it did when it rolled out the factory doors 10 years ago. Even though our plan is to turn the stock Evo into a tire-shredding machine, our bank accounts are not on the same plan. So in the meantime we decided to go the quickest and easiest route to obtaining more horsepower and torque and bolt on one of Caliber's new exhaust systems.
Here is Caliber's C-710 two-into-one...
Here is Caliber's C-710 two-into-one exhaust installed on our '96 Springer.
We decided to go with Caliber's...
We decided to go with Caliber's C-710 two-into-one pipe (MSRP: $500). As most people already know, the backpressure created by a two-into-one exhaust system is your best bet for obtaining more horsepower and torque at the bottom end. Besides being a two-into-one, the Caliber C-710 system features a stepped header design, which makes the pipe more efficient and helps produce more power.
The C-710 system comes with...
The C-710 system comes with three-piece full-coverage heat shields to help hide any discoloration that may take place.
These pipes also come with...
These pipes also come with a 2-inch and 1-3/4-inch baffle.
As LifeStyle Cycles is a Samson/Caliber...
As LifeStyle Cycles is a Samson/Caliber exhaust dealer, it was just a matter of rolling the bike around back for a baseline dyno run, and then Scott, one of LifeStyle's lead custom projects technicians, quickly removed the stock exhaust and began installing the Caliber pipes.
After Scott installed new...
After Scott installed new exhaust gaskets, the pipes were lined up and loosely bolted to the heads.
Next, the heat shield clamps...
Next, the heat shield clamps were slid into the back of the heat shields.
Then Scott placed the heat...
Then Scott placed the heat shields into position over the pipes and tightened them down.
This is the mounting bracket...
This is the mounting bracket that helps keep the tail end of the exhaust secured to the bike. The side with two holes bolts to the frame, and the other side bolts to the end of the exhaust.
With the heat shield and bracket...
With the heat shield and bracket in place and the exhaust properly aligned, Scott tightened down the flange bolts.
All that was left was to install...
All that was left was to install the billet end cap and make a couple of runs on the dyno.
Our baseline run produced 45.76 hp and 60.83 lb-ft of torque. After bolting on the Caliber exhaust, our best run put out 51.88 hp and 68.42 lb-ft of torque. Without any tuning and still running the stock air cleaner, we were able to pick up 6.12 horsepower and 7.59 lb-ft of torque-not too bad for $500 and about an hour of work.