Anyone that has had the same bike for more than a year knows after time, you may get tired of the same exhaust. Luckily the exhaust system is one of the easiest components to swap out and can change up the look, sound and performance of your bike with very little down time.
One of our riding buddies had an '02 Fat Boy which had gone through several pipe changes, the latest of which was a set of duals that he hacked the ends off to create his own set of shorty pipes. Now our friend was ready to go to the other extreme with some long pipes, specifically a set of Freedom Performance's Sharktail Standard True Duals ($999.99). He had been eyeballing these pipes for quite some time and was anxious to get them on knowing that the shark tips and true dual setup would give his bike more of a classic and balanced feel. But like most of us with new pipes, he was even more excited to hear what his new exhaust sounded like.
The Sharktails feature 1 3/4-inch head pipes with 2 1/8-inch heat shields that cover the head pipes only. The mufflers are 2 1/8 inches in diameter and have removable baffles (quiet baffles are also available). Also included is stainless steel hardware and the mounting brackets (not shown). If chrome isn't your thing, Freedom Performance offers these pipes in ceramic black for that blacked out look.
Here's how the '02 Fat Boy looked with the owner's "modified exhaust". While he liked the look, the sounds of these straight pipes was a little too obnoxious, and he was tired of being forced to ride at the back of the pack.
To get started we removed the old exhaust system, installed new exhaust gaskets, and slipped the stock flanges onto the new head pipes. On the left side we had to remove the two plastic plugs that were installed into the side of the rear frame rail by The Factory so we could use the holes to mount the left side exhaust bracket. Then the right side exhaust bracket was mounted in the same location as the stock bracket.
Next, the front head pipe was loosely bolted up followed by the rear head pipe.
With the rear head pipe in place, the center section that wraps over the rear of the primary was installed and loosely secured with supplied clamp. The mufflers were then installed and then we made sure the tips were even with each other.
Once everything was together, some threadlocker was applied to the exhaust bracket bolts and everything was tightened down. We finished the install by installing the heat shields onto the left and right head pipes. Freedom's heat shields and pipes feature blue-proof technology to help keep your exhausts mirror chrome finish looking sharp.
Here's a close up of Freedom's Sharktail tips. On the underside of the end of the muffler you can see one of the bolts that allow you to quickly and easily give your pipes a little bit different look by swapping out the Sharktips with a set of the Freedom Performances other tips like slash cut, star cap, or flush cut.
In no time the owner was back in the saddle and roaring down the road, and stated "I really like how the pipes match up with my saddlebags, they fit perfectly. The sounds was great at idle, nice and throaty, they have that classic sound I was after. I felt good mid range power and the bike was more responsive when passing and going up hills. " To hear what the pipes sound like on this Fat Boy watch this video clip.