11-25-2017, 09:42 AM
Back in the day, folks used to remove the baffles from their CB750 Fours, the fore runner to our current CB1100s, to get that louder exhaust note. It was a fairly popular practice, until an article came out in a motorcycle magazine cautioning against it, because the engines were designed to run with a certain amount of back pressure provided by the baffles. Of course those were pre ECM days. Now we have fuel injection, and engine performance is controlled by the ECM. When I had Vance & Hines aftermarket straight pipes with quiet baffles installed on my Harley, I had the ECM reprogrammed, tuned to that change in equipment, along with a Dyno, so that all the parts worked together correctly. I can also say that after riding a Harley with a moderately loud exhaust for the past 10 years before I got my CB, I dont think the pipes made me any more noticeable in traffic, unless the people in cars around me had their windows rolled down. As others have pointed out, car manufacturers have been on a mission for many years to make car cabins quiet, and exterior noise canceling. I can also say that I motored the Harley into my neighborhood slowly, so as not to annoy my neighbors, because we motorcyclists do not need any animosity from non cyclists. In fact, I think cyclists being viewed positively by non cyclists both on and off the road is in our best interests. So, for what it is worth, my take on the question is that I like the exhaust as is, and trust that the engineers at Honda designed it the way it is for good reasons. That said, if the exhaust is changed, from my experiences, the bike should be tuned for that change. Additionally, and for the same reasons, simply removing a baffle, or baffles is something I would not feel comfortable with.. To each his own, and these are just my thoughts on the question.