I recently went back to my stock exhaust with a stage III setup. When I did the stage III I went straight to it without using the long bits to drill the back plate. My question is if I drill the back plate, will it add anymore sound and even more important will it reduce the backpressure enough to improve the performace more? The way I see it the stage III is close to running straight pipes.

I use to have Baron's Too Nasties on the bike with Thunder Monsters. I have moved toward the bagger style and am leaning toward a set of Roadhouse Doolies but until then I like the look of the stock pipes that fit close to the bottem of the bags.

I also noticed that if I run the RPM's up close to the rev limit "5000RPM" (Dyna 3000) and let the gas off all at once I get some backfire out the exhaust. Not severe but it does happen some.

Any comments will be appreciated.

Thanks
AS Bass

Well, I got bored yesterday and got out my hole-hawg and went to work on my '05 stock pipes. (Scared of how the stock carburetor setup was going to react and the fact that I may need to remove it and adjust PMS ) But anyways, I spent the afternoon bashing and smashing the tubes and baffles inside and finally ended up with NEARLY empty mufflers and a pile of scrap metal. I never removed the pipes from the bike as I do not have a vice to hold them. Upon the final inspection with a flashlight, I could see the top pipe had a screen on the inlet pipe, and the bottom pipe had its inlet pipe angled up toward the connector pipe between the two pipes (Is this something to do with balancing the backpressure or tuning for sound? ) I figured this little screen thing must be causing a lot of backpressure for the front cylinder, it had to go, so I smashed it out with a piesce of rebar. Took the bike for a spin and, WOW! The rear tire will spin on a steep hill, and what an awesome exhaust rumble! Nice and deep and throaty, but not too loud.
I never had any problems with the carb at all, I am at a very high altitude here and it always seems the bike ran too rich, surging and bucking at low speeds. The stage 3 seems to have leaned it out a bit and it now runs puuuurfect at all speeds. I would recommend a stock stage 3 setup over spending 600 bucks on a set of pipes anyday, ...and the wife don't melt her pant legs on the stock pipes as easy either with the extra heat shielding the stock pipes come with. -StarMyram

While on the subject of stage 3, I'm a bit confused on what suppose to be done. I did staGe 1 where you remove the cone and flatten all the sharp edges and coat the inside with flat black paint.

But what exactly do you do for stage three. I assume from the schematics, you drill from the opposite (inlet) end, right?

I have aftermarket pipes on my bike now but would like to hear what a stage 3 sounds like. Anyhow, the pipes are just sitting so might as well.

Thanks and Ride Safe.

Jesse

Wirkinman,
I used to have a set of "Vance & Hines Cruzers" slashcuts on my 04 V-Star 650 Classic and they were so damn loud I had to wear earplugs, (but got lots of looks from folks in town, especially the guys and their hearing aids! When I sold the bike I figured I would never waste 600 bucks on that kind of obnoxious noise again. I was expecting a nice rumble, but got a glass shattering roar with a heck of a snappiness to it.
Now on the 05 Roadstar, I have to watch my budget (due to the wife.) So I tried the stage One, I was pleasantly impressed with the more powerful but mellow sound it acheived. After extensive research (and brave enough guts with the thought of possibly having to recalibrate my carb -Ugh!) I decided my BIG bike didn't sound as BIG as Dad's Harley, and I could not live with that! So I did the stage III.
In reference to your question: Stage III is basically gutting the entire muffler so that all you have is the one inch pipes going into the front of the chrome muffler shells (with the perforated shell liner and insulation left intact to stop the blueing of the outer chrome from heat.) The whole "Stage III" is carried out through the rear of the muffler, EXCEPT for the removal of the small perforated pipe with a cap on the end of it that is on the end of the inlet tube in ONLY the TOP muffler. Just take a piece of 3/4 inch bar and repeatedly slam it dowm into the inlet pipe till you bust through the perforated pipe and/or cap. When you are done doing the "Stage III" you should be able to look into each inlet pipe and be able to see straight out of the rear of the mufflers. (The bottom muffler's inlet pipe has a slight angle upward, but don't worry about that, it won't cause any backpressure now.) Try the Stage III on your spare pipes, you might like it so much, you'll have your aftermarket pipes sittin' in the box instead. The "Stage III" gives the R* a sound that suits it. A BIG, Deep Throaty Rumble at idle and a beautiful sound on the highway that an engine this size should have, but just loud enough you don't need earplugs to ride it. So go ahead and get your stock pipes out of the shed and try it out! I should have done the stage III and never even stopped at the "Stage 1" had I known it would be this good!

StarMyram,
Thank you so much for your explanation on the Stage III. I was just a bit confused on how it's done.

Yea! your right about those slashcuts. I have a set of Cobras and they sure are loud. My thinking is that if they can't see you, they will definitely hear you.
I also added the Stebel horn to mine. (139db) for the same reason. Everytime I have to use my horn, it startles the cagers enough to slow down and turn their head looking out for the truck.

I see that someone mentioned altitude in regards to stage III. I am sitting at a mile high and I have not gone to stage III because of the jetting "thing". So...what effect does altitude play in all of this?? Thanks for any info.

georgeg wrote:
I see that someone mentioned altitude in regards to stage III. I am sitting at a mile high and I have not gone to stage III because of the jetting "thing". So...what effect does altitude play in all of this?? Thanks for any info.

Check out these posts;

http://roadstarclinic.com/component/option,com_simpleboard/Itemid,/func,view/catid,49/id,5973/#5973
http://roadstarclinic.com/component/option,com_simpleboard/Itemid,/func,view/catid,49/id,5141/#5141
http://roadstarclinic.com/component/option,com_simpleboard/Itemid,/func,view/catid,12/id,7541/#7541

If you have any further questions, we'll be glad to try and answer them.

Doc

Doc: Thanks for the Info and it looks like I'll go to stage III and hope for no jetting' Thanks again for your help and a Great web site
georgeg

I wish i had had luck with my stage 3 Just got back firing on hard decel I think
you need better flow from the header pipes. I have ruined a set of stock pipes
that i should have left alone i am happy with the classic complete exhaust because the stage three was so sluggish in comparison. I didnt like the slip ons becuse you still left with restrictive head pipes

Hi, I read through this section and wanted to confirm my understanding of the Stage III before proceeding. I am gearing up for better sound and performance by adding a Big Air Kit, ported maniforld, AIS removal and am interested in modifying the exhaust to Stage III.

To clarify my steps, I will be doing the following:

1. Using a dremel tool, cut away the cones from the rear upper and
lower pipes.
2. Using a 2 ½ inch hole saw, cut out the first baffle plate, smooth out.
3. Remove center pipes, twisting and breaking away from the weld.
4. High temp flat black paint inside.

Did I miss anything, is it still necessary to drill any holes in the second baffle plate?

With my added parts (BAK, port manifold, and AIS removal), will the jetting for the stock stage III exhaust be similar as with a pair of V&H longshots?

Many Thanks,
Mike in San Jose, CA
2003 Mocha Star, still brand new with only 350 miles