Cobra or V&H Exhaust

[Navigator]

I am reluctant to start another aftermarket exhaust thread but my forum search turns up a ton of posts related to exhausts but that include tons of related subjects such as intake, baffles, ad nausea.

Soooo. My dilemma is that I will be purchasing an after market exhaust for my 2007 Nomad but I am undecided as to which.

While attending the recent BC rally I saw that many of our members had the Vance & Hines, a system that seemed to be a bit on the louder side to me but definitely a fine exhaust. One of the guys mentioned that he had pulled the baffles on his and wrapped them or some such to tone them down.

I just saw a web site advertisement for Cobras and it said they have a welded in baffle, not much to my liking.

So guys, what's the verdict on aftermarket exhaust. Both the Cobra and V&H cost about the same. Someone submitted a post that the V&Hs crack at the header. Is this true?

[BigRat]

Nothing like hearing them in person, but Youtube has a lot of videos of Nomads w/different exhausts. You can get an idea anyway.

I really like my Cobra Longs, but they are L-O-U-D... and I like it.

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...=nomad+exhaust

[hammer]

I had the V&H. The rear header cracked in half at about 45,000k or 28,000 miles. No warranty of course even though it is a frequently reported issue. I bought a new header then sold them to Canuckrider who does like them.

I like the sound of the V&H but they got louder than I liked, particularly on long trips on which the drone started ti get to me. I also did not like the unfinished look of the rear header pipe.

I went to the Cobras because they sound good without being too loud although they are getting a little louder over time. My take is their fit and finish is better with no header issues. I believe you can get some Cobra models with removable baffles but I am not worried at all about that for mine.

[mr500]

I went down the same road. I chose Cobra over VH just from the response I got from there CS after asking about the cracking issues on the rear pipe. Put on cobra slash downs and have not looked back. At hwy speed I can hear them but then I cant. If you can understand that lol. Not loud at all on my 1600. When I take off and get on it, they sound really good. Are sounding better now that I have had them on 3 months.

[Johnny Y]

In 07 I bought a 06 Nomad with V&H on it. I didn't know about the cracking issue. I traded the bike last year with 42,000 on it. Pipes were in good shape. Didn't bother me on long trips & I could hear my Kury. sound of chrome speakers just fine. I didn't think they were too loud unless I twisted the throttle. But keep in mind I did 4 years Marine Artillery.

[landman]

i would go with the billet tip cobras which do have removable baffles.

[Vulcan Bill]

Keep in mind most of the exhaust systems you heard at the rally most like had been altered. I have the Cobra slash cuts duelys and road with a guy who had the V&H. His had a throatier sound to them. Since I have drilled two 1/2 " holes in each back plate on mine and that gave it the rumble I wanted but not loud while cruising.

[ubernomad]

The VH so-called "cracking" issue is not really an issue as a lot of folks make it out to be. Of all the VH pipe kits sold there is a VERY small percentage of pipes that crack. You only hear about it on websites like this by a small number of people who make a big deal out of something that is not related to the manufacturer.

Besides, not one single person has proof the pipes are defective or have a built-in flaw. If the pipe cracks it can typically be traced back to overly hot exhaust due to too lean condition or improper install. It's a single wall pipe that is the same exact thickness as all other aftermarket pipes and made of the same type of steel alloy.


I've got VH pipes and love them. Zero problems.

[redjay]

Originally Posted by ubernomad

The VH so-called "cracking" issue is not really an issue as a lot of folks make it out to be. Of all the VH pipe kits sold there is a VERY small percentage of pipes that crack. You only hear about it on websites like this by a small number of people who make a big deal out of something that is not related to the manufacturer.

Besides, not one single person has proof the pipes are defective or have a built-in flaw. If the pipe cracks it can typically be traced back to overly hot exhaust due to too lean condition or improper install. It's a single wall pipe that is the same exact thickness as all other aftermarket pipes and made of the same type of steel alloy.


I've got VH pipes and love them. Zero problems.

How come nobody complains of any other pipe but V&H cracking ?
Surely other people with Cobras (and others) have their bikes incorrectly tuned and installed them improperly but only V&H pipes crack ?

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by redjay

How come nobody complains of any other pipe but V&H cracking ?
Surely other people with Cobras (and others) have their bikes incorrectly tuned and installed them improperly but only V&H pipes crack ?

Maybe it's just V&H that sells an inferior product. I have never heard of any pipes of any other brand cracking, and it only seems to be on these bikes. I have never heard of them cracking on the Harley forum.

[ndbigfish]

I had one set of V&H pipes on two different Nomads. Never had a problem. They do get louder as they blow the packing off of the baffles. I tried several things before I settled on stove door gasket covered with a heavy layer of fiberglass packing. The V&H head pipes on my H-D had a heat shield break and a replacement was expensive.

[hammer]

I took the time to contact Vance & Hines about my header pipe including the same pictures I posted in this forum. The rep said they were not aware of any complaints about rear header pipes cracking. Mine did not just crack, it broke in half. It went off like a bomb on the highway.


Given that the cracking problem is all over the WWW I did not like starting with company policy driven BS.

The rep said V&H would not entertain a warranty replacement because the break was probably due to improper installation and I should talk to whoever installed them. They did give me a small discount on shipping a new one. I asked the rep if he wanted me to ship the broken one to them so they could have their QA people look at it just in case there was metal fatigue factor or some such. Yah right, of course not

I have always had good success talking to Cobra and they appear to have a serious approach to quality and warranty.

[redjay]

That's the problem with V&H, they know there is a problem by they deny it instead of stepping up to the plate and replacing pipes that break, or solving the problem at the source.

[hammer]

Since I have drilled two 1/2 " holes in each back plate on mine and that gave it the rumble I wanted but not loud while cruising

Old school and effective. I like that!

I may try your 1/2" hole approach Bill.

[Top Cat]

Just run straight pipes, kill two birds with one stone.
You get the loud, look at me, life saving noise and also get to piss off the general public who want noise legislation against motorcycles.
A win, win