2009 Roadstar (1700)
Exhaust - Cobra Speedster Slashdowns
Baron's Big Air Kit (BAK)
Smartpartz.com Hard Kore Baffles

I have thought my Cobra's were pretty damn loud ever since I bought them. I tried the Cobra "quiet" baffles and it took a bit of the edge off but honestly didn't do much. I have been debating on the Smartpartz.com Hard Kore Baffles for awhile and decided to "bite the bullet" so to speak. Let me make this clear, I enjoy loud pipes but with my riding habits it made more sense to tone it down a little bit.

They come in a very nice packaging that touts several line items, including the obligatory marketing fluff.

6-12db decibel decrease across the rev range
Easy Fast installation
No drilling of exhaust pipe needed
All necessary hardware supplied
increase engine back pressure
Significant fuel savings
High quality nickel plating
Works with existing baffles
30 day money back gurantee
You'll be able to hear yourself think
Awesome sound

I had to remove my existing stock Cobra baffles and drill a hole 90 degrees from the original hole in the baffle. Clamping it in a vice and taking a try with the old Skil drill worked like a champ. I didn't know how tight the tolerance needed to be in the hole I need to drill but it ended up a drill press was not needed.

The new Hard Kore Baffle slipped into the end with a little urging and sort of "snapped" in place once the tab and screw hole lined up with the hole I just drilled. You do not put the screw in just yet.

**IMPORTANT STEP*
They recommend coating the pieces of the baffle that touch the pipe with WD-40 to allow ease of moving around. I didn't want the stink of burning oil so I skipped this step at first. DO NOT SKIP THIS. I skipped doing that and it gave me a lot of aggravation in moving things around. When I finally ended up lubing it up a bit everything went perfect.

I slid the baffle into the pipe holding onto the new Hard Kore baffle with a pair of pliers and easing it in so as not to misalign the new baffle hole and the old one. Since the screw hole that holds the Cobra baffle in is on the back of the pipe I had a small mirror held up to the back and aligned the hole pretty easy. I recommend the mirror on this, I tried it without and drove myself nuts trying to line it up blind.

They recommend loctite on the threads but I held off for now since I didn't know if they were staying in.

Screw on endcaps and all set!

The Ride
--------
I went for a short ride today, about 100 miles, just to try it out. My first impression in starting it was that the sound and volume wasn't terribly different, I was a little disheartened. The wife on the other hand raised her eyebrows and gave me a "wow."

I always ease out of the neighborhood due to volume but today I just rode normally. I didn't feel it was too loud for the neighborhood and I leave for work at 5am. This should be no problem from now on.

The stock Cobra's alone resonated inside my full face helmet. These new baffles took that resonance away, that's a good thing.

At one point, at higher speeds of 60-90, I could hear the wind more than I could hear the pipes. I am not sure if I like that or not but I would say these definitely lessened the volume. Everyone wonders about whether they changed the sound, I know I did. Let me say it is like someone turned the volume knob down on my pipes without changing the sound of the Cobra's in the least.

Please keep in mind that what people like in the sound quality and loudness of their pipes is very subjective. My personal opinion is that these were well worth the cost. I have the good look AND sound of the Cobra's at a volume that isn't obnoxious in the least.

I hope someone finds this useful!

Thanks,
Marcus

Nice review & write up, Marcus.

Thanks.

Cost??? Never mind. $69.95 for 2¼" Cobra speedster longs.

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Doc

do you have any pics of what these baffles look like and how they're constructed? besides the pics I can find on the website.
I just wonder if these can be made.

I put a set into my 3 inch hard kromes a few weeks back because after a day of riding my ears were ringing. 10 minute install. Great tone. Would recommend them. I leave at 5 A.M. for work as well. For some reason the nieghbors are friendlier now.

I am sure with the right equipment these can be made. I didn't take any pics though, sorry. There really is no secret to them, the pictures on their website are pretty accurate.

I put a set in my 3" HK's last year. Very easy to do...no drilling - just remove the end caps on the pipes, slide the hard kores in and use the same hole for the end caps and bolt them up with the supplied longer 1/4 - 20 bolt and cap nut. Sounded wonderful! I rode to the first annual Midwest M&G in Missouri, and on the way down one of the tabs that hold the hard kore in broke at the weld. I got a replacement - no questions asked - and installed it. Again, wonderfullness. This year after riding about 2500 miles into the season I heard a vibration coming from the pipes. It was the Hard Kores. I tried everything short of welding them in place. Nothing worked, so I removed them. Now I'm back to the loudness of the HK's. Maybe the hard kores have a life expectancy? I got approximately 10,000 miles out of them and now I can't make them stop vibrating. I am going to shoot an email off to Smartpartz and see what they say. I'll let everyone know when I hear back from them.

I put in a set on my 3" HK's too. Just did it a week ago, and am very pleased with the sound. Bike is loud when I want it to be, and quite enough to get out of the neighborhood without sounding like a jerk. Good stuff.