Baffles

Will installing baffles in open exhaust pipes on a 1995 Harley 883 sportster increase or decrease performance? Will any carburetor adjustment be required if baffles are installed?

THANKS!!!

In my opinion drag pipes are made to be run at wide open throttle.To get the best all around performance out of your bike you will need a bit of back pressure and a well adjusted carb with the right jets for the amount of back pressure you have.I am not a mechanic but this is what I have found.
Viking

Well I once thought that I would never run baffles in my pipes. They are basically a straight pipe. I installed baffles and I got to the point that I could never understand how I rode my bike without them. I would have to say that baffles will increase your performance. As far as carb adjustments go, I did not do any adjustments for baffle install only, however, your bike may be different. I have a 96 Sportster 883 Hugger that I completely redid. Hope this helps.

If you are going to buy baffles, you might check into Thunder Baffles. You buy them for the pipes you are running and the instructions show you where to locate them for the best performance and sound you are looking for. They offer a tech line you can call if you have any problems or questions.

Thanks for all replies. I just today received a pair of 4" baffles from a seller on EBAY. Bike seems harder to start for some reason and runs a bit more sluggish than before. Also, hasn't done too much in reducing the noise.

4"' baffles installed in end of both pipes purchased from custom Harley seller on EBAY.

Pipes are 1 3/4" drag pipes. Baffles fit loosely in pipes and need to be secured with bolts provided. Not easy to relocate further into pipes and secure with bolts and nuts. Holes need to be drilled into pipes in order to secure the baffles. Easy to secure in the end of pipe, not so easy to install further inside. Will probably just remove them since bike ran better without them.

Hard to believe unbaffled drag pipes ran better than baffled ones at less than WOT....but I guess it is possible for the baffles to cause more reversion in the pipe resulting in more exhaust gasses in the combustion chamber.
Here's a combination for drag pipes that I found gave the bike somewhat decent performance below 3500RPM's....It was a set of HP plus baffles from Krome Werks mounted 2" in from the end of the pipe and a set of torque valves(AR cones)
Stock head pipes and a good set of slipons(Cycle Shack)worked best.

your bike is probably jetted for the no restriction of the drag pipes.now you are blocking things up and need to be rejetted.also is your air filter stock or high flow?

Stock air filter.

The baffles I installed are cheapies, similar to the ones currently offered on EBAY (item #260749463730). Maybe too much restriction. I even noticed the bike ran at a higher RPM in idle and sometimes backfired when turning off the engine.

OK--wrong baffles. They need to be longer, at least 6", and should slide in with snug fit (definitely not loose). The screen-mesh size also makes a difference. Check out Big City Thunder for correct baffles. It will run much better AND quieter. Although, the best performance set-up for a Harley is 2-into-1 headers flowing into a single megaphone muffler.

Replacing the stock air filter is a given if you want better performance. Look at a K&N RK series for a true 15-20% power increase.