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Modding the Commander / LT exhaust

60K views 125 replies 28 participants last post by  flynstone 
#1 ·
Hey,

Has anyone here modified the stock Commander / LT mufflers?

I'm thinking about drilling up the centre... was wondering if anyone has already had a go at them.
 
#4 ·
Hi, I have the comander with TOR's fitted, they sound nice but not that loud. I started the bike at the dealer without pipes on at all, also not that loud. Reason for this is the new CAT System which has 2 cats,1 in each header. I'm trying to find a replacement header but no luck so far. If anyone has info please let me know.
 
#11 ·
I drilled the biggest holes I could between the cap-head screws on the tip of my commander exhaust. Drilled through 2 or 3 baffles using an 18" long bit. Started it up and at idle it sounds like a four cylinder engine running without 1 spark plug... Doesn't sound great... Under acceleration, it sounds ok, but not what I was hoping for.

I'm saving up for the TORS now, and hoping they're a bit better than my hack job...
 
#12 ·
My riding mate just put some vance & hines on his vstar 1300. Sounds fantastic sitting there & twisting the throttle BUT it's too f'n loud in practice when riding. Head feels like it's sitting in a bell. I followed him today & I got the same effect when I'm close & he twists the throttle. Moral is? Maybe riding comfort is more important than a boss exhaust? BTW - he is looking to replace the muffler with a quieter one (apparently they can do that - at a cost).
 
#14 ·
I'm on the same page with pipes being TOO loud. That drone gets really annoying after a while if you're on the highway. Plus there comes a point where you start turning into one of those "look at me" guys (ahem, Harley riders). That's why I love the Specialty Spares I have on the America. They have a good rumble, are loud but not too loud. Unless you really get on it, then they scream pretty well. Which I like because I always run a gear lower than norm in heavy traffic to help the texters surrounding me realize I'm there. If there were an exhaust solution for this bike that was similar to those, I would be in heaven!! :D
 
#13 ·
Someone over on the Thunderbird1600 forum mentioned the Remus exhaust for the LT. Which I'm assuming would work for the Commander because I believe the connections/mounts/whatever are the same. They sound good, but holy **** are they expensive if they are indeed just slip-ons! Plus, I'm not a fan of stainless steel because you can always see the color variation between it and all the chrome which surrounds it.

http://www.remususa.com/epages/remu...ries/Motorcycles/Triumph/Thunderbird_LT_2014-
 
#16 ·
Update:

Today I pulled both mufflers off today. Sounds like it's the cats that do most of the muffling of the sound! I started it up and thought, wow! Took her for a spin up my street and it sounded awesome, and it really wasn't very loud, and I was riding without a helmet at the time too.

With the mufflers both off, I found that the internals are not the same for both sides. Can't understand why. Also found that it isn't a small job to remove the cats on these newer Thunderbirds without cutting the headers. But I reckon that's ok, I am going to see what slip on I can find that has little to no internals seeing that the cats do such a good job at quieting the sound.
 
#24 ·
Not according to the email I received from V&H:

"Joshua,
Thank you for the email and interest of our product. Vance & Hines does not sell direct to the consumer, please use the dealer locator on dragspecialties.com to find a local dealer near you."
 
#23 ·
Question so the new 2014 and above do not have the big Catalytic converter box in the middle that you can easily replace with CAT Bypass? The cats are in the header or is this just in Australia I remember back in 2000 the non USA bikes had cats in the headers but in the USA we had no cats in our headers.
 
#25 ·
Correct, in the US the Commander and LT versions of the Thunderbird do not have the big CAT box in the middle that's easily replaced. Instead, the CATs are in the header in the area of the floorboards. As far as I know the 1600 and Storm versions still have the large middle CAT.
 
#27 ·
Just a word of caution for any Commander or LT owners who've been thinking about ordering a pair of the V&H pipes: I got mine in on Tues, and have been wrestling with them ever since. Came with the wrong instructions, had the incorrect clamps for where the slip-ons meet the headers, don't appear to actually mount correctly onto the frame in the rear. I've been emailing and on the phone with V&H trying to sort this out. Which has gotten me practically nowhere. Pretty mad that I paid all that money for a product that doesn't function correctly :mad:
 
#32 ·
Thank you! Yeah, customer service is VERY important to me as well. I understand that mistakes can happen with orders and products, we're all human. However, some companies are way better at making things right than others. Normally, I would never order a product that had just come out like this, but I figured it's Vance & Hines, one of the biggest names in aftermarket motorcycle exhaust, they'll have their **** together. Starting to think I was wrong...
 
#30 ·
I made a deal with my Triumph dealership when I bought the Thunderbird LT to get the Vance and Hines aftermarket exhaust for cost once they were available. That was in November, 2014. Living with the anemic, although visually appealing stock mufflers, was too much agony and I paid for a custom pair that the fabricator couldn't get right. Sounded good but never looked proper because he didn't care about angles and fit. I wrote it off when I learned about these V&H pipes. The owner of my Triumph dealership didn't exactly remember our deal when the parts manager brought it up to him, but he cares about me as a customer and said that if that was the deal, then follow through with it. I had it in writing, but I didn't have to bother. So I'm getting these pipes for $200 off retail, and if I have to have them install the exhaust to avoid any fitment issues, I'll gladly pay for the installation. I've become very adept at mounting and dismounting my pipes by now, so I'll know what to look for when they arrive. Freedom Cycle Triumph Las Vegas did right by me. I'll let you know how the installation goes.
 
#31 · (Edited)
For sure, let me know how it goes. I hope you and your dealership have better luck than I have. I'm started to wish I'd have just taken it to my dealer for install, that way they could fight it out with V&H. Though, that might've meant my bike being out of service for a little while.

I called V&H AGAIN today. Still never received proper instructions for this install, still have no idea when the proper clamps will be here if ever, and still have made no progress actually getting these damned things on my bike. Today's reasoning from them was that the pipes are for a 2015 Commander, and they won't fit because I have a 2014 Commander. Ummm, as far as I know there are NO differences between the two years. Bike Bandit shows no differences, and I just called my local Triumph dealer who said their "parts bid" shows no difference. REALLY getting fed-up here...
 
#33 ·
Update on the installation of V&H twin slash duals on my Triumph Thunderbird LT...

Was told the pipes would be in on Sept. 1. I came in on Sept 2, but was told they would be in on Sept 3. I came into the shop on Sept 4, but was told they would be in on Sept 8. Called the shop on Sept 8 and was told they would be in on Oct. 8. I told the parts manager to call and talk to someone directly at V&H to find out what is going on. She said that they are still producing the casings for the pipes... Whatever that means. Was later told that something was wrong with the design and they weren't fitting well on most motorcycles. They are evidently changing some things in production. I'm waiting impatiently until October for my pipes.
 
#35 ·
Forgot to post an update about my situation... After I went back and forth with V&H for about 2 weeks and got nowhere with them, I decided to try and return the pipes as I was fed up. The local shop I bought them through talked me into letting them give it a shot because they could talk directly with the R&D department at Vance. As it turned out, I wasn't crazy, the right-hand pipe would not fit properly and required them to cut about 1/2" off the header section of the exhaust. I gave them the go-ahead to do that. The left side fit just fine and mounted up perfectly without a problem.

So yeah, clearly there is a problem with the finished product for some reason or another. Hopefully the fact they have halted delivery of these means they are doing what's necessary to correct the issue. The good news is that after all the headache and hassle, these pipes look and sound amazing. The sound is nice and deep, but not too loud. Honestly about perfect in my opinion.
 

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#36 · (Edited)
Here's an update that was long overdue. Photos before and after my bike was rear ended. It is fully repaired now, but I was a month without it. The woman who hit me claimed injury, which held up the insurance process. Good thing I had a video of the accident. Anyway, I only had the V&H pipes for just a week when the accident happened. No new photos, since it's been only three days since it was repaired, but it looks as good as new. I'm very happy with the V&H pipes. I installed them myself with no fitment issues. Simple, straight forward installation. The look and sound is very good. Now the bike is properly loud and proud!

https://youtu.be/bTI9ufgBs_M

https://youtu.be/w1689RVISZs

https://youtu.be/H1yDYeiflyA
 

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