2012 Harley-Davidson Exhaust Pipe Shootout Photo Gallery

We evaluate five slip-on style mufflers for a Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 to find out which pipe is best.,

Discover which slip-on style muffler is the one you need for your Harley-Davidson motorcycle in the Harley-Davidson Exhaust Pipe Shootout test.

The Akrapovic slip-ons had the most number of pieces, therefore taking the longest time to install.

The Akrapovic slip-ons have catalytic convertors that can be removed for countries that allow that modification. We tested them as-is this time around and they offered elevated character while maintaining reasonable noise levels. However there wasn’t much of a power boost.

We love the character and ‘new age’ tone of the Akrapovic pipes without being over the top loud.

The Bassanis offered the highest level of fit and finish and we’re fans of the the muzzle-style end caps.

Not only did the Bassani pipes look the best, it served up the most amount of power too.

Our Harley-Davidson Forty Eight achieved almost a 20% increase in horsepower over stock with the Bassani mufflers.

As far as appearance and fit-and-finish are concerned the BUB pipes were also one of our favorites.

The BUB pipes also produced big horsepower and torque increases over stock.

The BUB bikes made our Harley feel like it was running with open headers. The engine was quicker rev and shelled out way more acceleration performance over stock. But it came with a price: they are exceptionally loud.

The Screamin’ Eagle pipes mounted up the quickest though we weren’t big fans of the styling compared to some of the other pipes.

The overall fit-and-finish of the Screamin’ Eagle pipes was a bit down compared to the competition. Although hard to notice, the uneven paint inside the muffler made it look of lesser quality.

The Screamin’ Eagle pipes proved to pump out the most immediate low end torque. It elaborates on the classic Harley sound too without being overly loud.

The Vance & Hines pipes were the most reasonably priced exhaust in this test.

To our surprise the Fit-and-Finish of the Vance & Hines pipe was slightly below some of the competition.

The Vance & Hines slip-on pipes were editor’s preferred choice based on price, performance and overall character.

The Vance & Hines pipes are compatiable with the OEM exhaust cross over tube designed to equalize pressure between cylinders.

Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200cc Slip-On Exhaust Shootout - Torque

Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200cc Slip-On Exhaust Shootout - Horsepower