[suitcasejefferson]

That was the pipe I wanted, but did not buy one, because I've heard so many times that they do not last long. An exhaust should last as long as the bike. Pretty much forever. The stock pipes on my '02 Vulcan 750 are still in new condition, and the bike has over 90,000 miles on it, all mine. Sportster pipes should also last forever, I'm just not crazy about the look. I'm one of the few here who actually like the stock exhaust. I love the huge pipe. I think it is very impressive. The late '90s Honda Shadow 750 ACE, and the original Yamaha RoadStar Warrior had similar pipes, and I thought they were one of the nicest looking parts of the bike. But I don't like the cat, and I would like a little more sound.

[ace.cafe]

That was the pipe I wanted, but did not buy one, because I've heard so many times that they do not last long. An exhaust should last as long as the bike. Pretty much forever. The stock pipes on my '02 Vulcan 750 are still in new condition, and the bike has over 90,000 miles on it, all mine. Sportster pipes should also last forever, I'm just not crazy about the look. I'm one of the few here who actually like the stock exhaust. I love the huge pipe. I think it is very impressive. The late '90s Honda Shadow 750 ACE, and the original Yamaha RoadStar Warrior had similar pipes, and I thought they were one of the nicest looking parts of the bike. But I don't like the cat, and I would like a little more sound.

If you don't mind the Indian made mufflers, and like the big telephone pole muffler like the stock one, see if you can find somebody who has an Iron Barrel Bullet that took their stock muffler off. It's a big fat long massive thing that will probably be a close fit for what you are looking for. I'll bet that if you ask about one on the Iron Barrel forum section, somebody would have one that you could have for nothing, except the shipping cost maybe. Everybody took them off, so it shouldn't be hard to find one laying around in like-new condition.
They don't have the catalytic converter in them, and their baffles can be perforated with a long drill bit if you want to let a little more sound thru it, and also make it flow a little better. Or you might like it just as it is.

[Craig McClure]

Well, had to replace my NFG short bottle silencer tonight. It's only about a year old. How long should they last?
 

HERES AN IDEA.....
IF it's the upswept bottle exhaust, there is likely plenty of pipe left on both ends of it. Just remove the can from the end pipes with an exhaust pipe cutter, measure, & buy a cheap shorty muffler (JC Whitney has them) to replace the bad portion. Presto same look with new center portion.

[tenacres650]

our local dealer has had to replace nearly all the C5  upswept "sports" bottle exhausts that were supplied new as an option. They said they fell apart within 6 mths to 2 years. They refused to supply them from RE anymore until recently, they have now been told by RE that they have sourced a new supplier. Time will tell. As they said it should last trouble free for years!

[suitcasejefferson]

ACE, thanks for that information. Sounds like a good idea.

I thought those upswept pipes looked great on the C5, but the B5 has a much more traditional British look to it, at least in my opinion, and looks better with a straight pipe. I've always loved the older Triumph "peashooter" pipes, and that is what the efi pipe reminds me of. But I do indeed like the huge stock pipe. It's so big that when you replace it with something smaller, it looks like something is missing. Aside from the two bikes I mentioned, the 2000 Honda Aero and the early Victory V92SC also had huge pipes. It is now virtually impossible to find any of these bikes used with the original exhaust. Most have been replaced with really skinny drag pipes. That big pipe really stands out. Maybe that is why most don't like it. But then I'm one that likes side pipes on cars.

[Craig McClure]

Seems like the original mufflers are getting larger or the bikes smaller. I always think of a Torpedo bomber about to release its Torpedo - or a Pontoon Boat when I see them.  Repro Triumph & Burgess Silencers are still available. they will look & sound right because they are the real deal with no cat-converter.

[suitcasejefferson]

The original mufflers are getting bigger. The UCE muffler is bigger than the one on the iron barrel, probably because they had to make room for the cat con.

I found some repro Triumph mufflers, made by Emgo. They only sell them as a pair. Problem is they have a 1 1/2" inlet, and the Enfield header pipe is 1 3/4"

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Triumph-Bonneville-T120-mufflers-/230890205208

[tenacres650]

I found some repro Triumph mufflers, made by Emgo. They only sell them as a pair. Problem is they have a 1 1/2" inlet, and the Enfield header pipe is 1 3/4"

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Triumph-Bonneville-T120-mufflers-/230890205208

My muffler ID is 41mm on my C5, emgo can supply sleeves to reduce the ID, so it might still be an option?
emgo also has a nice goldstar silencer too with the sleeve
http://www.ebay.com/itm/EMGO-Universal-Goldstar-Style-Muffler-80-84077-fits-Left-or-Right-hand-/331661835998?vxp=mtr

[NorEaster]

I bought a short bottle exhaust off ebay. It's length measurements are a little different than the one sold by NFG; but can be adjusted to fit ok. It has a great sound and I have put a few hours use on it and it is still shiny unlike the one it replaced which turned black after about a 1/2 hour. The only minus is that it got a slight ding in it via shipping.

[pmanaz1973]

Have you considered putting a news baffle in the old one and getting it re-chromed?  I did that on my Norton and it sounded much better and looked great.  Wasn't very expensive at all.  Just food for thought.

[NorEaster]

no way to get the old one apart without cutting it. I think attempting to re-gut it and chrome it would cost more than the $40 I spent for the one on ebay