Vance & Hines Monster Ovals
Vance & Hines Monster Ovals
CW EVALUATION
More volume equals...less volume
LIKE IT OR NOT, THE NOISE COPS ARE coming to town. Not just to our town but to your town and everybody’s town. Actually, they’re already in many towns, issuing fix-it citations, imposing ever-increasing fines and even, in a few extreme cases, impounding too-loud motorcycles. It’s the future, so get used to it.
But that doesn’t mean you no longer will be able to ride a bike with a decentsounding exhaust. And to prove that very point, Vance & Hines has developed its Monster Ovals slip-on mufflers for Harley-Davidson FF-series touring models.
Visually, these silencers live up to their name. They’re long, wide and ovalshaped, with billet end caps and formfitting heat shields that V&H says are “blue proof.” They slip on just as easily as the Stockers, and once in place, they complement the appearance of the back end. Width-wise, they match the saddlebags almost perfectly, and they extend rearward just enough to dump exhaust fumes behind the bags. They’re available in lustrous chrome with chrome end caps, chrome with black end caps or black with chrome caps.
V&H says that its proprietary silencing technology, combined with mufflers that have twice the internal volume of typical slip-ons, results in a deep, pleasing, eco-friendly exhaust note along with an increase in power. We’ve heard similar stories from other pipe manufacturers, but so far, no exhaust components we’ve tested have fully lived up to those claims. Until now.
We slipped a set of Monster Ovals onto a 2009 H-D Ultra Classic and found that they did everything Vance & Hines had claimed-
maybe even more. First of all, the sound they permit is fantastic. At idle, it’s deep and boomy and full of the character you expect a big V-Twin’s exhaust to have, yet it’s not obnoxiously loud. And once the bike starts accelerating, the bassoprofundo note continues but the volume barely rises. For riders on the bike, the sound is wonderfully satisfying, yet for bystanders, it’s a non-event, offering little cause to call in the National Guard.
DETAILS
Vance & Hines 13861 Rosecrans Ave. Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670 562/921-7461 www.vanceandhines.com Price...$759 to $869
Sounds great Look great Work great
Downs Waaay expensive Heavier than stock Slighty easier to drag when cornering
What’s more, before-and-after runs on the Cycle World dyno showed that the Monster Ovals do indeed boost the Ultra’s engine’s output-and not just at certain rpm but everywhere. It’s as though someone slid a jack under the stock torque and horsepower curves and simply raised them intact. Peak hp went up almost 5 percent and peak torque more than 9 percent, a level of increase that continued across the entire rpm range—quite a feat on an engine that otherwise was bonestock, including EFI mapping!
Obviously, the folks at V&H understand the growing noise problem and are doing something meaningful about it while still serving the wants and needs of enthusiasts. Monster Ovals aren’t cheap, but in the end, you get your money’s worth.
