twoiron72,
I met a guy last week that has a similar bike as yours, his bike was loud and deep, I'll see if I can find out what he's running and get back to you.
I couldn't hear my bike over his - maybe too loud... don't know what the limits are in your neck of the woods, but around here he's asking for a ticket.
Still I'll find out and you can take it from there.

Thanks Roadking! It is great to receive some good advice from fellow HD riders. From what I have been told, it looks like I can eliminate the catalytic converter without having to pay for a dyno tuning stage 1 or stage 2 kit. Ebay has some headers and true duels that claim to add horse power, increase fuel mileage, and improve the sound. I am good with all of that!

Went to my local HD dealership to discuss removing the catalytic converter. The tech recommended a Vance and Hines cat-free header at $559; a stage 1 breather at $149; race tuner at $540; custom map job for $450; and $150 labor. I asked if I could run a cat-free exhaust without the race tuner and custom map job but was told "NO". So, for a mere $1840 + tax, I can improve the sound and performance of Mertle, my 2011 Street Glide.

What was I thinking.....I own a Harley.....nothing comes cheap! If I want the deep thunder rumble out of Mertle, I will have to buck up and shell out the cash.

OUCH... IMHO- that sounds like a sales pitch to get your cash. Take the info the "sales" man gave you and do some more research.
If you can do the work yourself, and you can do it with aftermarket parts - you can "probably" save some money over the cost of the HD shop doing it for you.
Start looking for a shop that does the mapping and tuning and shop for prices- not all prices are chiseled in stone and you might be able to find a mechanic that will give you a break and ask for a cash price that might save you some more.

That is exactly what I am doing. Thanks to input from other riders, I have been checking ebay for the header exhaust. In my hometown of Lebanon, MO, we do not have a motorcycle service shop other than the HD, Yamaha, and Kawasaki dealers. I am going to check in Springfield (50 miles away) and see if I can find an independent shop that does this kind of work. I can pick up a used cat-free header off ebay for approximately $150 and use the heat shields off my current exhaust. Maybe someday soon my dear Mertle will have a new growl!

If all you want is sound and a little more performance, you can always drill the baffels a bit and the oxygen sensor should be able to tune it to be right. can't hurt the most you can do is drill to much and the sound is not what you want. You can also hit a great tone. There use to be a dude down south you could send your mufflers to and he would drill them and they would sound great. You could try looking around for someone that has a good rep for being able to do that. Deerslayer

Deerslayer - thank you very much for your input and advice. It is great to receive feedback from fellow HD riders.


David & Mertle

There is a guy you can send your header pipe to and he will cut out your catalystic converter and send it back to you... or he just sells OEM pipes that have been cut out I don't remember. I can try to get the info if your interested. If like the look of your pipes and the baffle is removable, then consider just replacing your current one with an after market like these: https://www.bigcitythunder.com/ I would suggest also getting a high flow air filter.

In my opinion, on a touring bike it would be better to have a low rumble and not something too loud. You talk on the CB, listen to the radio, watch soap opera's... loud pipes would take away from those things.

you can add free flowing pipes and a high flow air breather with out getting a tuner but you will need a stage one download
your bike is set to run lean from factory if you remove the cat and add a hf breather it will run even leaner the stage one flash will richen your mix
you wont need to add a tuner unless (A) you want to spend the money or (B) you do a stage 2 or 3

Will that increase or decrease MPG?