Cat delete, is it worth the money

[Kromm]

It is highly recommended to start out leaving the stock muffler as this combination makes most people happy. We've had a few customers who wanted both changed at the same time and were very much disappointed. Ending up with the stock muffler back on and happy with that. The 1330 can make a surprising amount of noise with some setups.

I finally did a cat delete earlier this year and kept the stock muffler. I never was happy on the stock sound (sounded too much like riding a sewing machine). It really surprised me on the difference. It's not obnoxiously loud , but added some bass to the sound.

 

[BajaRon]

I have both a RLS cat delete and a Two Bro's CF Black slip on muffler. My favorite two combos are:
1.) RLS delete (no baffle) + OEM muffler
2.) OEM cat + Two Bro's muffler
Both offer decent back pressure and distinctive tone differences. For those with warranty concerns about removing the OEM cat (not me) and an aggressive tone, I'd recommend option 2 with your choice of aftermarket slip on. I'm currently running option 1 for a quieter sound, but I do tend to switch around on a whim

I didn't mean to imply (Post #99) that no one is happy with both a cat delete and louder aftermarket muffler. Obviously, some are. Just that you might want to approach it incrementally. You may be surprised at how much difference the cat delete will make. It's not huge, but it is appreciable in both volume and tone.

What sounds good to you sitting in the parking lot may not appeal as much running down the highway for a few hours.

 

[Lew L]

Along with intake mods and a Stage 1 ECU, a cat delete (fully wrapped), make for a Spyder that scoots pretty good. Every little bit helps. The weight loss and lower heat are also good. There's a small difference in sound volume.

 

[Dasmoetorhead]

I thought my F3S was pretty loud with a delete pipe and stock exhaust. My F3S came with a pretty short factory exhaust compared to the F3T and RT's. So there's a difference in sound ( I think ).

 

[Scott's Handmade Wagons]

Frankly I just keep the whole exhaust system stock. A cat delete and replacement muffler might cause a small boost in power, but it will move it up the rev range where to my mind it is less useful than power and torque lower down. The Spyder is setup to run with the stock exhaust and the only true way to increase power is modification to the engine internals including valve sizes and cam timing and possible compression lowering and turbo or super charging. Freer inlet and exhaust flow is not going to do very much.

I think the Spyder makes a decent exhaust sound when revving it, even when I have my hearing aids out. I like to ride under the radar, so the less noise I make the less the rozzers will notice me.

I know removing the cat and using a different slip on saves weight, but I could do that by going on a diet. Lol.

I’m in the keep it stock and use the probable $1,000 I’ll save on gas to go places camp. If the exhaust is louder I’ll just have to turn up the volume on my comms system to hear my wife.

This of course is my opinion and your mileage may vary.

The 2023 RT I bought came with a Thermal R&D Ceramic Coated Cat-Back from SlingMods. Cost the guy 600 smackers - it's in the shed now and OEM is back on the trike. It has a real mellow tone but substantially louder than OEM. Particularly when it's under load going up mountains, the noise rattled around my brain and took away from the riding experience.
Loud pipes DO NOT save lives - they just make more noise!!

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[Immtbiker]

Just got the RLS Punisher exhaust for a '25 Spyder RT. Does anyone know what the torque specs are for the hanger bolt and the cat pipe clamp?