Samson Stealth Mufflers
Samson Stealth Mufflers
CW EVALUATIONS
A sound solution?
IF YOU ARE A TYPICAL motorhead, you love the sound of a big-inch motor breathing through an exhaust system that allows it to sing its alluring song.
But not at 3 o’clock in the morning. Not when it’s the product of the dimwit next door constantly blipping the throttle as he warms his open-piped bike at the crack of dawn. At the right time and place, it’s captivating music; otherwise it’s nothing more than irresponsible, bothersome noise.
More and more people are coming to that realization, including the folks at Samson. For years, their calling card has been Harley-Davidson exhaust equipment that lets those big V-Twins bellow
their emotional note at full ear-splitting volume. For seemingly good reason, too: Sound sells exhaust systems. But Samson’s owner, Kenny Price, has seen the handwriting on the wall. He knows that the aftermarket exhaust industry needs to start policing itself and offering quieter systems before the government steps in and enforces some draconian anti-noise legislation.
That’s why Price has developed his new Stealth slip-ons for 1995 and later Harley FL touring and Road King models. They’re beautifully made mufflers with deep, lustrous chrome plating, and at 3Vi inches in diameter, they’re slimmer and lighter than the stockers. Instead of the straight-through design typical of most other H-D mufflers, the Stealths use a series of internal baffles to mitigate the sound waves before they exit the billet end caps. They also incorporate what Samson calls “flow-through air cooling” intended to prevent the $500 mufflers from bluing.
Installing a set of Stealths on a bonestock fuel-injected 2006 H-D Road King Classic was a complete no-brainer.
We were able to slip the pipes into place in just a few minutes with no glitches or hardware problems. We were equally impressed by the dyno results, which showed that the Stealths allowed the Road King to gain almost 3 hp and slightly more than 6 ft.-lbs. of torque while maintaining a torque curve just as smooth and flawless as the stock one.
But the sound is another matter altogether. The Stealths are indeed quieter than Samson’s other mufflers but still are pretty damned loud by most other standards. They’re borderline acceptable at lower rpm and smaller throttle openings, but as soon as the engine is put under any sizable load, they get loud and raspy.
We applaud Kenny Price for his efforts; these mufflers are a step in the right direction. But he and all the other exhaust manufacturers need to be even more aggressive in their pursuit of a little peace and quiet in the world of Harley-Davidson aftermarket exhaust systems.
Besides, any mufflers called “Stealth” ought to at least come close to flying under the radar. These do not.
Samson Motorcycle Products, Inc.
3818 E. Coronado St.
Anaheim, CA 92807
714/518-2480
www.samson usa.com
Price.....$500
^Jps A Great-looking A Well-made A Increase performance everywhere D owns Y Kinda pricey * Not stealthy enough
