Finally received my new exhausts for my Triumph Bonneville! These are the Dominator Touring exhausts, made by the same guy who designed the Predator exhausts. The Dominators (on the left) look like they are screaming while the stock one on the right seems almost shy in comparison. That basically sums up the differences in the sound it makes as well. The Dominators have a beautiful growl and burble, louder without being annoying, while the stock pipes are restrained and quaint. They are well crafted, being a bit smaller and lighter than the stock pipes.
Installation was fairly straight forward. I removed a nut of the ring clamp that hold the muffler to the header pipes, undid a bolt at the back of the passenger pegs, to wriggle off the stock pipes. I reused the ring the clamp and the circular foam bits and washer from where the pipes bolt onto the bike. It took a little bit of effort to align everything as it does not quite sit as snug as the stock pipes do. The only disappointing thing is that there is no rubber stopper for the kick stand on the Dominators and it simply rests against the metal of the left muffler. Overall, it took me about 30 minutes to install and about an hour to stare and appreciate my shiny new exhausts.
I took it for a short ride tonight and it was like it had a new personality, more confident and a little bit cheeky. The sound of the exhaust resonated through the quiet suburban street and howled when I accelerated hard on an open road. It’s hard to say if there are any significant power gains or if I just like revving it more. It makes a satisfying popping sound as I decelerate but someone who knows about exhausts can tell me if that is a good thing or not!
Mine were purchased from New Bonneville and they charged about $120 for express delivery to Australia. It arrived well packed and very clean. It’s satisfying to finally have these exhausts on my bike as modern-retro bikes deserve to run with a bit more character. There may be no end to the modifications you can make to this bike but for now I’m pretty happy with how all the parts work together.
Update: Here is a profile photo of my bike with the new Dominator exhausts…
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