The last year these were made was 15 years ago. Vendors won't stock parts or accessories forever for something no longer made. That makes the dwindling market priced even higher if you can find it. Have you looked at Freedom radius'd pipes? I believe these are still available.
The Cobra's are pretty loud. You can't pull the baffles from the slip on's, but you can see straight through them anyway.
www.vtxcafe.com
You're probably noy going to find the HK's anymore than the others, unless a vendor has a set gathering dust in the back of a supply room somewhere. For 'C' exhausts to work on an 'R', you will need the rear C mounting bracket. At least for an 1800 it is this way. IDK for certain about the 1300.
This and it may require some work with the floorboards. For example, on my 1300R, I had to space out my throttle side floorboards with 1/2" spacers as the floorboards were in the way of the header routing. The floorboards and Pegs take up different real estate, so if an exhaust maker didn't account for both, you may have issues between the two.
The cracking was supposedly resolved maybe 12-13 years ago. My ride was purchased from the PO in 2011, and he'd had them on for IDK how long with no issues. I replaced them with another NEW set of HK3", because I'd not treated them right, and found one heluva deal 12 mi. from home. Be aware that the end caps for the HK3" are almost as expensive as a set of used pipes. And even harder to find. FWIW, back in the day of plenty of parts, Bub's Jug Huggers were one of the go-to pipe systems. And Sampson Cannons. Ahhh, the good ol' days.
Just asking, who has them in stock?
I still enjoy my Samson Cannons. They've taken a bit of a beating though when I had on the 10.5" shocks.
Give them a shot. The issues reported here were years and years ago that they've likely been resolved by now. If not, then Harbor freight sells cheap welders
Man I would, but $800 for something that is known to have a problem is Ridiculous.
For my opinion, 3" over 2 or 2.5" is mostly aesthetics. Same goes for engine guards like Cobra standard vs Cobra Fatty's. Yes, there is more protection with the Fatty, but I'm just talking about LOOKS. FWIW, it's been 4 years or more since I got my newer HK3's. I had no way of knowing if these new "old whse. stock", still in their original box with all the appropriate stickers, might be the older ones that could possibly develop heat shield weld cracks. Yes, I did not pay $800, but then again I would not have spent that, and I got a heluva deal @ less than half the cost new, because it was a big-azz box they wanted out of their inventory as they were moving cross-town into a newer building. They even left me open the box and examine the contents to make sure it was exactly as needed. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and he rides a VTX.
I have the HK 2-into-1 Sideburners on my ‘04 1300C—they are loud, growl and snarl, and I love how wicked they sound. The pipes are well-made and you won’t regret getting a set.
I put Cobras on my 1800R and I am totally happy with how they look and sound 👍👍
I have a set of Vance and Hines Cobra's I believe. I took them off my bike and replaced them with the stock pipes. They are like new with the mounting plate. email if interested. [email protected] Raleigh NC area.
