Vance & Hines CS One Review

[NoCal Tom]

The Big Brown Truck brought me a present yesterday. My new Vance & Hines CS-One slip-ons. I had used V&H before on my Suzuki, and loved the idea of American pipes on my Monster. Plus the look is unique and IMO, one of the best looking systems out there. So when I got a screaming deal from indysuperbikes.com at $659 which is over $125 less than I had seen them before and free shipping, I took the plunge. Ordered last Friday night, and they showed up yesterday, exactly one week later. Fast, easy and lowest price makes indysuperbikes a good company to buy from. But lets talk about my new gear!

The quality of the units is very good. The black sections are wrapped around the pipe and have a seam down the inside that is raised a bit, and the edges where they meet the pipes has decent fit with not much of a gap. Its not carbon fiber, but the matte black looks good, and the red logo stands out on the pipe and ties into the red bodywork.



Installation was easy, the kit comes with new brackets (black) and bolts. Took me about an hour to do, as I took my time. One thing I noticed is the fit where they meet the stock exhaust has a gap that caused me to remove and reinstall the first side to make sure I had it in all the way. It just looks like it should go in another half inch or so (that's what she said ;D)



Once they were on, I just stood back and admired the way they look. I think this looks awesome. Your taste may be different, and that's cool. But for me, this WORKS.





Time for a ride. The bike started easily, and there are no high idle issues like I have read about with other systems. The sound is louder, crisper and has a demomic growl abover 6000 rpm. Very little popping or burbling on decel, and at 65 mph in 4th (4500 rpm), it is not too loud and I could ride all afternoon without it bugging me. Rip it from a stop sign, and the sound is awesome. Feels smoother and more willing in the lower revs too. Could be just the coolness of the new toys, but it is certainly more fun to ride. The black covering also seems to not get as hot as the stock mufflers. You can touch the surface after riding and not get burned. That will be a plus this summer as the stock units put out a ton of heat.

Here's a quick video, not the best, but hey...



Let me know what you think. This completes the mods for now. At least that is what I told my wife, LOL.

[Bishamon]

They look and sound great!

[t00lshed]

Looks and sounds like a Monster ;D !
Congrats on money well spent....

[sofadriver]

Sweet!

Personally, I'd get rid of the advertising.



(anybody else see the ghostly face under the trans?)

[oki_boy]

Nice!! Ive been eyeing these cans for a bit...

Since theres no heat shields on the bends in the piping, like on the stock exhaust, how how are the pipes getting there? My wife usually rides with me and i dont need her getting her legs roasted....

[NoCal Tom]

Originally Posted by sofadriver

Sweet!

Personally, I'd get rid of the advertising.

(anybody else see the ghostly face under the trans?)

OMG, that is funny (or scary). Did not see that until you pointed it out. Washed them prior to start up per the instructions and thus the pattern on the driveway.

By getting rid of the advertising, do you mean the V&H logos? I have always liked that logo, and think it looks good, better than the strange Termi logo.

Once again, its a matter of personal opinion and what makes ya happy!

[giantdefy]

Looks awesome!! the logo looks good to me! Did you have to reset the TPS, or does it do it automatically? Does the bike temp get hotter faster? Just curious if the slip ons will cause the bike to run leaner.

[sofadriver]

Originally Posted by NoCal Tom

Once again, its a matter of personal opinion and what makes ya happy!

You bet. How boring would all this be if we were all doing the same things?
I just spent a couple of weekends assembling my own custom exhaust. It looks fan-friggin-tastic!! Unfortunately, it's also "Hey Officer! Pleeeeze give me a ticket!" loud. When I try to tone it down it doesn't sound like I want.
I'll probably go back to my old Leo Vince single CF can and replace the logo with a Rolling Stones lips&tongue sticker. That'll have all the Termi fans doing a double take!

[NoCal Tom]

Oki, I rode with my 12 yr old son yesterday and I noticed a smudge on the rt pipe from his sneaker melting on the pipe. So there's that. OTOH, the cans feel cooler that the stock ones. More time on the bike will tell me more.

Giant, I did not reset anything, and the bike runs great. Idle is normal, Temp gauge went to 3 bars like normal, no issues there. And it feels smoother and more willing in the lower rev range. I am not too concerned about it running lean, I don't beat on it too hard usually.
Noticed it puts out more "fumes" with the new system, smells like a 68 Pontiac, LOL. Always associated that with a rich condition, but not sure why it would be more noticeable now. Were there catalysts in the stock cans?

[oki_boy]

Good to know, thanks man.