Epco(Stainless Ride) vs D&Ds
FWIW, I recently picked up a set of Stainless Ride peashooters to replace my battered D&Ds and wanted to share my personal comparo. Having heard little about these latter-day Epcos, I didn't have a clear idea of how they'd be.
Turned out they're VERY nicely constructed, excellent in fit and finish and much louder than I was at first led to believe. Very similar to the Commando Specialties mufflers, they're straight-through, with smooth baffling, so that at any RPM above about 2K, they're mufflers in name only.
Comparing with my Moose-repacked D&Ds, the SRs are quieter at idle, I suspect because of the smaller outlet (the SR peashooters are 1 1/2" end to end,as opposed to the 2" outlet on the D&Ds). As stated above though, at RPM the SRs open up into a much more full-throated howl than the D&Ds. Don't get me wrong, I love my old D&Ds, but the quality of build and the sound of the SRs is, IMHO, better than the D&Ds. They're a completely different look, peashooters to polished-cap reverse cones, I'm merely pointing to the quality of materials/construction.
As to performance, I really felt no difference, one to the other. My '07 Bonneville Black is mildly warmed over, with 790 cams, CR35 carbs, UNI pods and a remapped ignitor. I have no problem hitting the 8500 RPM limiter in 4th gear and getting to about 7500 in 5th. I haven't Dynoed the bike at all, so I can't quantify, but the bike felt the same with the SRs as it did with the D&Ds.
My SRs are low-mount mufflers, which seem to go well with the stock-length fenders and the classic Bonneville look I'm trying to maintain. I'm planning to have these mufflers ceramic coated to match my headers, so I'll post a pic or two once it's all put together.
Bottom line, my D&Ds are still around and good for swapping onto when I feel like a change, but the Stainless Ride muffers are, IMHO, superior in build quality, materials and fit. Performance seems comparable and the sound is much less restrained. If the RPMs are kept low, the SRs and D&Ds put out about the same volume, not at all objectionable to most good citizens. But out in the open, both systems speak with authority, with the SRs being the louder of the two.
I hope this has proved usefull, and again, pix are forthcoming.