Best Exhaust for Harley Davidson Breakout

This is our review of the best exhausts for the Harley Davidson Breakout.

We tested over a dozen exhausts for the Harley Breakout and chose the top 3 best performers. We considered each exhaust’s performance, sound characteristics, and build quality to make our selection.

Bassani’s Pro-Street Exhaust was the standout, with its loud, exquisite sound, high-quality fit and finish, and enhanced power figures. We are huge fans of this style of exhaust for the breakout, and Bassani’s awesome sound profile just puts it over the top.

If you aren’t sure which exhaust to buy for your Harley Davidson Breakout, leave it to us. We have over 20 years of motorcycle riding experience, the last 10 of which we’ve been testing and reviewing motorcycle accessories professionally.

Keep reading for more of our thoughts on the best exhausts for the Harley Davidson Breakout.

Bassani made one beast of an exhaust pipe with the Pro-Street. This purpose-built Breakout exhaust brings a ton of power to your bike, in addition to the classic Bassani rumble. The construction is also beefy to match, and withstand, the impressive performance. 

The design of this exhaust comprises 3 different pipe diameters from header to muffler, enabling higher power output and improved torque figures. This stepped design works as intended, adding a decent bit of ‘oomph!’ to your Harley Davidson Breakout. 

Bassani delivers all that extra power and torque in a controlled manner. There are no unexpected spikes in power. Instead, you get a smoother throttle response and faster acceleration off the line. Overall, our Harley Davidson Breakout felt a lot peppier and more eager to get going. 

Passing other vehicles at highway speeds was easier, as was day-to-day riding. We suspect the lightweight build is to thank for this. But then, that’s to be expected when you have a 16-gauge, double-wall steel construction. 

Special features include full-coverage heat shields and your choice of chrome or matte black. All of the necessary mounting equipment comes in the box, and the instructions are pretty easy to follow. 

Finally, we have this exhaust’s best feature: it’s loud and rowdy sound. If you’ve ever heard a Bassani exhaust, you’ll be familiar with the beefy acoustics and thumpy exhaust character. Put simply, the sound of this exhaust is classic Harley, with a bit of Bassani’s aggressive tone sprinkled in.

Freedom Performance’s Racing mufflers are for the Harley Davidson Breakout owner who wants big sound and power for not a whole lot of money. Even at this budget-friendly price point, Freedom Performance gives you a louder, fuller exhaust note, sturdy build, and better throttle response throughout the rev range. 

If you’re worried about the budget-friendly exhaust lacking quality, let us put those fears to rest. Freedom Performance uses durable materials for the entire construction. We can report that these mufflers held up really well to the abuse we threw their way in testing. 

Even when pushed to the absolute limit with high exhaust pressure and heat, the mufflers did not show signs of cracking or leaking. Rest assured that they can take whatever your Breakout’s engine dishes out. 

We liked the inclusion of full 220-degree heat shields that prevent excess heat from intruding on your ride. The billet end cap is a nice design element and helps these Harley Davidson Breakout mufflers stand out from the pack. 

While you shouldn’t expect the most significant bump in performance from these mufflers, their free-flow exhaust architecture does smooth out the throttle response of your bike. Paired with the decrease in weight, this gives the impression of better performance. And at this price point, we’ll take whatever we can get. 

As for the sound, these mufflers sport a louder, deeper tone. If you want to make your Harley Davidson Breakout louder and more imposing on the cheap, this exhaust should be atop your list. We were even more impressed by the aggressive sound signature you get by removing the baffles. Alternatively, if the sound is a bit too loud for your taste, the pipes can be outfitted with a quiet baffle. 

This is the easiest Harley Davidson Breakout exhaust to recommend to most people. It features Vance & Hines’ unique build quality, loud and raucous sound, and one of the most significant power-ups you can get for your motorcycle.

Kicking things off with the design, you have an understated look that suits the Harley Davidson Breakout. The Shortshots’ staggered design looks fantastic and performs even better than we expected. Full coverage heat shields surround the exhaust pipes, helping mitigate extra heat on long highway journeys. 

But the real star of the show is the build quality. V&H went with high-grade stainless steel, making these exhausts simultaneously lightweight and durable. You won’t have to put up with any exhaust leaks or cracks. 

Moving on to the performance, we have nothing but praise for this exhaust. The stepped header design and free-flow exhaust architecture combine to produce a healthy boost in power. But it’s the unique tuning that really sold us on this exhaust. You get better throttle response, improved acceleration, and smoother power delivery throughout the rev range. 

Finally, we have the sound. V&H knocked this one out of the park as well. The sound is mean yet also refined. It is deep and bassy but still retains that crisp loudness that can be heard for miles around. It really is a balanced sound profile, and we couldn’t be more pleased with it.

---