The top 3 Loudest Exhausts for the Harley Milwaukee 8 (M8) in 2023

This is our buying guide on the best motorcycle exhausts for the M8 in 2023. Below is a quick summary of our top recommendations. Scroll further down to read in depth, hands on reviews for each exhaust.

LOUDEST SLIP-ON

Vance & Hines 4” Eliminator

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• Highest grade stainless steel of any slip-on exhaust
• Minimalist look
• Lightweight build
• Sturdy and durable
• Available in chrome and matte black
• CNC machined billet end caps
• The chrome version comes with a contrasting black end cap
• Free-flowing exhaust design
• Significantly louder than stock
• Exhaust note is deeper and more rumbly
• Throttle response is improved

Overall loudest

Bassani Radial Sweepers

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• 16-gauge double-wall steel
• Pipes are backswept and slash-cut
• Pipes are positioned higher on the bike
• No scraping on large bumps in the road
• Lightweight build
• Improved power-weight ratio
• Grunty exhaust sound
• Loudest exhaust for Milwaukee 8
• Improved low-end torque
• Faster acceleration off the line
• Makes passing and merging easier
• Integrated heat shields
• Easy installation
• All mounting hardware is provided

WORTHY CONSIDERATION

Two Brothers Comp-S 2-Into-1 exhaust

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• Race-inspired Milwaukee 8 exhaust pipes
• Comes in chrome or matte black
• Up to 5 HP boost in power
• TIG welds for better structural rigidity
• Faster acceleration
• Top-end performance is also improved
• Stainless steel design for weight savings
• Carbon fiber end-cap adds a bit of flair
• Improved power-weight ratio
• 2-into-1 style exhaust enables scavenging
• Megaphone style muffler enhances volume
• Deeper sounding exhaust
• Compatible with both forward and mid control bikes
• Compatible with stock O2 sensors

In this review, we take a look at the loudest exhausts for the Milwaukee 8 (m8) engine from Harley Davidson. 

Our reviews will focus on the most critical features of each exhaust. These include the build quality, the performance benefits, how loud the exhaust is, and how it actually sounds. We also take the cost of each exhaust into account. 

The loudest exhausts for the Milwaukee 8 are Bassani’s Radial Sweepers. This full system exhaust delivers higher exhaust flow, improved performance, and one of the loudest exhaust notes of any aftermarket pipe designed for the Milwaukee 8. 

We’ve been riding Harleys all our life. Nowadays, a couple of our own bikes are powered by the M8. So we’re always looking for the loudest exhausts for the Milwaukee 8. And after ten years spent testing motorcycle accessories, we’ve got more than enough experience to help us find them. 

Keep reading for more of our thoughts on the loudest exhausts for the Milwaukee 8.

IMPORTANT! – Make sure you have the correct sizing and fitment so you don’t waste your money.

Bassani makes some of our favorite exhausts for Harleys, so it only makes sense that they make far and away the loudest exhaust for the Milwaukee 8. The Radial Sweepers are a loud and rowdy set of pipes. They also feature best-in-class performance and a unique, short design that looks really slick.

Kicking things off with the design of these pipes, we have a 16-gauge double-wall steel build. The ends are slash-cut, which gives these pipes a menacing, aggressive look when paired with the backswept design.

They are shorter than your average Milwaukee 8 exhaust and also mount higher. This has a couple of benefits for the bike and engine.

For one, the lightweight build and short design means you have less mass bogging down the bike. And the higher mounting means the exhausts don’t scrape on large bumps in the road. Additionally, you can lean the bike over farther into corners and turns, thanks to the higher ground clearance.

Shorter exhausts also tend to deliver higher performance than their longer counterparts. This is true for the Bassani’s as well, thanks to their free-flowing exhaust architecture. Our testing showed a healthy boost in power and similar gains in low-end torque for the Milwaukee 8 with these pipes installed.

For real-world use, that means noticeably faster acceleration, better throttle response, and effortless passing on the highway. The added torque and lower weight also help you maneuver the bike more easily in tight spots.

That same free-flowing exhaust architecture and short pipe also make this one of the loudest exhausts for the Milwaukee 8. The exhaust note is deep and rumbly but still manages to be a good 25% louder than stock. And when you open up the throttle, you get a thumpy, grunty noise that sounds absolutely fantastic.

As for creature comforts, the Bassani pipes come with full coverage heat shields that lessen exhaust heat falling on the rider. We say lessen because the short design and unconventional mounting of these pipes means the rider is never fully shielded from exhaust heat.

In fact, you still get quite a bit of heat on your legs and torso with these Milwaukee 8 exhausts, but that’s pretty much the only drawback.

The Comp-s from Two Brothers Racing is a 2-into-1 style exhaust. In addition to being one of the loudest Milwaukee 8 exhausts, it is also easily the most powerful. It also has a pleasing, deep, and gurgly exhaust note that would be right at home on the racetrack.

If you want to give your Milwaukee 8-powered motorcycle a retro bobber look, this is the exhaust for you. It has a large, rounded, megaphone-style muffler that splits into the individual header pipes. You can get it in either chrome or matte black. Furthermore, Two Brothers add a bit of flair to the design by including an end-cap trimmed in carbon fiber.

TBR also gave a lot of thought to the fitment of these pipes. Their unique design allows them to be fitted to Milwaukee 8 bikes, regardless of whether they have forward or mid controls.

Before we get into the sound, let’s talk about the performance, which is arguably this exhaust’s defining trait. Much like the exhaust note, the performance has some racing pedigree. Two Brothers Racing has made some of the most powerful exhausts for race bikes, and it shows.

With the Comp-S fitted to our Milwaukee 8 motorcycle, we were treated to almost a 5 horsepower increase. In our tests, we noticed that the bike was faster to 60, felt more confident when merging on the highway, and even had better top-end performance.

That’s pretty much par for the course with 2-into-1 style exhausts. Not only do these exhausts give the Milwaukee 8 better backpressure, but they also have the benefit of ‘scavenging.’ This is when a pulse of exhaust goes from one header to the other and improves performance.

Not to mention, you get some functional weight savings compared to the stock exhaust. As for keeping the free-flowing exhaust gasses in check, this performance pipe is adorned with TIG welds, which look even better than they perform. Really, the whole package is designed to withstand the highest exhaust temperatures and pressure.

Moving on to the sound, we are just as impressed. The exhaust note is a crisp and beefy one. It boosts overall volume, too, so the bike can be heard from a couple of miles away. It is definitely one of the loudest exhausts for the Milwaukee 8, though not quite as rowdy and wild as the Bassani.

Finally, we appreciate that this aftermarket exhaust for the Milwaukee 8 uses the stock O2 sensors that come with the bike. And all of the mounting hardware is provided in the box, so you don’t have to run to the hardware store looking for that one pesky bolt!

Here we have another V&H pipe that is just as well-built and durable as the last. It is a slip-on but boasts a decent boost in power while also being one of the loudest exhausts for the Milwaukee 8.

We liked the free-flowing design of this slip-on exhaust. It may not be the most powerful exhaust on this list, but it still manages to extract a bit more power from the Milwaukee 8. In fact, our testing showed that the throttle response was a little bit smoother with this slip-on exhaust fitted to the bike.

But the real star of the show is this exhaust’s ear-splitting loudness. It is easily the loudest exhaust for the Milwaukee 8 in the slip-on category. Not only is the sound louder, but also beefier. V&H focused on adding tons of bass to the exhaust note and making it more intimidating.

Put simply, we loved the sound of this loud Milwaukee 8 exhaust so much that we ended up fitting it to our personal bike as well.

Moving on to other features, we have this exhaust’s robust build quality. But then again, that’s to be expected from a Vance & Hines exhaust. You get some of the highest grade stainless steel used in any slip-on style Milwaukee 8 exhaust. This helps keep the pipe lightweight and also adds to the durability.

You have your choice of either chrome or matte black for the finish, and a CNC-machined billet end cap adds a nice design cue to an otherwise simple and minimalist look. Speaking of the physical design, this Milwaukee 8 exhaust comes with a full-coverage heat shield that makes long rides more comfortable.

TIG welds are used instead of the traditional alternative, vastly improving the durability of this exhaust. It also means the exhaust can hold up better to high exhaust pressure and the hottest of exhaust temperatures.

The whole build is ‘blue-proof,’ so it won’t discolor over the course of thousands of heat cycles. You get a set of removable baffles, which can add a couple dBs to the bike if that’s more to your liking.

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