Product Review - Muzzy vs Penland Slip On Exhaust

Muzzy Renegade pipe in black

I purchased my 2008 Can Am Renegade 800X in January of 2012, and unfortunately the weather has not been cooperating. At the time I am writing this article I have only managed to get in two rides on the machine, the first ride was with the stock exhaust and the second was with the Muzzy. So my thoughts on the comparing the two are nice and fresh.

Last season I rode a 2007 Can Am Renegade 800 with an Penland exhaust, so I will be bringing my experience with that pipe into this review as well.

Penland  

The Penland exhaust installed on my
2007 Renegade 800

The Penland pipe came installed on the used 2007 Renegade I purchased earlier that year, I wasn't sure what to expect from this pipe as I bought the machine used from a dealer nearly 800kms away and had it shipped to me. My jaw dropped the first time I hit the starter and heard the purr. I had never owned a twin cylinder machine, it reminded me of the sound of a Harley.
When I finally got it on the trail in spring I realized some of the problems with a loud exhaust. On the trail, a normal cruising speed would be somewhere in the range of 35-40kph depending on the terrain. It seemed like this cruising speed was also the speed where the RPM created a droning sound that nearly rattled my fillings out of my teeth. It rattled my eardrums enough that by the end of that ride I was seriously considering buying another pipe.
Funny thing is that somehow I got used to it, I cannot remember any other time riding that season that I was affected by that droning sound, at least not to the same extent.

We tend to ride around a lot of cabins, camps and lakes on trails in the Northern part of the province. At one of the smaller lakes that we ride at there was a comment about how my machine could still be heard on the other side of the lake. I was sufficiently embarrassed by the comments that when we went back to that lake later in the summer for family camp, I chose to ride a quieter machine and leave my Renegade at home.

Factory

When I bought my 2008 800X I had never heard what a factory exhaust sounded like, so when I heard it start for the first time I was reasonably impressed. It still had some growl to it and wasn't nearly as anemic sounding as I thought it would be. That being said it had to go, after having the Penland on my other Renegade stock was just too quiet.

Muzzy

Muzzy pipe (in polished finish) installed on my
2008 Renegade 800X

I decided that I needed something quieter than the Penland but louder than stock. Surely there must be something in the middle. When reading on the forums I came across the Muzzy brand. It was more expensive, but from what I had been reading online most people were saying it was a quality built pipe and quieter than a lot of the others. The decision clincher  for me was the fact that the Muzzy had a removable "Quiet Core", meaning that you could make adjust the loudness of the machine for your situation.So I ordered it up.

Install was quick and easy, basically two bolts and a clamp and it was on. Unfortunately it does hang a couple inches lower than the factory pipe, probably not a big deal for most, but for me it meant that I could't close my tailgate on my truck.

My first startup with the pipe surprised me, the sound was nowhere near near as loud as what I though it would be. In fact I had a hard time telling the difference between it and stock. Maybe it was because I was expecting something closer to the Penland but I was disappointed. On the trail you could tell it was a bit throatier, with a bit more growl but not as much as I had hoped.

As of the morning that I am typing this review, I realized that the "Quiet Core" that I mentioned earlier is actually pre-installed. So I will be removing it very shortly and updating this review at that time.

*Update - Once I removed the quiet core I was much more satisfied with the volume than with it installed. Removal was quick and easy and once removed I never did reinstall it. It was that happy medium I was looking for. 

Funny how things change over time, I have now sold the 2008 Renegade 800X and am now riding a 2011 Can Am Outlander XMR 800. I purchased the machine used with an HMF swap series pipe installed. I have never complained once about the loudness of the pipe even though it is likely as loud as the Pendland pipe and have come to enjoy it.