Silent Rider Silencer Update

[HighSon]

So for those of you who have dabbled in muffling your insanely loud Hisun, I just wanted to give an update on the Silent Rider Silencer project I reported on just short of 3 years ago. The silencer has failed from rust rot. So in the end, not a good investment. If I do a different one, pretty sure it will be stainless this time. 

If others have tried other add-on mufflers or fixes beyond what’s already been reported, please post your experience.

[Ridge Runner]

Thanks for the update 

[Joe Breaux]

sad to hear once again of the poor quality of these machines and any available parts..why cant we get anything well made anymore?😪

[HighSon]

3 hours ago, Joe Breaux said:

sad to hear once again of the poor quality of these machines and any available parts..why cant we get anything well made anymore?😪

Actually, the part that failed was an aftermarket silencer installed after the stock muffler to reduce the exhaust noise. The stock muffler is still in good shape. 

[HighSon]

I’ve ordered some stainless pipe and a stainless silencer. It will be a while (probably 6 weeks) before I can get it all installed, but I’ll post the parts and results then. 

[jwam1]

On 9/27/2025 at 11:57 AM, HighSon said:

I’ve ordered some stainless pipe and a stainless silencer. It will be a while (probably 6 weeks) before I can get it all installed, but I’ll post the parts and results then. 

I would be interested in your setup when you get everything in

[HighSon]

1 hour ago, jwam1 said:

I would be interested in your setup when you get everything in

I have all the parts but I’m traveling. Should post installation in about 2 weeks. 

[HighSon]

So here’s the setup I used to replace the Silent Rider silencer.

Materials

2” 16 ga mandrel bent 90 deg elbows (2 pieces) [90 deg elbow]

2” 16 ga mandrel bent 90 deg elbow with tail piece [90 deg + straight]

2” resonator [resonator]

Rubber exhaust hanger (note- only used one) [hanger]

2” butt joint band clamp (2 pieces) (note- the exact brand I bought is no longer on Amazon but here’s an identical one) [butt clamp]

4” diameter band clamp (2 pieces, local hardware store)

To make the exit pipe from the original muffler, I used the original spark arrestor flange cut from the arrestor and opened the ID to fit the 2” elbow OD.  Then I welded the first elbow into the stock flange and welded the second elbow to the first at 90 degrees. The orginal trim ring can slide back over the pipe into place for aesthetics.  This forms the new exit pipe to the resonator.

In addition, I used some 1” x 1/4” flat stock and a piece of 1/2” rod (cut from a stainless bolt) to fab up the upper hanger that bolts to the Hisun frame, and a piece of 1/8” plate formed to match the radius of the resonator that I welded to a short tab and another 1/2” bolt shank rod.  The 4" band clamps attach the resonator to the plate, and the rubber exhaust hanger provides support and vibration isolation.

So originally I had intended to have the tail pipe extend straight down, but the elbows I chose wound up a bit longer than anticipated and conflicted with the rear wheel.  I shortened the elbow legs on either side of the resonator as much as practicable while maintaining what I estimated to be minimum safe clamping area of about 1” to 1-1/4” (which also required “notching” the band clamps on the inside bends, see photos).  I was able to get the tail pipe piece off of the tire, but it’s still pretty close and cannot aim straight toward the ground.  Doesn’t look as clean, but I deem it acceptable and it does not heat the tire.  I will turn down the last few inches at a later date, which should also reduce sound a bit more.

So how does it perform I'm sure you are wondering...

***OUTSTANDING IMPROVEMENT!***

Much quieter, particularly outside the vehicle.  Definitely quieter than the Silent Rider and lower cost (at least from my perspective since I could fab up the bits).  Moreover, the stainless should last the life of this vehicle. Not a simple install for the average owner, but a muffler shop or local welder could do it for you.

If I had to do this again I might source some tighter elbows or I would just shorten all the legs and weld up everything including the resonator in order to get the tailpipe straight down. But I didn’t want to weld in a resonator in general just to make it more serviceable, and also definitely not until I had assessed the performance of the mods and the selected resonator.  You might look at the Evil Energy ones...more expensive but it looks like all stainless.  Also, the exhaust clamps I ordered do not have stainless bolts. And finally there are more heavy duty band clamps available for the resonator that I may switch to in the future.  

Sorry I forgot to take a picture of the resonator hanger before installing, but you should be able to see it clearly in the installed pics.  Post any questions and I’ll reply as best I can.

[Ridge Runner]

Top quality work!

[MarcB]

Nice work I am going to give this a try thank you.

[Timbo]

I’m real new ! I just changed my break-in oil on my hs500. I put the silent rider on mine and it very well may rust out but it’s on there now and I like it so far. What I really want to know is ( off subject, I know ) is it worth my time to take my hs500 to one of these big trail systems to ride the green and blue trails ?

thanks, Timbo

[HighSon]

Update on resonator mods:

After about 6 months I developed an exhaust leak. I don’t know if it is at all related to the mods, but I had to replace the transition pipe between the muffler and exhaust manifold (braided stainless flex pipe), along with the gaskets on each side.  I think it was typical corrosion failure, but one thing I noticed during replacement was that one of the exhaust manifold retaining nuts had come loose. That may be related to the additional mass and resonance on the muffler, particularly if the nuts weren’t fully torqued originally. Anyway, if you add any silencer piping past the muffler I recommend you check the manifold nuts for tightness.