Terry Vance and Byron Hines brought their racing expertise to the V-Twin market in the mid-’90s, creating their now-famous exhaust systems for street bikes.

here’s a great story behind every Vance & Hines exhaust system, and each story explains why Vance & Hines is such a well-known name in the motorcycle aftermarket—producing an impressive array of popular exhaust systems. It begins way back in the early-’70s when two motorcycle legends-to-be, Terry Vance and Byron Hines, crossed paths. A force to be reckoned with—Terry Vance riding and Byron Hines tuning—the pair became virtually unbeatable on the drag strips.
     The match-up worked like magic, and with all the race wins that followed, Vance & Hines quickly became two of the most recognized names in motorcycling. Terry and Byron teamed up to win a remarkable 27 NHRA national events in Top Fuel Bike and Pro Stock Bike. Their career 101-21 win/loss record in NHRA Pro Stock Bike eliminations is among the best in the sport—in any class. The Vance & Hines Top Fuel Suzuki was the first motorcycle to break into the six-second ETs, posting a 6.98 on Aug. 2, 1984.      By 1980, Terry Vance and Byron Hines had teamed up off the track, too, forming their own company to, at first, build race engines, and by 1983 branching out into the production of their now-famous exhaust systems for both drag racing and street bike applications.
     By the mid-’90s all of this expertise and performance know-how, honed razor-sharp, was introduced to the V-Twin marketplace. Vance & Hines had made its name on parts that looked good, were well made, and most importantly worked to build power and performance and all of that translated directly to the Harleys. It’s a company philosophy maintained to this day. Hardly resting on past accomplishments, Vance & Hines continues to push the Harley-Davidson aftermarket performance envelope, constantly developing and releasing innovative new exhausts incorporating not only race-proven technology, but a Harley rider’s innate need for style. Vance & Hines pipes—whether it’s the Pro Pipe 2-into-1, the Big Radius, Sideshots, Bigshots, Straightshots HS or Longshots HS—consistently look and sound great. And, just like the two racers whose names are engraved on every system, the performance is legendary.
     The Harley-Davidson aftermarket is chock-full of exhaust choices, each with its own story. None, however, have a story of success quite like Vance & Hines.

 

Doug Vancil holds three AHDRA championships and has set numerous records, including re-setting his 1/8-mile record at Norwalk, Ohio.
oug Vancil and the Vance & Hines/Drag Specialties Top Fuel team and The Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines Pro Stock Bike team are the most potent forces on the drag strip. That shouldn’t be a surprise. Long before those Screamin’ Eagle V-Rods became the main attraction in the Pro Stock Bike class, and before Doug Vancil even thought about his three straight years of Top Fuel Championships (2001, 2002, 2003), Terry Vance and Byron Hines were the undisputed rulers of motorcycle drag racing. The Vance & Hines success on the track today, both in AHDRA, IHRA and NHRA, is simply a continuation of a winning tradition that goes back for three decades.
     Terry Vance and Byron Hines were the heart and soul of two-wheel drag racing. Few would argue that without their influence there might not even be a Pro Stock Bike class today. That Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines team and its record-setting V-Rods continues to bring Vance & Hines’ style excitement to NHRA’s Pro Stock Bike class throughout the country. Andrew Hines and GT Tonglet have qualified at the top of virtually every race this season. And they made history at the 35th Annual Mac Tools NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., where Hines and Tonglet both made it to the finals, guaranteeing a Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines V-Rod Pro Stock win. In the history of the NHRA, a Harley-powered pro stock bike had never won an NHRA event. Two new track records later, Andrew Hines took the hardware. And, Hines has been setting new records ever since, including a new national ET record for Pro Stock Bike with a blistering 7.016-second pass at Englishtown, NJ. As of press time, Hines held the No. 1 position in overall points with 809, 169 points ahead of the second-place holder Shawn Gann.
     Doug Vancil all but owns the AHDRA Top Fuel circuit. Three championships in a row attest to that. During Doug’s reign he’s set numerous records, as well, including an IHRA-best for a 6.278-second ET and a Top Speed of 221.85 mph. Recently Doug reset his own AHDRA 1/8-mile record with a 4.094 ET at Norwalk, OH. Both of these Vance & Hines backed teams show no signs of easing up, either.
     “Byron and I knew from the very beginning that we wanted to be racers,” Terry Vance says. “We wanted to gain respect by winning.” That they have, and even though the pair retired from personal competition in 1988 (with Terry Vance winning the final five events that he entered) they’re as actively involved as ever. Their behind-the-lines guidance is the reason the Vance & Hines race teams are the powerhouses they are. But overall, Terry Vance and Byron Hines had an even bigger plan: They dreamt of building a business that would be as dominating a force in the motorcycle aftermarket as they’d been on the drag strips. They’ve done that, too, marking yet another success in the ongoing story of Vance & Hines.

Andrew Hines sets a new track record of 7.097 et/189.43 mph and enjoys a history-making win at the Gainesville, Fla. Mac Tools NHRA Gatornationals.

A crossover connection is hidden behind the heat shields that equalizes the flow of the two separate pipes, creating 2-into-1-style performance with a twin-pipe look.


t Vance & Hines a custom look never gets in the way of performance, and that thinking shows up in the Sideshots, Bigshots and V-Rod Powershots. All of these great-looking systems incorporate the unique Vance & Hines “Power Chamber” technology, an innovative and uniquely Vance & Hines’ exhaust design.
The Vance & Hines Power Chamber, hidden behind the heat shields, is a crossover connection designed to equalize the flow of two separate pipes. The result is 2-into-1 style performance with a twin-pipe look, performance that’s felt in throttle response and in the seat of your pants. The Power Chamber gives Vance & Hines pipes all the advantages of a race-bred system, but with a custom look, which was exactly the plan.
Vance & Hines’ popular Sideshots, Bigshots and V-Rod Powershots all incorporate the company’s unique ‘Power Chamber” technology.

t Vance & Hines a custom look never gets in the way of performance, and that thinking shows up in the Sideshots, Bigshots and V-Rod Powershots. All of these great-looking systems incorporate the unique Vance & Hines “Power Chamber” technology, an innovative and uniquely Vance & Hines’ exhaust design.
     The Vance & Hines Power Chamber, hidden behind the heat shields, is a crossover connection designed to equalize the flow of two separate pipes. The result is 2-into-1 style performance with a twin-pipe look, performance that’s felt in throttle response and in the seat of your pants. The Power Chamber gives Vance & Hines pipes all the advantages of a race-bred system, but with a custom look, which was exactly the plan.

t takes a lot to stand out from the crowd, but that’s just what Vance & Hines Slip-Ons have accomplished. With their unique shape and stainless-steel rolled inner tip, riders are drawn to Oval Slip-Ons just for their looks alone. But there’s as much technology inside here as there is style outside. Oval Slip-Ons start with a chambered baffle design that’s engineered for a substantial power increase over stock, as well as delivering crisper throttle response. The Vance & Hines Oval Slip-On also features an internal canister system that creates a virtually blue-proof barrier between the inside and the outside of the Slip-On body; hot exhaust gases won’t ever hit the chrome, meaning this muffler will look as good years after it’s purchased as it did the day it was installed.
     Vance & Hines’ Classic Slip-Ons are serious power-makers, too, and with their 4-inch diameter they sound great – not too loud, not too quiet. The Classics are available with a whole range of end-cap choices, too, so whatever look you’re going for you can find it here; there are Straight-Cuts and Turn Downs, Slash Cuts and Billets to match everyone’s style.
Vance & Hines’ Oval and Classic Slip-Ons feature the looks and performance that are essential in today’s V-twin market.

he partnership between Vance & Hines and Drag Specialties is just as strong, and almost as long-lived, as the partnership between Terry Vance and Byron Hines. It’s a partnership that goes back 23 years, and it’s based on trust and integrity. Vance & Hines first joined the Parts Unlimited family, revolutionizing the sport bike field by taking the Supersport, SS2R and S4 exhaust systems to market. In ’96 when Vance & Hines turned their talents to Harley and it was déjà-vu all over again, this time under the Drag Specialties banner.
     Vance & Hines, teamed with the distribution of Drag Specialties, is a leader in the Harley-Davidson exhaust aftermarket, accomplishing with V-Twins exactly what they’d done for the metric market. Their dedication to creating a quality product was noticed immediately, as were innovations like 220-degree full coverage heat shields and the race inspired Pro-Pipe HS, which set the standard for 2-into-1 performance. All of this is yet another a success fueled by teamwork… times two—Vance & Hines, and Vance & Hines and Drag Specialties.


Breaking records—and setting new industry standards—are just part of a regular day for Vance & Hines.


Terry Vance and Byron Hines have a 23-year partnership that has revolutionized the sport bike and V-twin markets.

For More Information Visit:
www.vanceandhines.com


Drag Specialties Magazine
Volume 11 #9

Parts Magazine Index