Exhausting project...

[Hammerhead1st]

Sooo

Got bored, and figured hey, what the he*l, why not take the baffles out of my mufflers and see what she sounds like!!

A Harley on rice-roids, that's what she sounds like! WAYY too loud to run that way. SOOO

In an effort to quiet it down a bit and remain inside my $0.00 budget, I went to the hardware store and found some galvanized steel plate for under $4. Came home, cut out two 3 inch round pieces and fit them into the pipes. Drilled out 5 1/2 inch holes and 6 1/4 inch holes in each plate, and used through-bolts to hold them in place.

Slapped the pipes back on the bike, fired her up, and HOLY ANGRY BUMBLEBEE!!! Not a horrible sound, but I lost my deep throaty volume I was looking for. BUT, on the other hand...I gained back the back pressure I needed for the engine to run well. I have NO idea what it's done HP wise or to the torque, etc...but I took her out for a ride, and noticed that when I rolled into it, she was VERY ready to peel the skin off of my face. LOTS of mid-range power, and even the low-end torque feels like she could pull a Mack uphill.

Any thoughts as to what I've done? Think I can leave it this way for a while? Is my engine in danger? I like the sound a LOT more than what I had before, I DO have back pressure, apparently, and things dont look too bad or dangerous for it.

Looking for input...

[Hammerhead1st]

Here's some photos of the finished product...not beautiful, but I'm real big on function over fashion...

[79XS11F]

All the inner stuff there will soon be black and not noticed so if the engine is running well and the plugs look good .. go with it.
Rob

[Stralya]

What Rob said.

I'm sure there's an opening in a Russian Tank factory for a bright young man.

Are there any engine mods?

Dan

[petejw]

have to agree,
if ur happy with the sound and performance
stick with it.

[Hammerhead1st]

Nope no engine mods at all

This is a stock bike as far as the engine goes. I've modified the cosmetics a bit but mechanically, it's the same as the day she was born...

Thanks for the input guys, I appreciate it. I'll be re-syncing the carbs today. Start my new job on Monday, pays great. Hope to be able to afford a few items here and there for the bike. After bills are caught back up I'll be able to set up for paint this winter. Maybe I'll sneak a set of Kerkers into the shopping cart...heh heh heh...

[TADracer]

I know what you mean about the throaty sound. I have a MAC 4-1 and love the way she sounds with the baffle out. But, without the back pressure there is just no low/mid-range torque. On the racetrack this might be fine but on the street/backroads where you want the mid-range power, it sucks!

I have struck a happy medium by tuning the exhaust to my taste. I drilled 5/16" holes in certain places on the baffle tubes and tried it out until I got the very best performance with my setup. The sound is nice and mellow at idle and while cruising and still has that growl when accelerating hard. Just do mods in small increments and dont do anything you cant easily reverse because if you do any other modifications, you might have to tune your exhaust again to that setup.

[Hammerhead1st]

So I was screwin around at a buddie's place...

And I find his exhaust can from his 97 Suzook 1200. It was the stock can from his 4-1 system. Walk it over ot my bike, place it on the ground next to it, and notice that HEY, that can will bolt RIGHT up to the mounts I already have! Basically just need to weld the triangle flange from the stock exhaust pipe to my collector pipe, and bolt the thing on!

Bummer thing is, I only have the one can to work with, so I'm searching for another for the other side. Would look horrific, I think, but the sound would be knarly at diff RPM's...I've put in a few bids on EBAY, but stretching the dollars already so might not be able to find a 2nd can anytime soon. BUt man...imagine when I DO get one! Salivating at the thought...

Couple of stainless cans on flat black pipes on a flat black bike...MAN

[Hammerhead1st]

OK, so I started having issues with the way the bike's running.

Had the mixture set 1/2 turn rich to compensate for the extra airflow I was pushing out. Today, the thing drops the right 2 cylinders 2 blocks from home! I ended pushing it home. Pulled the plugs, both wet and looking lean. Readjusted the screws to factory 1 1/2 out, pulled the pipe on that side, and installed the Suzuki 1200 muffler. Bolted right up, with a different, smaller diameter bolt. Just gotta tack the flange to the header pipe. I'll still be able to take the muffler off, too, using the factory flange bolts. SWEET.

Fired it up and took a ride. COuldn't hear the side with the Zook pipe, but the other side was loud as ever. Still wasn't firing right. Over 4 grand it'll come to life. Under 4 grand, it's all I can do to keep it running. I need to procure another exhaust ASAP. EBAY has a good selection in my price range, but I keep getting outbid. Local bike shop has nothing on the racks or in the scrap that I can use. Found a Muff from a Honda 650 that might slip on but...650 pipe one side and 1200 pipe on the other? Ummmmm, no thanks.

When it's together, I'll get a vid of it running and post for you all.