low cost exhaust mods

Am I crazy to think that my bike is a little bit quiet? I'm new to riding and i've always wanted a nice throaty sounding bike. Does anyone have any tips to make it a bit louder without having to rejet the carbs and reset everything to compensate for any changes? I've heard of people removing the endcaps, or drilling holes in them. Are these bad for the bike?

Any tips would be great, for or against.

 

im not real sure how 'thoaty' youre going to get from an inline 4...

if youre going to do some modding to the bike, then i think drilling the ends would be someplace to start but once you drill you cant undrill unless you weld and grind etc...


i think drilling is about as far as you can go before you need to start looking at the induction...

 

sportster mufflers....low cost and you can always go back and can pick them up cheap

had to edit for this....i drilled holes in my buddy's sv650 it went from sounding like a stock twin to a 5hp briggs and stratton its up to you though

 

You probably think I'm crazy for liking the quietness of my XJ.
One of my favorite quotes is, "If loud pipes save lives, imagine what learning to ride can do." I always wonder what guys with reaallly loud bikes are compensating for :lol:

Taking my neighbors into consideration and the very likelihood that in the not too distant future I'll be working some really weird hours, not waking people up in the middle of the night when I want to take my bike will be a good thing.

 

Point is proven that loud pipes don't do anything for those ahead of you, only behind you. As NursePadawan mentioned, the only thing you're getting for loud pipes is annoying other people and giving the politcians more reason to restrict motorcycle travel in places we'd really like to go.

That said, the Sportster mufflers are slightly louder and give a deeper sound, but you're still not going to sound like a Harley. It's the inline four versus a v-twin. Completely different engine and thus a completely different sound. It's like taking an exhaust off a Ford Expedition and putting it on a Ford Focus. You're not going to sound like the Expedition in your Focus (not that I'm comparing the XJ to a Focus, lol).

I picked up my Sportster mufflers for $60 locally, but others have found brand new take-offs for much cheaper. I had to get a set of mufflers because my stockers were rusted through in areas. Check Craigslist, they're on there all the time.

 

Padawan, I would give certain parts of my anatomy to know who that quote could be attributed to...

 

You're right. I think the sound is one of the thing why people think motorcycles should be disappear from the roads. However I think there is a compromise between the loudness of the pipes and annoying people. As it turned out for me an XJ without any sound absorbing in the mufflers is way to loud. Something about 130 - 140 db which is so loud, you can't ride your bike because it hurts. Literally.

On the other hand, the sound of these engines are brilliant. Like the F1 engines from the 70's or 80's. I love it. But to get that sound from the engine you have to have a proper exhaust, which is not the one what you can create with a rod and a drilling machine. It will be loud but should produce an unsatisfactory sound. Something which is not sounds right just loud only.

And ... well to have the proper sound is not cheap. The problem with the original and aftermarket systems is that the mufflers are not removable. What you can do - I did the same - is to go to a machine shop which is dedicated to exhaust systems. Ask them the price for the following: use the old down pipes, create a new collector box with a 2'' - 3'' long and about 2" in diameter pipe at the rear end then marry the old downtubes with the new collector box. I'm sure it will be way cheaper than a new system.

Why this mod is god? Because at this point you should end up with a system where you can replace the mufflers without too much hassle so you can find out the proper muffler for your like.

For me this mod cost about 50 bucks. And the muffler I've put on the bike was another 100 bucks which was a bit pricey. I mean, a month later I've found the same muffler on ebay for about the half price. Damn.

Jetting. Well, if you have a 4-1 system on your bike probably you won't need to rejet your carbs when you do this mod. However the jet calc applications tells me that you have to go up one size with the main jet when you're replacing a 4-2 system.

That's the cheapest option I think if you want a proper sound and a sound what you should like. Also, you can drill the muffler and you can break the baffle in the original with a rod but it's destruction not a mod. However it's the cheapest option available.

 

Take this post with a grain of salt.

I just bought an XJ900; I don't know what was done to the bike; don't know if the carbs have been jetted. I don't know if there are drilled holes anywhere in the system. All I know is there is a Hindle muffler.

Dudes this bike sounds awesome! it's not too loud, nor does it sound like a firefly. It's just the right amount of throaty, with just the right amount of noise.

While driving under 5000rpm it's fairly quiet, which is nice while driving at night in a subdivision. open 'er up though, and everyone knows you're there.

 

The Harley mufflers would give it a nice deep throaty growl without being loud. I have a pair of stock Harley mufflers and thye are just right. I can sneekout to work at 5 AM and not annoy the neighbors or wake the dog.
And when I get a couple miles from the house, I can enjoy the deep growl of at higher rpm's and still hear the radio!

 

Buy one cherry bomb muffler from autozone and cut it in in half. Cut your old mufflers off, and weld 1/2 on each side. LOUD AND SOUNDS AWESOME!!!!!

 

stalzie, you need to rejet? how much it cost? uhh, is it a 4-1 exhaust?.... a how to would be awesome

 

i have a 4-2 with harley shortys slip-ons just cause i had no mufflers and they were free (the best price) it sounds ok

 

The guy who owned my bike before me did all this. It was rejetted with Stage III dyno jet kit. The valves were shimmed etc for tuning etc for the free flowing. There are 2 two in ones. So, both sides have on each side.

So... put in the stage three dyno jet kit. From the looks online the dyno jet stage III kit costs $125 ish and the one cherry bomb muffler is about $30.

But for the how toos, it really is just a cherry bomb muffler cut in half and welded on. I will post some more up close pics.
It has so much torque. I havent ridden a stock one, but it impressed me from other bikes I have ridden before.

 

Oh and there are 4 pod filters if you couldnt tell. I will take some upclose shots and post them tomorrow