Straight pipes

Will replacing the exhaust pipes with straight pipes hurt the motor

 

Short answer... yes

Long answer you will need to rejet to account for the lean mix and lack of backpressure you're going to introduce.

Tuned properly you'll be fine.

Straight pipes on these are wicked loud. I lost a muffler while riding last year on a 4-1 and I couldn't stand the sound.

 

Mine is insanely loud but i do love it. I'm also running way to rich right now. My colortune is practically throwing flames out the head. I'm running no muffler at all with pod filters and still trying to iron out the air/fuel mix.

 

How do you know if you are running to rich/lean hand how do you fix it if you are?

 

some mix of colortune, plug chops/plug reading, seat of the pants feel, and lots and lots of experimenting.

It's fixed by changing fuel and/or air jets and/or shimming needles. It's a science and an art to get a motor to run correctly outside of the stock setup.

 

I've been using my colortune since I can't ride mine yet, I still need a new front tire. All four cylinders of mine are showing a yellow, almost candle flame color which indicates a rich mixture. The book says to aim more for a bunson or cobalt blue to get it just right. Also my plugs are black and brand new so that alone tells me that I'm way too rich. The colortune is really a great tool to have. I got my from chacal for 50.

You can change the mixture by turning the screws on top of the carbs left for leaner and right for richer.

 

i have straight pipes on my 650 it idles quietly and screams at high rpms i love it but warning when riding most of the sound is behind you so not so bad but if your in your garage 7000 will really hurt your ears when tunning i thought it was waay to loud but on first ride i loved it


still dialing in the carbs its a royal pain

 

I removed the baffles on my 1100 and before putting the end caps back on I fired it up just to see what it sounded like...

Stupidly loud. Almost loud to the point of needing hearing protection.

 

This is only good for your idle/low RPM mix High rpm is controlled by the needle and main jets.

 

i ran an open 4-1 header ONCE. it sounded awesome, but my ears were bleeding, and i didnt like the extra attention it gets you when you are trying to keep it quiet down main street in town. WAY TOO LOUD!!! and for the record iim not afraid of loud pipes, i race 2 trucks and a quad. the quad is 102db and trucks are both open headers and i dont ever feel like my brains are being vibrated out of my head, like i did when i was riding the bike open header'd. i would put it up around the 120db mark.

 

I think that's a silly idea. But that is just me. I have an '08 6 and I like the exhaust note it has - stock. Drive an 'ordinary' car for a few days. You'll be happy with your straight stock 6 after that - trust me.
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Reading this post raises some questions in my head.
How much backpressure does the stock mufflers exert on the engine and how, and has anyone tried to recreate this with straight pipes?

I have a 4-2 setup on mine now, with collector. I had a leak from cy-1 a month ago and ordered copper gaskets, but they wont fit. The screws on the engine block are too short / the baffles are not original (or they don't need gaskets). I've seen a MAC 4-2 system where baffles from 2 cylinders combine into 1 muffler without collector box, but would this one be equal to the system with collector box in terms of backpressure?

 

Here's your striaght pipe back pressure fix: http://www.bobhenneman.info/dragpipe.htm

Any change from what you have now will have some impact on your air/fuel mix. Maybe a little maybe a lot.

I changed from a 4-1 with a megaphone muffler to a 4-2 with no collector or cross over and harley FLH mufflers. I had to go up two main fuel jet sizes and shim the needles one shim.

Your results will vary.

 

backpressure is bad, stock or open exhaust. lower rpm exhaust velocity velocity is what you lose when you replace stock exhaust for straight pipes. velocity is what you are looking for. stay away from the harley washer baffle method. go to jegs or summit, and get a collector insert muffler. they are much less restrictive than a washer, and do a better job of reducing noise.

 

Ugh I would suggest against doing this. Its really way too loud and if you have to ask if its bad you can almost bet that in some way it is bad. I heard a lot of people say that straight pipe hurts the exhaust valve, not sure if thats true or not but lets face it, intentionally making your bike at risk is a bad idea.

My bike has a straight pipe (Previous owner cut them off, working on replacing the mufflers but my car died so bike is my main transportation) and its only fun for 20 seconds in the daily ride, when you pull onto a highway and nail it and its just screaming, course thats pretty much pissing off everyone around you and you have a giant sign on your head saying "I want a ticket" It sucks when your driving because its too loud, and the thing is, at higher rpms (5000+) it dosent sound cool, no rumble or anything, just pure noise, and if for some reason you snub it or put it into neutral instead of second (I did this a couple times) EVERYONE can hear your mistake, and its embarrassing I did the neutral instead of second at a stop light thats right by a outdoor dairy queen, I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Now, I'm a fairly new bike rider so my mistakes are not likely to happen to someone with experience but still.

If you really want a louder bike I would suggest making some hillbilly mods to your current exhaust or trying some aftermarket pipes.

But if your hellbent on doing it all the more power to you, just reroute the pipe so its still behind you so you dont get the heat scorching your legs and its less noise for you. Ohh and if you do, I want your pipes

 

+1 Gratscott!

I put "screamin eagles" on my 700. At first I liked the change
since the stock pipes and noisy valves made the bike sound
like a sewing machine.
They only sound good at WOT between gears. Then they have that
R1 roar.

Just cruising or at hwy speeds it's just loud-and not a pleasent
rumble or roar-just loud.

so I'm looking for a set to replace them. Or fab my own.

 

Now sense I do have exhausts on my bike I would like to add a little bit more.

1-The bike starts easier, warms up easier and idles better

2-There is a noticeable change in low end power.

Now I'm sure you can change this by adding a little back pressure and changing the jets.

 

nonsense, straight pipe away! Fix the jets though because that will affect your motor, but if you like the sound then go for it. I ride a zx-6r straight piped, you can hear me from a mile away, and at 13k rpms the thing screams so loud it will split an ear drum, but the sound is behind you. Increases your visibility, will piss people off, and for those long rides that everyone complains about having to listen to the exhaust note. grab your ipod and enjoy the ear buds. They cut the sound down almost all the way, and you get some good tunes!

 

and when you cant hear your grandchildren or your ear buds, and you cannot afford hearing aids because you had to pay for so many failed equipment/no muffler tickets, just remember how much fun it was pissing everybody off with your unnecessarily loud bike.

 

well here in tucson they don't care about loud bikes, and it really isn't loud enough to split an ear drum. I was a drummer for years, and these bikes can't even touch DB from a drum. So ears heal, and bikes don't break under straight pipes. provided they have enough length to provide back pressure.

 

I got screamin'eagle slip-on pipes on my 82 maxim 650 4 into 2 and it sounds pretty mean at idle! You get a few pops when downshifting though, just needs big jets i think?

 

I got screamin'eagle slip-on pipes on my 82 maxim 650 4 into 2 and it sounds pretty mean at idle! You get a few pops when downshifting though, just needs big jets i think?

 

the key to straight pipes is to put them behind where you sit, or just be like the hardly riders and wear ear plugs :roll:

I'm pretty darn sure the myth of back pressure goes something like this: back in the day people rode two strokes, back pressure equals sound waves equal timing equals performance, EPA regulations, four strokes come out, they have valves and cams that do the work the chambers did on the smokers, joe average straight pipes, doesnt re jet, bike runs hot, throws a valve or holes a piston, joe average hides his mistake by blaming poor exhaust, saying bad back pressure to cool engine.

gasoline cools an engine down, which is another lesson learned from two strokes, joe average will play it safe by putting more oil in the mixture than required, but really the oil doesnt cool the pistons, the gas does, joe average is stupefied why his bike got hot and seized,

it just boils down to the science and user error, just rejet and you will be fine.

 

My aprilia has an akrapovic can, which is basically a straight pipe :lol:

italian superbike that sounds like a pissed off old harley is where I like it, but my seca is staying with a medium volume 4-1 megaphone.

 

Actually Ears DONT heal once your hearings gone, its gone and it's never ever comin' back.Matter of taste I suppose but straight pipes sound like crap,loud is just loud.
And turning your ipod up to cover the noise of your straight pipes will just make you deaf faster,believe me there is nothing cool about not hearing when your children want to speak to you.

 

Amen to that.

 

I'm gonna have to agree with gunnabuild1... besides the fact that you are gonna destroy your ears in record time with streight pipes, if i can hear your bike and i'm a mile away, that's too much. Don't get me wrong though... i'm not running stock pipes, and they are a bit louder... but it's not enough to piss everyone around me off.

 

gudenkau::

1) straight pipes make that zx6r power curve more steep because you loose all the low end power that you barely had before.

2) I have been a drummer for 15 years and had the common sense to use ear protection, and if you dont your an idiot!

On my XJ when it was straight piped, @ between 5500 and 9500RPM with a helmet on the sound was obnoxiously loud, louder than any drum set I have ever played.

 

Quote below comes from: http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/newsan ... index.html . (emphasis added)

June 30, 2003 -- Today the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), the two largest American motorcyclist-rights organizations, issued a joint release declaring their intention to find solutions to motorcycling's noise problem.

Loud exhaust pipes, usually from replacement aftermarket exhaust systems, but occasionally from modified or defective original-equipment systems, have long been one of the most significant public-relations problems that motorcycling faces. Few have reason to realize this more than the organizations that defend motorcyclists' rights and freedoms.

These groups frequently encounter the stigma that irresponsible or unthinking riders create with excess exhaust noise when the organizations are addressing other matters. Legislators and regulators often have a bias against motorcycles and motorcyclists because of the stream of complaints about motorcycle noise from their constituents. The groups seeking to maintain motorcycling freedoms must devote extra energy and expend more of their limited resources to overcome this bias. They also see major motorcycle events turned away from preferred locations, parks and other facilities closed to motorcyclists, and potential benefits (such as lowered tolls, designated parking, etc.) denied because of the concern about noise. The AMA even created the "Loud pipes risk rights" to highlight and define the problem."

 

mhhpartner - excellent post!

and as far as backpressure goes....i have posted the whole myth explanation here, i dont have time to go hunting for it but its on here. any pressure in the exhaust system is nothing more than a parasitic draw on the HP produced. velocity is the word you are looking for. find the backpressure myth post of mine. read it, understand it.

 

I was surprised with my pipes their not straigh but nothing really to them. I kept my cat on which helped. Right next to them at high rpm is little loud but a foot away they are not louder just deeper. Id rather have pipes that change the frequency lower, not be louder.

 

ok, so again i did not write this but i couldnt write it better so i pass it along to this forum from Thumprtalk.

 

Sounds like we have an old fashion clash of the keep it original guys and the chop it up guys. Me I'm a chop it up guy. I'm building a XJ 750 hardtail bobber right now and plan on running straight pipes if done right it will run great with no harm to your motor or ears. Chop it up and make it look cool.

 

i cant keep anything stock! but there is no reasonable reason or advantage to run open headers on a car or bike.

 

I also and A custom guy....but running with just open headers on these does not sound good or kool. I have tried. Now im looking for something a little longer but still no muffler.

 

So I bought my 82 Maxim on craigslist in pretty crappy shape. The seller only had one slip on and from what I learned it was better for the engine to keep that one off till I had a pair. The bike was wonderfully load. In my neighborhood I only got a few comments and some great looks. I loved firing up the bike in a parking lot and watch car alarms go off. I knew though that I had to get pipes for the health of the engine.

Last week I finally got some pipes at a great deal. I put them on and it completely different and I miss some of warble of the no pipes. I plan on drilling out some holes into the end of the baffle cover.

Any thoughts or warnings? Will 4 holes create a problem for the engine or this too little of a change? Thanks

 

here is a video of my new exhaust i made, its still straight pipes, but I fitted a 2.25" pipe over two header pipes on each side. and ran it straight back and made the slant cut on them. below is a sound clip. It is a little deeper toned, and less like a swarm of bees.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzvbU9b-F6U

 

WOO HOOOOO

 

ive got straight pipes on my 82 maxum 650 and it spit and sputtered since it need rejetted but heres an easy fix for yea. pull the carbs off and pull the needle out and shim it with a small washer. ive got 1 washer and i noticed a huge difference. no more spit and sputter and runs like a dream

 

speaking of exhaust. This one sounds oh so good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5Xb0tFW ... re=related

Well except for the whistle

 

Well my take on it, setting aside the loud noise is unless you really plan to work on your bike to make it run decent with the straight pipes dont bother because your bike WILL perform worse with straight pipes unless you put work into it.