Four into one aftermarket 'zorts (GS1000G)

[Guest]

My newly acquired GS1000G has standard/stock exhausts (in amazingly good condition). They look fine but are way too quiet for my liking. I want to switch them for a 4-1 setup, not for performance reasons (though I'm not looking for a drop in performance, obviously), but simply so I can hear those 4 cylinders howling away nicely.

Can anyone suggest what type to look for? The only types I've seen so far have been Delkevic and Vance & Hines. This is UK I'm talking about, not USA where I bet loads more are available.

Are the Delkevic any good? What kind of re-jetting am I looking to expect with one of these (or a V&H)?

I'm keeping the standard air filter arrangement.

[hampshirehog]

If you want something that sounds a bit fruity you could try a Marving Racing 4-1. Love mine. Here's a link to the guys who sell them:

http://www.exactrep.com/acatalog/Suzuki2.html

With the standard air box no rejetting is needed.

[OldVet66]

Delkevic is a sweet piece of work. For pipes alone a stage one jet kit is all that is required. I was jetted for 4-1 V&H and K&N pods with the large stage-3 (142/133.1) jets and just bolting the pipes on and a few carburetor tweaks added power throughout the power band. I have all the baffles in and can literally ride around in the grass in my back yard at idle no throttle. It's probably as quiet as the stock pipes until you open it up and it's still quiet with a great sound. There is the option to remove baffles but I am really growing to like the sound of these pipes with all the baffles in. For some reason you can hear what the individual cylinders are doing with these pipes. Never could with the V&H. If it sounds a little like it's running on three cylinders at just off idle, it probably is and alerts you to adjustments that need to be made. I was told by a top national drag bike champion and world speed record holder familiar with my bike that it was running as good as it could with factory carburetors. The bike feels about half the weight it did before and is a big grin every time I get on it.

[Jon]

Just spotted you've got a Delkevic system on your signature photo OldVet - it looks good. All I'd seen up to now were pics of un-fitted exhausts. But the Marving info is interesting, especially if no re-jetting's required. I like the look of these too, and the price. And the sound. I could try selling the original system to recover the outlay...

[OldVet66]

They may or may not need re-jetting. I seem to remember reading Delkevic had no jetting required printed somewhere come to think of it. Generally some 4-1 systems require it. Oddly enough it was the perfect complement to my motor with the full stage-3 jet kit. I had no clue these bikes could run so well. I think you would have to re-jet if you started removing baffles though. Here is a close up link, they look a lot better in person: https://goo.gl/photos/uBUUgLUNHhUHRwb8A

[JJ]

If all you are interested in is making loud noise, I'm glad that you don't live anywhere near me.

[Jon]

If all you are interested in is making loud noise, I'm glad that you don't live anywhere near me.

Not at all Johnny - making a reasonable amount of noise is just one of many things I'm interested in. I'm about 3500 miles away so I'd be willing to bet there are louder bikes a lot nearer to you than mine will ever be!

[Jon]

I'm abandoning my plan to fit a Marving 4-1. I bought one but the quality is poor and I'm returning it. I'll stick with the stock system for the time being. It goes very nicely with it and it looks right, so I'll leave well alone. I'll report further on the Marving when I've completed dealings re. the refund. I hope to be able to report that the people I bought it from handled it very well. Time will tell.

[hampshirehog]

What's wrong with it Jon? Mine's fine and I wonder if they've lowered standards.

[knotscott]

I've got a set of 4 in 1 Vance Hines on my GS750E.....it's subjective, but I really like the way they sound and look.

[Jon]

What's wrong with it Jon? Mine's fine and I wonder if they've lowered standards.

I'd be interested to know what you think of my complaints, HH. First, the baffle plate won't fit inside the silencer - I can get the forward end plate past the welded nut but there's no way it'll twist back straight again. So much force would be needed, the perforated tube would either bend of snap off at the pair of tack-welds holding it on. I could make it fit by filing a little off the plate, but that would remove the zinc plating and lead to rust. And why don't they just make things so they fit properly in the first place?! (in fact, why don't they assemble the whole silencer instead of leaving this for the buyer to do? Not as if it saves any space selling it all in bits).

The silencer won't fit onto the exit tube from the collector box. The OD of that tube is greater than the ID of the silencer end by 0.75mm. Of course I could force it on but I don't think I should have to.

The no.4 cylinder header flange is not concentric with the pipe (unlike the other 3 which look concentric by eye, so close enough)

The bends in the downpipes are terrible - very visible steps where the curved parts change into straight sections.

The area around the joints between the 4 pipes and the collector box is painted silver. Not even done well! It looks like aerosol can VHT silver or similar has been squirted to cover a roughly 2" wide band fore & aft of the joints. Unbelievable!

The whole overall impression is of shoddiness and amateurishness. While some of my complaints might be said to be due to overly high expectations (eg: the pipework), there can be no excuse for selling a product about which one of its qualities is its attractive chrome plated finish, with part of it coated in silver paint. It is also true to say that parts sold as a kit should fit together properly without the buyer having to get involved with fettling.

Given all the above, there was no way I was going to even think about offering this thing up to my cylinder head. The chances of all 4 pipes fitting properly where they should is about zero, and there's no way I'd consider struggling for ages, twisting and bending it all until it finally goes together (only to find its always trying to come apart and causing my exhaust the pop and bang like an idiot's). I'd seen enough to realise such pessimistic thoughts were unlikely to be unwarranted.

I'd be very interested to know whether your system had all or any of these features - especially the no-fit parts and the silver paint. Well, and the amateurish pipe bends too.

[OldVet66]

I renewed the link to the Delkevic. I had a V&H and it is a crap exhaust system by comparison. Give it another look. It is a real quality system. https://goo.gl/photos/uBUUgLUNHhUHRwb8A

[jsandidge]

I renewed the link to the Delkevic. I had a V&H and it is a crap exhaust system by comparison. Give it another look. It is a real quality system. https://goo.gl/photos/uBUUgLUNHhUHRwb8A

Jeez, that system looks good.

[Jon]

I renewed the link to the Delkevic. I had a V&H and it is a crap exhaust system by comparison. Give it another look. It is a real quality system. https://goo.gl/photos/uBUUgLUNHhUHRwb8A

It does look nice. Can you get to the oil filter without disturbing it? Can you keep the centre stand? Do you need to alter carb jetting at all (and if so, is it possible to say by how much, if stock air filter is retained)?

Oh, I suppose I should add - do all the parts fit together properly? Do the headers fit perfectly into the exhaust ports, without any fettling? And is there any silver paint!!!

[OldVet66]

Plenty of room for the oil filter, fit and finish is excellent, no paint just 304 Stainless Steel and Stainless naturally turns gold but chrome polish silvers them up real nice. I installed the springs so the down pipes wouldn't swing out of alignment and used a soft face dead blow hammer to peck them into shape just to overcome the spring pressure. I did not re-jet and I expected to with my large jets to have to go smaller. A perfect match, built noticeable power through the power band, just had to tweak carburetor settings. The hardest part of the job is getting the packing off the pipes. All parts collector and pipes are marked to match so be careful to leave those in place until it is together and springs in place.