Best 4-1 Exhaust ?

[Mysuzyq]

Anyone have a good pic of a Sidewinder?

These bikes from Bertaut's site all feature Sidewinders....some V&H and some made by Murray....Star also markets their version. Popular with drag racers, but presents some clearance issues for street riding, due to the design.

http://www.bertaut.com/gsgallery.html

Tony.

[Craig]

Does anyone know of or have a 4-2-1?

Craig

[zuzu]

I wanted to thank those that suggested keeping the Supertrapp's.

I removed the back half of the exhaust, gutted and cleaned the inside, dropped it off at the platers Monday. I picked it up today and here are the results. SWEET.

[renobruce]

I wanted to thank those that suggested keeping the Supertrapp's.

I removed it the back half of the exhaust, gutted and cleaned the inside, drop it off at the platers Monday. I picked it up today and here are the results. SWEET.

Awesome! Now go get some "Blue Job" header cleaner and that pipe will look good as new!

[zuzu]

Awesome! Now go get some "Blue Job" header cleaner and that pipe will look good as new!

Bruce,

I already got the headers cleaned and polished. I did use blue job, if use correctly I belive it will will bring life back to any blued header. Great stuff.

Anyone run there 4-1 uncorked?

I was thinking of putting the pipe back on without the baffles inside and see how she sounds\\/

[srsupertrap]

Tony,

Start her up and let us know . . . that chrome plater did a nice job for you.

BTW how much carbon build up did you find in the baffle?

[zuzu]

Tony,

BTW how much carbon build up did you find in the baffle?

I am glad you asked.

One of my thoughts when getting ready to pull the baffle out was that I could clean up all the carbon and soot that had collected over the past 22 years, letting the exhaust system breath better.
To my surprise there were hardly any deposits in the baffle or inside the pipe. I ran the baffle over a wire wheel to remove some very light rust in a few spots along with some very light carbon buildup. I used some oven cleaner to remove a very, very light buildup of soot from inside the pipe.
These pipes where made with quality material.

Here is a photo of the baffle after the wire wheel.

[themess]

I recall a different test of exhaust systems from roughly 1980. I know that it was on a Kawasaki, most likely a Z-1. I think that they did rejet the bike as needed for each exhaust system, and they did dyno testing. Summary: Most aftermarket systems produced less power through the entire RPM range, and were noisier than the stock system. No aftermarket exhaust was quieter than stock. A few systems significantly boosted power in specific RPM ranges, but at the price of reducing power in other RPM ranges.

The articles conclusion: Kawasaki Heavy Industries doesn't make exhaust systems for all bikes, just for Kawasakis. They have a lot more money for engineering than any aftermarket exhaust manufacturer. Except for riding on the track, the OEM exhaust was better than any aftermarket exhaust in every way.

[Mysuzyq]

. Except for riding on the track, the OEM exhaust was better than any aftermarket exhaust in every way.

I think it's generally accepted that the 4X1's boost peak power at higher rpm's (seldom seen on the street) at the expense of some low/midrange performance. My understanding was that quality aftermarket products were also able to produce more hp than stock, because they were not subject to (or simply ignored) the stringent EPA/Noise limitations that the factories were/are required to adhere to in order to bring a new product to market. Lean jetting and restrictive exhaust systems for stock bikes was the result .Too,the Kawa in that particular test possibly sported a 4X4 stock system that might have been difficult to improve on significantly, in terms of free breathing.
Even if hp figures remain identical, going with a quality 4X1 system will shed some serious avoirdupois (a complete stock system (GS1100) weighs around 40lbs!), and that alone will be reason enough for some, (myself included ).

Tony.

[Big-Jim]

supertrapp

Heres my supertrapp system

Its just a great system if you can find them

[zuzu]

Big-Jim

Looks nice BIG-JIM. 1983? What else has be done to the bike?

[zuzu]

Update,

I got all the parts back from the polisher and reinstalled the engine covers. I then installed the Supertrapp without the baffle, there was no restriction in the pipe. When I started it I though a cannon had just gone off:shock:.
While idling you could hear and FEEL each cylinder firing. I took it for a very short ride and it was just way to loud. I could feel the cross-hairs from the rifles my neighbors were pointing at me. Not that it did not sound awesome. I will at some point this summer pull the baffle out again and take it for a longer ride.
I put the baffle back in and installed 6 additional diffuser disks to help it breath. This also increased and deepened the sound a bit.

Here it is after the plating and polishing.

[Mysuzyq]

Very nice...your bike is CLEAN!
Tony.

[Aubra]

The V&H pipes sound nice, wish they'd fit my 750T all I can find are MAC, which I don't know what those sound like.