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Message started by MrBrownTX on 08/06/11 at 16:10:23

Title: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by MrBrownTX on 08/06/11 at 16:10:23

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=2302423162162

That is a 18" piece of 1.75" tail pipe from autozone for $6.99.

Sounds so amazing ;D ;D ;D ;D in person but honestly WAY :o too loud. I didn't plan on riding it like that I don't think I ever would it is insanely loud just idling and lightly cracking the throttle I can't imagine racing through the gears.

I need to get my baffle ordered and installed, then carb tuned to work.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OOJ1TS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=A1LKON3BQ3L8YD

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by MrBrownTX on 08/06/11 at 17:59:40

I went for a short ride around the block to test it out just straight, I was too curious. It wasn't as obnoxious as I thought once I got it out of the garage (as one would expect). It definitely popped everytime I let up on the throttle though. But I loved it. Don't worry my neighbors are acres away, I love in th emiddle of nowhere.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by Gyrobob on 08/06/11 at 18:02:13

7C6373637E667F6569110 wrote:

The baffle will be a big improvement. Don't mount it in the very end of the pipe,.... that makes it sound flatter. If you want a deeper tone, mount it at least halfway up into the pipe.

The fiberglass that comes with that baffle will heat up and disintegrate within a few hundred miles. You might try this instead of the fiberglass: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Scotch-Brite-Stainless-Steel-Scrubbing-Pads-3ct-2pk/15053626 The stainless stuff will last a lot longer. It won't muffle as much as the fresh fiberglass, but it will muffle a lot more than the disintegrated fiberglass. In other words, it will help muffle the noise some, and will hold its tone a lot longer.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by bill67 on 08/06/11 at 18:09:49

The fiberglass takes out the higher sounds and will make the sound lower,I've used it and put new in at about 2000 miles.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by drums1 on 08/06/11 at 20:11:37

I used to stuff steel wool down the muffler--it would only last about a week. It's a HD muffler. Looks like a torpedo. The PO had the baffle knocked out. I found a washer that just fit perfectly down in there. I had to tap in with a hammer and long punch. It has about a penny size hole in it. Sounds great--lasts as long as the muffler.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by MrBrownTX on 08/06/11 at 20:18:31

Would you stuff the steel wool just all up in the pipe from the open end? Does it need an open airway down the middle like a baffle or can you just fill the pipe with it?

Also did you put that washer on the end closest to the header or the open end?( I was considering doing that I had read it suggested somewhere else on here.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by Gyrobob on 08/06/11 at 20:20:40

594656465B435A404C340 wrote:

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by MrBrownTX on 08/06/11 at 20:24:38

003E3528252825470 wrote:

[quote author=594656465B435A404C340 link=1312672223/0#5 date=1312687111]Would you stuff the steel wool just all up in the pipe from the open end? Does it need an open airway down the middle like a baffle or can you just fill the pipe with it?

Also did you put that washer on the end closest to the header or the open end?( I was considering doing that I had read it suggested somewhere else on here.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by drums1 on 08/06/11 at 20:31:16

The washer went in the front of the muffler, bottoming out about 1/2 way down in, right where the center of baffle is mounted. I used to stuff the steel wool down in there on top of the washer, but it would melt down to a little ball and blow out the back eventually. It was too quiet with it in there anyways, so I went with just the washer.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by Gyrobob on 08/06/11 at 20:35:08

5E4151415C445D474B330 wrote:

[quote author=003E3528252825470 link=1312672223/0#6 date=1312687240][quote author=594656465B435A404C340 link=1312672223/0#5 date=1312687111]Would you stuff the steel wool just all up in the pipe from the open end? Does it need an open airway down the middle like a baffle or can you just fill the pipe with it?

Also did you put that washer on the end closest to the header or the open end?( I was considering doing that I had read it suggested somewhere else on here.

Plain old steel wool will rust away in short order. that is why you have to use stainless steel. Also, if you use kitchen scrubber stainless steel, you don't know what alloy you are getting. Sometimes it will last forever, sometimes not.[/quote]

Would you stuff the Scotch Brite Stainless Steel scrubbing pad just all up in the pipe from the open end? Does it need an open airway down the middle like a baffle or can you just fill the pipe with it?

[/quote]

You'd use the stainless steel to replace the fiberglass. It would go around the outside of the baffle before you stuffed the baffle into the pipe. That drag pipe baffle you showed from Amazon is supposed to have the fiberglass wrapped around the outside of the baffle. The idea is to make a cheapo partially effective glasspack muffler out of it, except you would not use the fiberglass as the packing, you'd use the stainless steel scrubber stuff.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by MrBrownTX on 08/06/11 at 20:40:04

Gotcha on that bob, I was wondering if I HAD to do it that way, if not having the airway would be too restrictive.

Thanks for all the ideas and feed back guys.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by MrBrownTX on 08/07/11 at 11:07:28

I ran to lowes this morning and bought a big 1.75" washer with a penny sized hole in the middle. I hammered that down in the pipe pretty close to the header. That made an enormous difference. It seems pretty well muffled enough for me like this. It runs pretty smooth now too.

I forgot to stop for stainless steel scrubbing material but I don't think I am going to need it actually. I need to go for a little ride and see how it sounds on the road but I would bet this is going to work for me.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by MrBrownTX on 08/07/11 at 12:50:01

I went for a ride around the block and I definitely notice the lack of power that I read people warned about in other threads. It's popping WAY less than the open pipe. Almost normal levels of backfiring as the stocker was drilled out by the previous owner.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by Gyrobob on 08/07/11 at 13:16:34

3A253525382039232F570 wrote:

By blocking off the exhaust with the washer, you are cutting way way down on the max flow rate of the pipe. It's like clamping your hand over the mouth of a screaming woman,.... she won't make nearly as much noise through her nose, but she can't breath very well either unless she is nearly at rest.

The straight pipe has a cross sectional area of 2.4 sq in. If the washer you got has a 1/2" hole in it, the new cross sectional area is 0.2 sq in. ALL the exhaust has to pass through that hole! IOW, the new hole has less than one tenth the area of the exhaust pipe. No wonder the thing has less power :o

Here are some ideas:
-- Drill a lot of 1/4" holes in the washer (about 12) and see what that does.
-- Widen the hole in the washer to about 1.25"
-- Get two more washers, widen the holes to about 1.25" and stick them in the pipe, spaced 6" and 8" apart
-- Take out the washer, stick in the baffle about half way up the pipe
-- Take out the washer, wrap the baffle in something that resists heat, and stick it about half way up the pipe
-- Cut off some of the pipe, and weld on a shorty muffler

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by MrBrownTX on 08/07/11 at 15:12:52

Ah ha, I was wondering if that was what was happening, thanks Bob. I wioll try that I bought a few washers so I'll start with
" -- Drill a lot of 1/4" holes in the washer (about 12) and see what that does."

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by MrBrownTX on 08/07/11 at 18:11:10

That was a pain in the butt to do with my 6 year old harborfreight drill but I got it done! 8: 1/4" holes around the center hole. It made a world of difference, thanks again Bob and others. It's like I loosened my grip on her mouth and she can breathe freely through my fingers now.

Next Q should I mess with the fuel air mixture in the mean time until I can get some bigger jets in it? Any reccomended screw setting?

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by Gyrobob on 08/07/11 at 21:16:40

5B445444594158424E360 wrote:

Congrats.

Try riding it around for a few days and see if it really does have the same power. Also notice if it backfires and pops a lot, or not. You have a 25% chance that you won't have to change a thing.

If it acts lean, you might try the white spacer mod.

For the idle mixture screw, turn it all the way in until it stops. Be gentle, you don't want to abuse the little seat inside. Then open it up 1 1/2 turns (1.5) to start. If that is not a happy setting, try moving it out in half-turn increments.

Some folks recommend trying to get all this adjustment done with the bike idling. This will get you close, but if you have the time and patience, you might try just setting it at an initial setting that idles okay, then drive it around for a day or two, fine tuning it every other ride or so by moving it out in half-turn increments.

There will be a midpoint where it will idle reliably and smoothly. If you get more than a turn or so from that midpoint, it'll get more ragged and a little slower.

Good luck.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by MrBrownTX on 08/08/11 at 12:13:14

Well I rode to work and back today and I would say there is definitely still some power loss, not a huge significant amount but I would say noticeable. I could only get it to 80 going up this "hill" (slight grade) to work that I thik I have gone faster up.

It also pops a bit more than before so I think I will head out this evening when it starts to cool down and try to adjust that mixture screw.

Funny story, My friend came out to see my exhaust at work and I
gave the throttle a nice thwack to make some noise and the pipe had apparently come loose and shot off, doh. ;D ;D ;D ::) ::) ::)

Glad that happened there and not on the road. Thank goodness I have a decent little tool set just for things like that.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by EJID on 08/08/11 at 13:01:28

796676667B637A606C140 wrote:

It also pops a bit more than before so I think I will head out this evening when it starts to cool down and try to adjust that mixture screw.

Funny story, My friend came out to see my exhaust at work and I
gave the throttle a nice thwack to make some noise and the pipe had apparently come loose and shot off, doh. ;D ;D ;D ::) ::) ::)

I think it's safe to say you might have an exhaust leak :o that will cause it to pop too

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by MrBrownTX on 08/08/11 at 13:51:25

Yeah I need to perfect that connection especially after todays experience. I am thinking about adding a second u-clamp.
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/283386_2305900609096_1296698151_2856497_6476239_n.jpg

My can was pretty well shredded and really not on there well when it all came apart today. I got so hot in the garage yesterday I crammed it together to fast because I wanted to be done.

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/283386_2305899889078_1296698151_2856494_3401862_n.jpg

Also it is pushing on the brake line a bit. I am going to stop in the local steel/welding business down town and see if they can bend it 7deg out so it will clear that.

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/283386_2305900129084_1296698151_2856495_6522696_n.jpg

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by drums1 on 08/08/11 at 14:12:24

Ya you definately don't want it blowing right on the brake cable, not to mention the back wheel. On mine, I used a 8" or 9" extension pipe at back of header pipe, with the bend in it, and then the torpedo HD muffler. Mine ends up blowing out past the brake works.
As far as the washer thing, mine was tapped into the front of the muffler, up against the old baffle. Someone before me had knocked the center of baffle out. The washer just made the hole smaller, but there is still air flow around and through the baffle, as was originally intended. So, I'm not choking it off any, just redirecting it some. Not too loud, not too quiet.
As you can see in the pic, I still have a leak where extension pipe and muffler come together. I was thinking of getting it welded. I would do that before using tin cans and u-bolts.

http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z473/savagepat1/exhaustcloseup.jpg

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by Gyrobob on 08/08/11 at 15:05:51

203F2F3F223A2339354D0 wrote:

I admire your adventuresome spirit, but that way of hooking up the pipe puts new meaning in the term ugly. Those automotive u-clamps are not only obscene, they don’t clamp very well.

Here’s something you might try that might work okay, last a while, and appear to be a little more motorcyclish.

-- Start over.
-- Get a new pipe that has an ID the same as the OD of the existing exhaust. If you can’t find a pipe that has the exact ID to match the existing OD, get a pipe the next size larger and go to a muffler shop to have them swage (reduce) the diameter such that it just barely fits over the existing Suzuki pipe. While you are there, have him put a slight bend in the swaged end of the pipe (5 degrees?) so it’ll stick out a little and not burn up the brake linkage.
-- Saw one lengthwise slit in one wall at the end that exactly fits over the Suzuki pipe. The slit should be about 1” long.
-- Get three washers that just fit inside the pipe.
-- Open up the hole in each washer to 1” diameter.
-- Insert the washers in the pipes such that one is real close to the input end, one is about 6” further down the pipe, and one is 8” from that second washer
-- You’ll have to find some way to hold the washers in place. Maybe the welder at the muffler shop can help. They’ll only need to be tacked in place at maybe six places for each washer.
-- Get a couple of real motorcycle exhaust clamps. Here are some examples (borrowed from EJID’s post in another thread):
Thin but strong for the weight: http://i.ebayimg.com/01/!B95D(-wEGk~$(KGrHqYOKi!Ey77ySJBsBM7D6ct82w~~_12.JPG
Heavier duty, maybe better for a thumper: http://i.ebayimg.com/00/$(KGrHqN,!jkE3LlE-htKBOB!pt5(f!~~0_12.JPG
-- Whichever type you choose, use two clamps right beside each other, clamping over the slit you cut earlier. If you have fit everything well, and you have the clamps directly over the slit, the leakage will be minimal, and the joint will be tight.

How are you going to coat the surface of this thing? You’ll have to do something fairly soon because it’ll rust a lot.

Good luck.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by MrBrownTX on 08/09/11 at 09:10:07

5A646F727F727F1D0 wrote:

How are you going to coat the surface of this thing? You’ll have to do something fairly soon because it’ll rust a lot.

Good luck. [/size]

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by MrBrownTX on 08/09/11 at 16:32:13

I took a few minutes today to stop and got the pipe bent at a muffler shop. Going to try and stop at tractor supply company tomorrow and pick up some better clamps and reattatch it. I could definitely feel the leaks at the pipe and the header.

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/254615_2309978791048_1296698151_2863024_8129757_n.jpg

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/262534_2310138915051_1296698151_2863197_3950142_n.jpg

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/281892_2310138035029_1296698151_2863195_37240_n.jpg

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/251583_2310139795073_1296698151_2863198_2640247_n.jpg

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by Gyrobob on 08/10/11 at 05:22:04

37283828352D342E225A0 wrote:

[quote author=5A646F727F727F1D0 link=1312672223/15#21 date=1312841151]

How are you going to coat the surface of this thing? You’ll have to do something fairly soon because it’ll rust a lot.

Good luck. [/size]

Aw man Bob, you keep making more work for me. Its an exhaust pipe specifically not some random fence pipe, shouldn't it be "coated" already? If not please do tell me what you know I should use.

I am going shopping for the heavy duty style clamp today. and trying to get that bend done.[/quote]

It may or may not be coated with something. Sometimes the tubing intended for exhaust systems is "aluminized" which may mean just about anything, depending on the manufacturer's marketing department.

How much do you care about the final appearance? (no implication here, I am really asking about your preference)

You already have a pretty good ratrod flavor going,.... a look that is in vogue lately.

You could get it all tidied up and have all the new stuff chromed to match the stock header.

You could have it all sandblasted and then painted with some high-heat paint.
-- The only rattle can high heat paint I have used that actually holds up for a while is Dupli-color high-heat black.
-- I have several cans of other high heat stuff I unsuccessfully tried on gyrocopter exhausts. These exhausts will glow red for a few minutes during climbout,... very few cheap coatings will hold up under that kind of abuse.
-- I'm sure there are some others out there. I just don't know of any others.

You could use some exotic coating like ceramicote. Looks spiffy, lasts a long time, actually traps a little heat inside the system, but costs plenty.

You could use a header sweater on the whole thing!!. Wow. You'd be somebody. There are lots of fans of header sweaters here,... they'd be impressed with an exhaust that was wearing a hundred feet of some sort of wrap.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by Boule’tard on 08/10/11 at 07:01:48

4F5040504D554C565A220 wrote:

Yeah I need to perfect that connection especially after todays experience. I am thinking about adding a second u-clamp.

A lot of junkyard mufflers, or HD takeoff mufflers in a shop, will have the clamp still on them. With any luck you should be able to score one for free or less than 5 bucks (?) The main cost being a ride into Dallas :o

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by MrBrownTX on 08/10/11 at 08:26:01

I definitely have a ratrod look in my mind. Taking off all the chromey bits is my next project. I am anti chrome. I also love the idea of wrapping the whole thing in header sweater, that's probably what I will end up doing.

Smart thinking on the clamp Boule’tard. I will be driving past American Eagle HD in Corinth today, I should swing in there.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by MrBrownTX on 09/10/11 at 18:54:34

Finally got a real motorcycle exhaust clamp today. It only cost me $3 from Hunt County Choppers, they took it off an old set of pipes in their barn. I definitely have a much better seal now with the slit cut and the correct clamp however I do still feel a tiny leak on one side, where the uclamp bent the pipe up. I need to 1 get a new piece of pipe and 2 maybe have my friend weld it on there to get this perfect.

Today I also http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1221818822 drilled out the cap on the idle mixture screw so I could adjust that. I was sweating nervous the whole time but eventually after some very slow going careful drilling that cap popped right out stuck on the end of the drill bit. It was no where near as bad as I thought it would be.

So as I play with the idle mixture screw I read http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1222119600/3 that I am looking for the idle to drop as I turn it out CCW. That never happened out to heck about 4 turns where the screw stopped. So I turned it back in to 3 turns out for now to not risk losing that thing. It never backfires at idle but backfires when I let off the throttle didn't seem to change at any setting (probably leak and jet related).

So I know it is the "idle" screw so I think I know the answer but I have to ask to make sure I understand whats happening.
Which brings me to my questions...
Is this adjustment only to effect backfiring at idle? Will it have any effect on performance on the road?

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by ralfyguy on 09/11/11 at 08:41:33

No, when you're riding and let off the throttle, that basically brings the idle circuit into the game. From what you're saying with having to be 4 turns out on the mixture screw, it seems you need to go up a size on the pilot jet. And then adjust your mixture screw again.

Title: Re: Ear Candy (Working on my exhaust)
Post by MrBrownTX on 09/11/11 at 12:16:41

Ah that makes sense. Thank you.