verslagen1 wrote on 07/04/15 at 08:40:48:


Yes, that really sums it up nicely.  From an engineering standpoint, it's a balancing act.  They have to design a bike that will meet EPA standards, run properly in almost any environmental condition, and deliver it with a price point that consumers will deem a worthy value over competing manufacturers.  To do this, there is absolutely no way to provide a product that delivers the maximum of its potential performance without passing the cost to the consumer and risking problems with the EPA.  That's why people pay so much for Ducati, Aprilia, and the like.  

As individuals we can modify our bikes as much or little as we would like to achieve the goals we're after (better mileage, more hp, taller gearing, or whatever) and determine our own budget and timeline for our projects and we don't have the EPA knocking on our garage doors.  We can improve the performance of our bikes, and high flow intake/exhaust/fuel will do that.  That shouldn't even be a question.  The question, as you so succinctly pointed out is, do we want to do it and are the benefits of it worth the effort and maintenance involved?  I think it's probably not, but not everyone is trying to achieve maximum performance potential.  I don't think most people are comparing dyno results before and after modding.  I think a lot of us do it for the enjoyment of customizing and working on our machines.

I will say that I have done high flow mods to some of my bikes in the past and the dyno results showed dramatic improvements, but those bikes were not big singles.  I might also mention that even though my Aprilia showed huge improvements I couldn't feel the difference on the  AF1 track.  I think you might have to be riding at the professional level to really know how to make use of those kind of numbers.

Art Webb wrote on 07/04/15 at 11:48:28:


Yeah, it can certainly get very interesting.  You know, the people who think they can just clamp on a pod and a straight through and then challenge their stock performance numbers are really naive.  Fluid dynamics can be very tricky and just because it's louder doesn't mean it has more power, although, it might feel like that (placebo effect)...As Versy alluded to, you have to have the right pod, pipe, jets, and adjustments for the climate.  In many cases you still won't see the real fruits of the labor until you do more afterwork like porting and polishing the carb/intake/exhaust.  If you're going to do that you might as well upgrade the carburetor, header, cam, etc. The rule of thumb is that if you can't achieve a minimum of 10% hp increase it's not worth doing unless you just want to.  On this bike achieving a 10% increase is highly unlikely with just a pod, straight through, and jets, but it sure sounds good      

Art Webb wrote on 07/04/15 at 22:07:50:


Mine is straight through.  Here's a little 10 second clip of how it sounds.  This video was intended to show off my rear running lights and the mount I made, so there's no revving but you'll get the idea.  I think it sounds just fine.  I'm interested to know what you think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VR87qsmD24

I'll admit that I think it's a little loud too.  I've been thinking of adding a crumb cup.