Has anyone successfully fitted a small muffler (think something like Coffmans) along the bottom of the frame?

Saw a Coffmans on a friend's CBR the other day and it made me wonder if a small format muffler would be workable on the KLX down low rather than high and out the top of the back

assuming road use, or course, and not creek diving

also assuming a little bit of custom pipe work for adapting and routing

 

Flat trackers run down pipes all the time. They actually flow better due to the bends being more gradual. Advantage for street - noise is further below your ears, quieter.

Here is Brad Baker, AMA pro, with his KTM flat tracker he raced



A clean job on a Suzuki flat tracker in UK mag Sideburn



Big picture, but great shot- 40 year old Joe Kopp

 

I have stood in that spot and watched that view.

Even if you care nothing about flat track you owe it to yourself to go to Peoria and watch the TT. It is a slice of motorcycle history and truly an excellent event. American Flat Track Event Info - 2017 Peoria TT

 

I would like to do the same sometime. We went to Springfield some years back. After the races we were at a restaurant. My friend saw Henry Wiles, as he came by I commented it was fun watching them. Henry spent the next ten minutes or so talking with us, asking if we saw the TT and how much fun it was racing at Springfield. We asked about riding in 90 degree weather. Then Henry got into asking if we were going to hit Peoria. He said it was a great track, run by the motorcycle club, food was great and prices good. Said how good the races were. Then he had to move on. Great guy.

My friend pointed out an interesting note. Wiles never mentioned that he had won the Springfield TT the night before or that he had a streak of several Peoria TT race wins at that point. He was just all about the fun and if we, as spectators, enjoyed it. Talk about a humble enthusiast.

And what was he riding?



A Kawasaki of course. That picture was from his 14th consecutive win last year at Peoria.

 

The Peoria TT is all about the people. When I went everyone was gracious. The venue is this little valley. As you walk over the rise where you parked you peer down into the bowl of the valley and there is this simple little facility. Could be a little league park in Iowa.

The spots by the jump go early and families had lawn chairs nearly touching the fence. More than once they helped shove a bike back under.

The racing is great. Battles you can watch develop the entire lap. And of course the jump.

Really if you are anywhere near it and love motorcycles you should go.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Pe...1!4d-89.731337

 

source for pipes to do something like that?

 

Go on line look for mandrel bent tubing. Here is one for Summit Racing. If you want to spend the money go stainless. You will have to source the muffler. I can tell you the head pipe should be 20" long 1-3/8" id tubing. You will need someone who can tig weld the tubing.

You might need two 3" radius 180 bends,which will have enough curve and straight tubing to do the job with tubing left over. The collar to hold it in at the head can be made by using a short piece of the tubing split, expanded, and welded on at the head. Make sure when you lay out the pipe and weld on mounts you have a gasket in at the head. I made the mistake of not doing so with my SR500 pipe and had to do some grinding to fit it right. No fun.

We did this pipe using steel bends then getting it chromed. Used 2 - 180s and 1 - 45 with a cheap way too loud "muffler". I want to make my own chambered internal for it.

 

thank you for the detailed response!

might be able to use the stock header and do something like you showed

 

The stock pipe is way too small on diameter. The tubing is cheap, why choke it with too small a pipe?

If I did another I'd use stainless because chroming or coatings will pump costs up to probably more than the cost of the tubing.

I used a header calculator to get the numbers I have. I also got an aftermarket header and oddly enough, it matched those numbers. That SR500 pipe length and ID were found from an old article from Gordon Jennings and proven out by measuring a flat track pipe, which matched Jennings' numbers.

 

can you elaborate a little on the header/collar end fabrication?

so basically you're buying a few bends of tubing and cutting and welding to get the desired contour?