i have a small opportunity to equip my bike w/ a vance and hines 2 to 1 exaust...i realize i may gain a couple horsepower or so from it and make it sound different obviously, but overall is it really worth the effort? and is the the horsepower gained worth it?

*edited part* im sorry its a 500...it claims it will work w/ or w/o rejettin...

 

There's more than just the horsepower gain, there's also the weight savings. Depending upon your bike (carbs/FI) it's not too bad of an ordeal to get the air/fuel mix in working order after the switch. Personally, I think it is worth it. I know what you're asking, and I think many of us have wrestled with the same question on many modifications. However, replacing your stock pipe is one of the easiest ways to improve your performance and to let your bike breathe better. I'd do it (again.)

 

I keep hearing on our bikes its not worth it if you're just going to go for performance. Its supposed to give around a 1-2hp increase, but the big difference is the weight from going 2 to 1. But I'm a total noob and I'm just regurgitating what I've heard. But they sure do sound awesome!
-Cody

 

I earnestly appreciate all the loud-pipe track-heroes signing for all my tickets.
All of my bikes now have stealth technology and I didn't have to spend a dime. In fact, the rest of those poor bastards spend hundreds of dollars for the privilege of paying for my tickets. It's as if the majority of gazelles voluntarily donned belled collars to announce to the lion that dinner is on the way.
I regularly scoot around my town at 15mph over the posted speed limit, but the police don't even give me a second glance. Why? Because LEOs have become conditioned to equate speed with noise: "Huh, that kid must be running late for choir practice; but I can't hear him, so he must not be speeding..."

And while ~every~ aftermarket pipe manufacturer claims that no jetting changes are necessary, the delicate balance of fluid-dynamics, back pressure and resonance is ALWAYS upset when you change the exhaust system so drastically. I heard an old racer say once, "We spent a lot of years trying to make each other's 500's go faster than each other, and in the end, we learned that Mr. Kawasaki knows a lot more than Mr. K & Mr. N do."
The pipes might only result in a small flat spot in your midrange. Next some tobacco-spitting mouth-breather with a Dyno-tuner will tell you the best way to harness a pipe's potential is with a jet kit. Then your mileage goes in the toilet, you've spent more money modifying a bike that has lost its resale value, and guys like me with stock pipes and foo-foo dogs on the gastank are still riding circles around you.

I'm of the opinion that the only way to really get more power is to buy a more powerful bike. And if you want to lighten your pony's load, take a laxative the night before your ride.

The life, she is funny...

Peace!
-CCinC

 

I prolly missed something chris, but I disagree. No need for a more powerful ride to go faster. Fine tuning the ride ie suspension and tuning the engine are beneficial to meet most riders needs.

 

lol u didnt miss anything i always respec chris' opinion in these matters, and one never is quite sure which direction he will take the ball and run w/ it. however he always has an unique way of looking at and comparing things, sometimes things that one may or may not have considered, ie..the sound vs speeding difference. lol although the laxative line was a bit stiff :P.i was intersted in the exhaust for the sound change more than anything....i believe another quote of chris' "you want a faster bike, buy a faster bike"<--or something really close. the biggest thing i was worried about was rejetting (man i really hate messing w/ carbs that have no issues and take the chance of over/under jetting and potentially causes headache down the road. tbh i'll prolly back out, sometimes less is better and definitely cheaper. omg was that a chris' logic line of wisdom? :P

 

And I counter-disagree. Ebay, Cycletrader and Craigslist are crowded with bikes that have been modified by "most riders" who start fiddling with the carefully-engineered balance that Kawasaki Heavy Industries, LLC has perfected.
Then, after screwing up the bike, and being too proud to either install the original equipment (or to take it back to the dynotune shop who farked it up in the first place, he proudly decides, "I need something with more power" and unloads the bike on some unsuspecting shlub.

It's even happened several times in here. A guy buys a bike, thinking it's already been 'customized' for him, when it's actually been ruined. A savvy mechanic could probably make some money on the side by test-riding these bikes, pointing out the jetting problems, offering much less than the asking price, and at the last minute, mentioning he expects the OEM equipment. Then simply reinstall the original equipment so that the bike runs fine again and sell it at a nice markup.

Since rider's weights and comfort levels vary so widely and the 500's suspension is only marginally adjustable, I can understand modifying the suspension. But screwing with the engine, exhaust or carburetion on a bike that is only going to be used on public roads is...

...a BRILLIANT idea, because I appreciate these dummies paying for all my speeding tickets!
-CCinC

 

wow chris...thats stiff lol (tell us how you really feel :P) i didnt mean to inspire such a stand off...i decided against the exhaust due to possible jettin issues. im now thinkin of droppin down 1 tooth in front takin me from a 16/42 to a 15/42. i would like just a little more zip on the lower end, but i still will run 70 on the hiway so i cant get real extreme. this is still just a thought i havent committed yet :P

and thank you for yer input on the subject

 

You know what: I bought Sarachu Pipe and enjoyed the new sound on my bike for few months. Then the popping and the loudness started to annoy me. I then got ear plugs but then got tired of staffing 'em in my ears before every ride. Frustrated Isold the Sarachu Pipe and bought Muzzy (hoping it will give me a better sound and probably make my 500 sound like Inline 4 engine.) I thought it did for a few days but, boy, was I wrong?Slowly and surely Muzzy is gettingon my nerve now (it's just too loud.) i'm thinking of going back to stock pipe now.

BTW,

The"loud pipes save lives" saying is most likely coined by the sales folks @ Muzzy or whoever sales those pipes.You don't believe me? Ask for salesperson cardand you'll seethat saying engraved....

Anyways,

Is it Confucius who once said, "The louder your pipe is the lower your IQ."

 

Sorry if that sounded harsh Iroc.
I've been hearing "you need to get a pipe on that thing" for 15+years now. They started in as soon as I got my little Harley Sportster:

Perhaps the reason I can get so nasty about it is because everywhere I went, people looked down on me for having stock pipes. Many still do, like I'm some kind of neophyte who hasn't owned his bike long enough to start modifying it yet.
But here's the funny part: That little Harley was a BONE-STOCK 883 Sportster and I was roosting away from guys on FXR's (which are the big 1360cc hot-rods.) They had straight pipes, ported intakes, many thousands of dollars of modifications, but my stock little Sportster (the smallest bike Harley made back then, commonly referred to as a Bitchbike) was roosting away from them at stoplights. I was accused of having a 1200 Sportster, of boring it out, of having made some "sleeper" mods to my bike, and after a while, the Harley guys in Pueblo & Colorado Springs just quit trying. I had no special skills and wasn't even able to make that bike wheelie nor burnout.
Several years later, I learned the reason why: these guys were grinding and polishing their intake ports (to maximize intake flow). I learned from a Kevin Cameron article that every engine needs intake turbulence to complete the atomization of the fuel into air. So not only were they getting terrible mileage, they were getting smoked by my unmodified bitchbike.

THEN I got involved with a W650 forum.

These guys were putting straight pipes on their bikes and swearing they were getting at least 5hp. Some of them even had their bikes dynoed before and after the pipes, jetting and airbox mods to back up their bold claims. So I rode to Arizona to meet with one of them and do some drag-race testing on a desert road. I left my bike COMPLETELY stock, including the smog equipment and even the toolkit pouch left strapped over the airbox intake.
The other bike had straight pipes, larger jets, smog equipment removed, pilot jet twiddling and was getting only 30mpg.
He had no rearview mirrors, tiny little aftermarket turn-signals and a lighter, solo seat. We both agreed that I outweighed him by about 20 pounds. And the results:

Dead-even almost every single time. Sometimes he would jump before the start signal, and sometimes I would, but the bikes were dead-even in all other respects.

The only difference is that I was getting better than 50mpg and wasn't making as much noise. Of course everyone on that W650 forum concluded, "Well, you must have gotten a fast one from the factory; it's been known to happen." (...Horsefeathers.)

Mr. Kawasaki knows a lot more than Mr. K & Mr. N.

But if dummies feel faster by paying more for gas and tickets, I ain't gonna stand in their way.
Peace!
-CCinC