Carpenter Racing Exhaust

[TriumPhil]

We only let you hang around for your avatar, Phil.

It is special... just like me.

 

[webmaster]

TriumPhil, If someone wishes to participate on this site and is experiencing difficulty, they can contact us for resolution.

 

[TriumPhil]

Attention Webmaster

Shawn, I just sent you a PM, but it appears that my ability to do so has been suspended or the PM registry on my CP does not confirm that it and others I have sent recently were actually received by the intended recipients.

If the PM hasn't shown up, kindly let me know ASAP and I'll resend an iteration of the message here.

Thanks

TP

 

[TriumPhil]

AHA!!! I just figured out that my settings for sending and storing PMs had been reset or altered, probably going back some months ago when I received a "timeout". Problem solved, i believe.

Sean, you should have received the PM I sent to you a few minutes ago.

 

[dracul]

I have the pipes

Carpenter pipes. Mixed bag. I have a set. Initial fit was impossible. Had to sand/grind bracket/tubes for about four hours with my rotary tool to permit coupling. Also, tension springs hold all components together; kind of lame. May need to do some welding to eliminate some of the springs. Not yet installed...need to visit some bike shops for heat shield options (the pipes are NOT shielded), HD this a.m. then a custom shop later. So......I'm not ecstatic about them yet, they are overpriced in my view, but I did get a better deal than listed over a mix-up (Hence: heat shielding will be added expense as will welding if you elect to get ride of some of the springs...total outlay on a chromed set could easily exceed 2K). Thus, as a result of the above, and before installation on my **** bike, the jury is still out. I might take some pix today...then again...I might not. Good luck.

Regarding Art: He seems to be an affable sort, more or less. Passionate about all things motorcycle. Very deeply versed in the intricacies of performance engineering. Has quite a resume' as a tech. Friendly to speak with, I've had several conversations with him regarding a used supercharger and the Carp pipes...and about you Phil. All good stuff.

I was a bit miffed that he did not follow up on my inquiries regarding the components list and pix of the TTS unit he was selling. I was considering this purchase, but he seemed a little less than completely candid...or forthcoming...so I rolled the dice and made a lesser offer. No response. No pix. No list of the many components...any of which going missing means contacting Rotrex for expensive replacement(s) and then the "deal" begins to evaporate, in my view. Sight unseen for a used SC in a dubious state of completeness waved many red flags. He just said it was complete and "in the box" by his desk. $3,500 I would have shelled out if Art had endeavored to seal the deal by answering my inquiries. Kind of left me in a fog, and then I read he sold it to another fella without so much as a "get screwed" to me! He did not follow up on my repeated questions, for whatever reasons. He then sold it to someone else after we had been in conversation for about two months. I was poised to peel off the greenbacks if he would only have been a bit more transparent on what he actually possessed. Unlike some on this board who simply move money around with keystrokes I actually WORK for a living and my money is carefully husbanded and dispensed. I'm cautious. Perhaps Art was simply too busy or had (an)other offer(s) and did not need to be so particular as I required. Who knows?

Besides the above issue, which is not pivotal, I like the man. He can be intransigent and irascible, but then, so can I as we all can attest. I like what Carpenter is doing, probably the best thing going for hi-pro R3 upgrades (until some other juiced outfit takes an interest in this niche bike)...although I'm not yet sold on these strange pipes. At the end of the proverbial day, none of us can claim perfection and if we do we are most certainly liars.

 

[evomind]

Carpenter pipes. Mixed bag. I have a set. Initial fit was impossible. Had to sand/grind bracket/tubes for about four hours with my rotary tool to permit coupling. Also, tension springs hold all components together; kind of lame. May need to do some welding to eliminate some of the springs. Not yet installed...need to visit some bike shops for heat shield options (the pipes are NOT shielded), HD this a.m. then a custom shop later. So......I'm not ecstatic about them yet, they are overpriced in my view, but I did get a better deal than listed over a mix-up (Hence: heat shielding will be added expense as will welding if you elect to get ride of some of the springs...total outlay on a chromed set could easily exceed 2K). Thus, as a result of the above, and before installation on my **** bike, the jury is still out. I might take some pix today...then again...I might not. Good luck.

Regarding Art: He seems to be an affable sort, more or less. Passionate about all things motorcycle. Very deeply versed in the intricacies of performance engineering. Has quite a resume' as a tech. Friendly to speak with, I've had several conversations with him regarding a used supercharger and the Carp pipes...and about you Phil. All good stuff.

I was a bit miffed that he did not follow up on my inquiries regarding the components list and pix of the TTS unit he was selling. I was considering this purchase, but he seemed a little less than completely candid...or forthcoming...so I rolled the dice and made a lesser offer. No response. No pix. No list of the many components...any of which going missing means contacting Rotrex for expensive replacement(s) and then the "deal" begins to evaporate, in my view. Sight unseen for a used SC in a dubious state of completeness waved many red flags. He just said it was complete and "in the box" by his desk. $3,500 I would have shelled out if Art had endeavored to seal the deal by answering my inquiries. Kind of left me in a fog, and then I read he sold it to another fella without so much as a "get screwed" to me! He did not follow up on my repeated questions, for whatever reasons. He then sold it to someone else after we had been in conversation for about two months. I was poised to peel off the greenbacks if he would only have been a bit more transparent on what he actually possessed. Unlike some on this board who simply move money around with keystrokes I actually WORK for a living and my money is carefully husbanded and dispensed. I'm cautious. Perhaps Art was simply too busy or had (an)other offer(s) and did not need to be so particular as I required. Who knows?

Besides the above issue, which is not pivotal, I like the man. He can be intransigent and irascible, but then, so can I as we all can attest. I like what Carpenter is doing, probably the best thing going for hi-pro R3 upgrades (until some other juiced outfit takes an interest in this niche bike)...although I'm not yet sold on these strange pipes. At the end of the proverbial day, none of us can claim perfection and if we do we are most certainly liars.

i appreciate the honest write up, but when you charge a lot of money for something they better be "perfect."
id be pissed. maybe you got a bad set. have you addressed these concerns with carpenter racing?

 

[TriumPhil]

...I was a bit miffed that he did not follow up on my inquiries regarding the components list and pix of the TTS unit he was selling. I was considering this purchase, but he seemed a little less than completely candid...or forthcoming...so I rolled the dice and made a lesser offer

Hey, drac! A belated Happy New Year greeting to you and yours!

No need to be miffed other than for the lack of follow-up.

Art had a competing bid from an existent Carpenter Racing customer who had already spent some face time and developed a personal rapport with him as well as having already spent some big bucks with CR.

You know what they say, "He who hesitates..."

 

[dracul]

Caveats!

Hey, drac! A belated Happy New Year greeting to you and yours!

No need to be miffed other than for the lack of follow-up.

Art had a competing bid from an existent Carpenter Racing customer who had already spent some face time and developed a personal rapport with him as well as having already spent some big bucks with CR.

You know what they say, "He who hesitates..."

I dig dude. Just would have appreciated a PM telling me the deal was off. I'm actually glad for the ailing chap who now gets the SC. I hope the kit is intact...I just was not sure this was the case. No big deal. Already switched gears, so to speak, and am saving for the 210 kit from CR. Back to the pipes. Went over to Sun Harley Davidson this morning and got some chrome HD shields I'll cut and adapt to the front tube (where my NOS looms) and a bifurcated rear section I'll also cut and grind to cover the confluence point with the megaphone exhaust. The Harley guys thought it looked pretty tricked.

A word to the wise to those of you considering this system: my case may have been unusual. My intensive retrofit efforts may be atypical. Another issue: since these pipes are NOT heat shielded you need to factor in BLUING of the tubes as inevitable, at least to some extent. Look at the track-version Silverback R3 on the Carpenter site and you will readily note extreme bluing of these tubes. Unavoidable. Art has told me the chrome ones tend to blue more than the polished stainless iteration (mine). Consequently, I've sought out some protection for my nitrous and my leg; think I got the bugger licked. More cutting and grinding...which I don't mind since I'm an artist/illustrator anyway and like to work with my hands. If others among you eschew getting your hands a little soiled, perhaps you should stick with the Jars

A further note on tube bluing: My bike has blue hi-lights in lighting and paint already and my custom seat will incorporate some azure tones as well. Blued pipes will probably fit the image rather smartly. However, be careful to remove ALL grease, finger prints, etc., with alcohol prior to firing your baby up initially. If you fail to do so your leavings will be permanently impregnated into the blued pipes surface If you wish to be politically incorrect, as I like to be more often than not, you can finger paint "Eat Sh!t" or FU...or some such...on the header/pipes then fire the sucker up!

Added pix: Note Beowulf inspecting pipes. Almost the same color as himself! Equally bad-assed! Nice polishing. The design flows well. Almost equal length of tubes. Spring tensioners. NICE alloy bracket! Solid piece, not hollow.

 

[dracul]

Silk from a Sow's Ear!

i appreciate the honest write up, but when you charge a lot of money for something they better be "perfect."
id be pissed. maybe you got a bad set. have you addressed these concerns with carpenter racing?

Yeah man, I talked to Bob Carpenter himself. He was...or sounded...genuinely surprised. Told me he'd sold twenty sets already without similar complaint. As I've stated above, my experience may be unusual; I got the "runt of the litter", so to speak. But I've some experience turning ****e into dinero so I'm tackling these puppies. I'll get 'em right I do like the general look of these formidable breathers; very edgy! I still intend to use Carpenter when I pull the R3's head and send it to them for valve line upgrades and porting. Next week Wednesday I'll resume some work on the rocket, including ditching the TOR's and slapping on the modified Carps. NOTE: these units come with No Muffler so the suckers will be as loud as Gabriel's Horn!

Dog/Pipe face off! Side view.

 

[TriumPhil]

Carpenter's exhaust system, sans muffler, is by no means obnoxiously loud. TORS and Jardines at speed are noisier and, in any event, if you want to tone them down, there are numerous baffles that you can fit to the Carpenter pipe.