Thinking about exhaust options

[Idaho Red Rocket 3]

It looks like my pipes don't have heat shields but they do, they take the exact shape of the header.

That is pretty slick Paul. Well Done.

 

[vsteel]

Like they have said, the Viking exhaust has a good rumble but doesn't really thunder unless you really get on it. Keep in mind with a Rocket you really need to be out on the road to get on it hard because in town a short burst can put you in high double digit speeds.

They do give out some heat but it isn't like if your leg touches the piles you are going to insta-burn unless you take off the heat shields and wear shorts. I have a few thousand miles on the pipes so far and have never burned myself and they still look great.

The pipes do drop a lot of weight, I don't remember off of the top of my head but I think it is around 25lbs.

Here is my bike, the heat shield runs from the top of the pipes to pretty far back. Because the heat shields wrap the pipes half way, they don't look obvious. The little bumps on the pipes you can see are the screws which hold the shields.

I used my Viking exhaust to set a land speed record, race proven equipment. I have emailed and talked to Paul on the phone a couple of times and he is great to deal with. I 100% vouch for his product.

 

[bcar00]

I've received the latest instructions from Peter for the Meerkat exhaust mod. I love that this keeps the stock look, and I feel like I could do the mod myself, as I am a competent TIG welder and fabricator. The only thing I don't like about this one is the fact that I am aware of the extra 25 pounds I would still be carrying around. Keep in mind that this is just a mental thing for me. I'm not a racer, and I doubt I would ever feel a performance difference by reducing the weight. I lie awake at night thinking about meaningless things sometimes.

I debated on the weight factor as well, as on previous sport bikes the exhaust weight was a huge factor. I decided it's not that big a factor on this bike and the looks of the stock exhaust won out over other alternatives. I wasn't big on the meerkat method however. Not particularly free flowing for the work required (lots of contortions around the cuttouts).

After some experimenting, I ended up cutting the box in half down the center. Removed the CAT (weight) and a lot on internal baffling, but kept the nice flow path and radiused inlet and outlet pipes. Then I welded it back together. A little louder (2-3 db), much deeper, and a couple pounds lighter. Not sure which method is easier, but I'm glad I took this path.

Still LOVE the Viking full system, but it costs a bit more than I want to spend on a system that I'm sure works well, sounds better, but still doesn't look as good as stock (to my eye).

 

[Journeyman]

I debated on the weight factor as well, as on previous sport bikes the exhaust weight was a huge factor. I decided it's not that big a factor on this bike and the looks of the stock exhaust won out over other alternatives. I wasn't big on the meerkat method however. Not particularly free flowing for the work required (lots of contortions around the cuttouts).

After some experimenting, I ended up cutting the box in half down the center. Removed the CAT (weight) and a lot on internal baffling, but kept the nice flow path and radiused inlet and outlet pipes. Then I welded it back together. A little louder (2-3 db), much deeper, and a couple pounds lighter. Not sure which method is easier, but I'm glad I took this path.

Still LOVE the Viking full system, but it costs a bit more than I want to spend on a system that I'm sure works well, sounds better, but still doesn't look as good as stock (to my eye).

Any chance you have video and/or photos of the process?

 

[Adskee]

I'm wrestling with the same decision. Had a Termi on my Xdiavel but it needed it. The Rocket stock exhaust looks so good and the bike has so much power, I'm just not sure it needs replacing. I haven't taken delivery yet so I need to hear the sound of the stock exhaust to be fair.

 

[bcar00]

Any chance you have video and/or photos of the process?

Sorry, I'm horrible at pics and videos. I get mentally absorbed in the process and completely forget.

I started off cutting a 4x4in square out of the bottom, but wasn't able to get everything out that way. Took a couple pics then but no videos and they ended up being irrelevant. welded the square piece back on, installed it and decided it wasn't enough. Slightly louder and no better.

At that point I put the stock back on and just decided to cut the modified one in half as a last ditch effort. Didn't really expect better results, but I had nothing to lose. should have done this from the start.

Just cut in half on a band saw from the front to the back at a point where you're not disturbing the brackets. You cut right through the cat. Once it's two pieces, you have to do a couple passes with a cuttoff wheel on a grinder to get to the base of the cat on each side. There's a lot of bracing at the inlet side of the cat that can be removed to open up the path between the inlet and right side outlet tubes. I probably spent more time removing cat bracing than I needed to, but again, at this point this was more for grins and giggles than any expected result. Welding back together was easy. I was worried that if I didn't get the welding of the two halves perfect I wouldn't be able to get it back on the bike, but even with a little displacement, it went back on fine.

Not sure what part of this improved the sound so much over the 4in cutout method, but it did. Would it be easier or harder than Meerkat? No idea. Better sound? No idea. Just something about the Meerkat method (Horrible flow transitions and heavy piece of cat material left in place) that just bothers my engineer brain. So take all of this with a huge grain of salt, but I do think anyone with a band saw, welder and a bag of cutoff wheels can do this.

Definitely use good PPE (respirator and goggles) when going at the cat material. Of course the resulting bike is for closed course use only

 

[Journeyman]

Sorry, I'm horrible at pics and videos. I get mentally absorbed in the process and completely forget.

I started off cutting a 4x4in square out of the bottom, but wasn't able to get everything out that way. Took a couple pics then but no videos and they ended up being irrelevant. welded the square piece back on, installed it and decided it wasn't enough. Slightly louder and no better.

At that point I put the stock back on and just decided to cut the modified one in half as a last ditch effort. Didn't really expect better results, but I had nothing to lose. should have done this from the start.

Just cut in half on a band saw from the front to the back at a point where you're not disturbing the brackets. You cut right through the cat. Once it's two pieces, you have to do a couple passes with a cuttoff wheel on a grinder to get to the base of the cat on each side. There's a lot of bracing at the inlet side of the cat that can be removed to open up the path between the inlet and right side outlet tubes. I probably spent more time removing cat bracing than I needed to, but again, at this point this was more for grins and giggles than any expected result. Welding back together was easy. I was worried that if I didn't get the welding of the two halves perfect I wouldn't be able to get it back on the bike, but even with a little displacement, it went back on fine.

Not sure what part of this improved the sound so much over the 4in cutout method, but it did. Would it be easier or harder than Meerkat? No idea. Better sound? No idea. Just something about the Meerkat method (Horrible flow transitions and heavy piece of cat material left in place) that just bothers my engineer brain. So take all of this with a huge grain of salt, but I do think anyone with a band saw, welder and a bag of cutoff wheels can do this.

Definitely use good PPE (respirator and goggles) when going at the cat material. Of course the resulting bike is for closed course use only

That I'm even asking probably means the answer is a hard NO. I have no welding experience, but was just thinking of getting a cheap 110 MIG welder off Amazon to weld a nut onto the bracket for one of my heat shields. I don't have a bandsaw, but do have a cutoff wheel....

Wondering if I could use the wheel to cut the box in half and remove the cat, then with a little practice weld the box back together.

Someone please talk me out of it....

 

[bcar00]

That I'm even asking probably means the answer is a hard NO. I have no welding experience, but was just thinking of getting a cheap 110 MIG welder off Amazon to weld a nut onto the bracket for one of my heat shields. I don't have a bandsaw, but do have a cutoff wheel....

Wondering if I could use the wheel to cut the box in half and remove the cat, then with a little practice weld the box back together.

Someone please talk me out of it....

First, you can't cut it in half without cutting the cat in half as well, so you have to cut all the way through. Second, you'll need a lot of practice welding. Easy task for me, but I've been welding for 40 years. The fact that your welds will not be visible once they're on the bike makes it a bit easier.

Just buy a used exhaust off ebay. Don't experiment with the one you need to ride with.

 

[Wild Hare]

Hello all,

I've been doing a lot of research and spending a lot of time thinking about the various exhaust options. Like many, I think the stock exhaust looks great - better than any of the aftermarket exhausts with the possible exception of the Zard. In my opinion, the Zard looks awesome from the right side, but I'd still like to keep the uniqueness of the 3rd pipe on the left, and I don't like the fact that the Zard eliminates the option of adding bags (not in my plans, but you never know).

I've received the latest instructions from Peter for the Meerkat exhaust mod. I love that this keeps the stock look, and I feel like I could do the mod myself, as I am a competent TIG welder and fabricator. The only thing I don't like about this one is the fact that I am aware of the extra 25 pounds I would still be carrying around. Keep in mind that this is just a mental thing for me. I'm not a racer, and I doubt I would ever feel a performance difference by reducing the weight. I lie awake at night thinking about meaningless things sometimes.

This brought me back to the Competition Werkes exhaust. I think this one looks fine from the right side - not quite as great as stock or Zard, but not bad either. I hate the open gap on the left, and the fact that it is a 2-pipe exit instead of 3.

So I got to thinking - could a Competition Werkes exhaust be modified to add a matching 3rd pipe on the left side? My idea is to install the 2-exit Competition Werkes pipes on the right as standard, but add a custom crossover pipe, welded to the CW assembly, crossing over to the left side, and end it with a 3rd CW muffler. I would likely need to fabricate a bracket and weld it to the 3rd CW muffler to support it. I would try to use the stock mounting hole on the left side.

To attempt this, I would probably need to purchase 2 complete Competition Werkes exhaust systems, unless they will sell me just a 3rd muffler part by itself. In either case, it would be a considerable investment that may not work out at all. I don't know if a CW muffler will even fit in the space available over on the left side. It might also need to be modified to exit out to the side rather than straight out the back. There may not be space available for the crossover pipe to attach to the standard CW exhaust. And the kickstand still needs to stow away properly.

Has anyone else thought about this, or tried something similar? The closest thing I have found is the 3-into-3 Patriot from Dave Platt Exhausts (dot com). Here are a few pictures of that system. The thing this adds is a single "box" collector, with 3 pipes coming out of it. I prefer the "straight pipe" look of the Competition Werkes over this, but I still want the 3rd exit. Maybe I want too many things.

Have you considered a "dummy" exhaust add on just to fill in the gap?

I installed the CWs on my 2025 Storm GT and yeah the 3rd pipe gap is like a missing tooth. But the sound and extra pickup are worth it.

 

[rick danger]

.....

Someone please talk me out of it....

Ok, I will. ha ha. Welding thin metal isn't that easy IMO. As @bcar00 said. Good thing is it can leak a little and NBD. its not a gas tank. I'd get some metal the thickness of the cat box and see how you do. Then there's the type of metal. not sure what the cat is made of