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New RoadBurner Large Radius Pipes

8K views 30 replies 11 participants last post by  Doc8427 
#1 · (Edited)
Update: New RoadBurner Large Radius Pipes

Just got my new RoadBurner large radius pipes on the bike. I went with the all black pipes, and man do they look great! I had read an earlier post that they fit rather poorly, and someone had to grind down the rear brake cover. I did not have that problem at all. Pipes went on nice and smooth. The right floorboard was a bit too close for my liking, so I put a few washers on the bolts to give me a little extra room.







Went for a 10 mile spin to burn them in. They sound great, loud with a great rumble to them. I got these from eBay via DirtOverstock. Great deal and greate service from them.

Doc
 
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#6 ·
Nope, didn't even have to take it off.

One thing I'm having an issue with is the joint between the head pipes and the tailpipes. There is a little leak there top and bottom. Not much, but you can feel it if you put your hand near it. I've tightened the bolts as much as I can, I think now I may just need to loosen the headers and re-align the whole thing.

Other than that, it looks great and sound great! Really loving the pipes.

Doc
 
#8 ·
I'll post one tonight right after I re-adjust the pipes. I probably didn't line them up properly which is why I have the small leak between the header and the pipe!

Doc
 
#9 ·
As Requested, sound clip/video of the new exhaust

Sorry for all the tools on the floor, I had just finished adjusting the header connection to the tail pipes. I've just about eliminated the little leak that was there. By the time the pipes warm up, the leak is gone, so I'm going to give it another 50 miles or so to really set the pipes in, and readjust as needed.





Doc
 
#12 ·
Just the pipes, I have not made any intake mods just yet, though I have removed the AIS and capped off all the ports with 3/8" vacuum caps. That's probably why I'm not getting any popping on deceleration.

Eventually, as money and time permits, I'll but some sort of big air kit and a fuel processor.
 
#13 ·
#14 ·
Well Doc I'm glad you got good service from the seller because I can't say the same. I've sent two "contact the seller" emails to them in two days asking for a price to ship to Thailand. No reply. If they don't want to send them here it would be nice if they just said so. Very annoying to say the least. I want the pipes if the freight is reasonable, unlike some bike shops that have quoted me $500 to send pipes and others $250 which I would happily bear. Oh well the joys of living in Thailand!
 
#15 ·
Last week they had a complete system meltdown. Servers and phone systems completely crashed. I didn't hear from them for a few days, and could not get through on the phone. I ended up calling RoadBurner directly, and they told me about the system problems.

Give them a few days to get everything working again, and then try again. Good people there, especially Brad. He was most helpful.

Doc
 
#17 ·
Went on a 100 mile ride yesterday, and I have come to the conclusion the pipes are just too loud (yes, heresy, I know!).

I measured the DB's at the tailpipes and it's 103 Decibels at 4K rpm. That is way loud for me, even with the full face helmet. My ears are still ringing.

I'm going to put on some SmartPatz Hard Kore quiet baffles. I might also try wrapping the baffles with some exhaust fibergalss.

The SmartPartz website says they reduce the noise by 3 to 6 decibels, which is really intersting as a 3 DB difference means the pipes would be half as loud as they are now (decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale, so something that is 23 DB is twice as loud as something that is 20 db. 40 db is 100 times louder than 20 db). That seems almost impossible, but I will test it out when the baffles get here.

On the bright side, the pipes have a 2.5" ID, so I should be able to find other baffles if this does not work out.

Doc
 
#19 ·
Yeah, I called RoadBurner about the baffles just to make sure they were not spot welded in, which they are not. Also found out that Road Burner and Hard Krome are the same company, which is great as that means if a baffle or mod fits the 2.5" Hard Krome dual radius it will fit the Road Burners.

Now the problem is getting the baffles out! I've only run the bike about 150 miles since I got them, but the baffle are pretty well stuck in there. Any ideas on how to get them out? I have a slide hammer, just don't see anything to hook on to. I don't want to hook anything in to the screw hole as that may damage the threads. Anyone have a any suggestions?


On another note, the paint on the pipe scratches at the drop of a hat. I thought ceramic powder coating would be a bit tougher, but it seems to scratch with the slightest of contact. Over the weekend the bike in front of me kicked up a few rocks and one of them dinged off the exhaust. There is a pretty noticeable chip there now where the paint is completely gone. I also noticed the paint has come off completely where the rear pipe meets the head pipe. It's nerve wracking to work on the pipes at all as any inadvertent contact with a tool will cause a scratch!

I think I'll call them back and ask if this is normal. Normal or not, it is annoying.

Doc
 
#22 ·
Do they come with O2 ports? for EU bikes?
 
#23 ·
No, no ports at all.
 
#24 ·
I like those, very unique...
 
#25 ·
Any chance for a drive-by sound :D
 
#26 ·
I just got them back from recoating a few days ago. I plan to put them on this weekend and we'll see what we can do about a ride by.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Got the pipes back, and put on the bike!

Update on the pipes saga!

I got the pipes back from RoadBurner early last week, and just this weekend I've had the time to really inspect them, and finally mount them on the bike.

I can tell you the coating is much sturdier , it is what I was expecting the first time. Originally, any incidental contact with any other metallic surface would leave a clear white scratch, and if you picked at it with your fingernail, the coating would come right off.

This time, that is not the case. I took off the end caps and checked the coating by scratching a small location that was not really visible. The coating did not come off at all.

The coating seems to be much more resilient to chips too. The first time I put the pipes on every single little bump would cause a chip to pop off. This time, no such thing. I even had the misfortune of dropping the front head pipe (yes, I'm a klutz and a moron, I know) and not a single chip popped off the coating. WAY different than the last time. All that happened was some small scratches that did not go through to the metal. I also discovered that some Hi-Temp BBQ grill paint in matte black blends in perfectly and covered the scratches completely!

I put them on the bike and went for a 15 minute ride. No chips or cracks at the end, and the pipes look pristine!

Here are some pics:




I also bought some SmartPartz Quiet Baffles to try and knock the loud down a bit, and here is where I have hit a snag. The end caps on the pipes are not the same size! The baffle fit perfectly into the front pipe, but the rear pipe end cap has a smaller ID that the front cap. The ID on the front cap is 2.13 inches, while the rear cap is 1.92 inches! I thought about grinding down the inner portion of the cap, but I figured that is not going to work since I don't have a conical shaped grinding stone, and I don't have a lathe either. Luckily there is a metal shop close by that has a lathe and will widen the ID for me. Should only cost me about $30 or so.

So far I am extremely pleased with the results. This time around the coating is exactly what I was expecting, and the folks at RoadBurner/DG Performance have been outstanding with their customer service.

Merry Christmas to all, and thank you everyone for your comments and insights! Learned a lot thanks to great comments here!

Merry Christmas!

Doc
 
#28 ·
I might advise you not to install baffles coz as per this guy, they are useless
 
#29 ·
Yeah, I've seen this vid, but others have said it did work for them - so it's a toss up. Right now the pipes are just a bit too loud. I'm going to try the SmartPartz first, and if they don't work, then it's on to making my own. I have all the equipment necessary to make a set, it's just very tricky because of the curve and the dual pipe setup.

I'll take a DB measurement before the baffles and after and see if there is a noticeable difference.

Doc

I might advise you not to install baffles coz as per this guy, they are useless
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4nwnxAF9Oc
 
#30 ·
So how are those baffles? Do they work?
 
#31 ·
I have finally had a chance to put the baffles/end caps back on the bike and do some testing.

First, the sound is definitely different. It sounds deeper, with more rumble, and tone is not as "harsh". However, I'm not really getting the advertised 3-12 db reduction - at least it not consistent.

First, a pic of the pipes with the caps. I painted then with some Hi-temp BBQ paint:


Now for the sound. I used an app on my phone called Decibel 10th to take a snapshot of the sound for about 10 to 15 seconds. I took the measurements with the phone at head height while sitting on the bike at idle, and at 4,000 RPM.

Here the plot at idle with and without the baffles:

And here is the plot at 4K RPM:


At 4K rpm there is almost no difference. At idle, there is more of a difference, but it's still really not that pronounced. Keep in mind the tool is sampling the sound at defined intervals, so when you see a huge swing it's probably sampling the sound between engine compression strokes.

The sound is somewhat reduced, and it's a lot less "harsh", but it's not the reduction claimed by the SmartPartz folks. I plan on calling them next week and asking them how they measured the sound levels. Admittedly, my testing is not really scientific, but it's close enough.

It's better than it was, but I still may build some custom baffles anyways.

Doc
 
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