| Author | Message | ||
     Ulynerd |
Hi uly people. I just left a small message on the guest roster for BadWeB but I figured I would introduce myself here since I just bought a Uly. It's an 06 all stock. I love it so far but i can help but want to tinker with things. and it definitely needs to be LOUDER than stock. I have a very limited budget so heres what I was thinking to start with. 1. Drummer Econo Pipe ($200) 2. Take a dremel to my airbox and give it more airflow like the 07 ($0), something like this: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17 6351 3. Add a K&N Air Filter ($60) This will cost me under $300, and thats perfect, for now. Eventually I will want the Race ECM and probably the standard drummer exhaust. So I guess I'm just looking for comments about this before I go ahead with it. Anyone see any problems here? anything else that I should be thinking about that I may be forgetting. thanks in advance for any and all comments comments. This will be my first time doing any performance mods on any bike (I had an r6 before the uly) so I'm going by what I have read on this board and others over the last few weeks. -Scott | ||
| Panhead_dan |
Howdy Scott and welcome to the best Buell site on the interweb! How many miles does your bike have on it? After my Uly passed the 2000 mile mark, I noticed that it sounded better and had noticably more power all across the rev range. I thought much like you at first but have come to realize a few things. A louder pipe may be what I was used to and thought that I wanted but the reality of it is that if I decide to wack it, there is no thunderous roar. This turns out to be a very good thing as it does not draw the attention of everyone on this side of town - including the law. Very good thing, stealth. Reliability is also a concern so I have done nothing to jeapordize it. If it aint broke, don't fix it. Rather than spend my spare time adding mods to a very nearly perfect machine I choose to spend that time riding it. Exploring just what this machine is capable of rather than trying to make it more capable, ya know? The Uly amazes me every time I ride it. By the way, you have a headlight out.  | ||
| Roadrailer |
I agree with Dan 100 percent. Stealth has it advantages, for you and the neighbors. The bike does not NEED to be louder. If you're on a limited budget, save your money for more practical mods: Lighting upgrades (the stock Uly lights truly suck, IMO), new gear, mods that make the bike more comfortable for you, etc. Or just save up for new tires. You'll end up riding the Uly so much, you'll need them sooner than you think.  | ||
| Ulynerd |
Thanks guys, for the "welcome", and the thoughts on the mods. You are both right about the stealth factor. Also I don't want the neighbors to hate me... more than they already do but I would like it to be at least a bit louder, its just a bit too quiet as stock. hmmm, what to do... | ||
| Terrible1one3 |
I think the drummer econo is a great idea, I think it will be just what you are looking for from what you wrote above | ||
| Thunderbox |
I can tell you from my experience something about exhaust systems. I put a beautiful Drummer on my bike and I had previously had it dynoed. When I put the new exhaust on I had it dynoed again. I would have sworn it had more power with the new exhaust but it only gained 1 HP and that was at higher RPMs. It had less torque where I wanted it and it was pretty loud. I took it off and sold it. If you really want to know if asomething has worked for you get the bike dynoed before doing any mods this will give you a base line to go by. | ||
| Jmhinkle |
I completely disagree with the whole follow the dyno method because that only shows you wide open throttle max numbers. It has nothing to do with reality and how the motor responds for normal riding. It will never show you the difference in how much power is being made at 20000RPM in third gear with 1/8 throttle opening and then rolling on to a quarter throttle up to 3500 rpm. Show me those numbers in stock vs mods and you will see the real world difference. What I have found is that the '07 airbox and ECM flash along with a K&N took away all the surging issues and throttle input issues my bike had with the '06 equipment. It also made the motor much more responsive and lively, but there was still no power below 2k or above 5k. I recently installed a Drummer Original and it completed the package. The motor seems more like a well tuned diesel now. It pulls strong and hard from 1500 to redline with a purely linear torque feel. Throttle input has turned into wheel lift if not careful. I would guess that my bike is much more like a sea level bike because I have regained some lost torque from the lack of air up here. I can't speak for the Econo Drummer, but the original is awesome. All the Harley riders at work are still telling me how they wish their bikes sounded that deep. When the exhaust was new, it was very loud and at the right frequency to reverberate in my helmet like crazy. After a few hundred miles on the packing, it no longer reverberates in my helmet and is strictly a very deep sounding exhaust. It has no rasp or crack in it at all. Amazingly well tuned exhaust. If you do want to talk dyno graphs though, take a look at the American Sportbike results. You will see on all the Drummer charts that the Drummer power curve starts well before all others and it really shows on the street between 1500 and 2k. I think that has to do with how he tuned for the pulses of the engine and the results are overlooked by many because the common misconception is max numbers mean everything. That is also why I find all 600cc sportbikes to be absolutely useless to the point of being a danger to ride on the streets. I have ridden several 250-500cc bikes that are much more powerful on the street than any 600cc sportbike. *Disclaimer: My results tend to be greater than most because I suffer from lost air density at my altitude. At sea level you may or may not notice a difference in any of it. | ||
| Wesman |
My buddy put loud pipes on his Duc 999 and HD Duce. His girlfriend says he has a small.....well never mind. | ||
| Thunderbox |
Sorry Jmhinkle but i don't agree with you entirely. I see it this way. You have dyno numbers and you have seat of the pants BS. Take away the noise and the perception is it isn't as fast or powerful. It's that simple. As far as the problems with the drivability you experienced prior to your modifications I wouldn't know as my Uly runs perfect because the shop that works on it obviously knows how to set it up right. In your case maybe changing those parts has helped drivability but it was not IMHO the way to do it. There is nothing inherently wrong with the Uly design. Setup seems to be the biggest problem people are experiencing. I am very lucky to have one that doesn't surge, buck or ping or any other concern for that matter. Low speed performance is almost perfect. Pulls like a freight train from 1500rpm. You have to realize the engine doesn't fire evenly. One piston fires and then the other will not fire until the engine has turned over 400 degrees, then it fires after turning only 315 degrees. It is also of note that the higher the elevation you go the less difference the exhaust will make on the machine because there is less fuel being burned and therefore less exhaust. You lose 3% of your power for every 1000 ft of altitude you climb. So the bike compensates and feeds 3% less fuel to the engine. Nothing short of a turbo or super charger will bring it back. I wouldn't be to quick to talk anyone into a different exhaust. If you want more noise go for it but if you are doing it to make the bike run properly you are wasting your time and money. They will run perfect if setup the right way. I bet proper break in will make way more difference than any exhaust system can. | ||
| Etennuly |
Welcome to the land of Uly! With a limited budget, just do the air box ventilation modification. Save doing the K&N filter until you do the ECM mod. The reason for this is that if you open it up and increase the air flow too much you may end up doing a recalibration to the ECM to make it run right, then you'll have to do it again later for the race ECM. I have the stock air filter and seven 1 1/4" holes, and duct tape over the right side holes, in my '06 air box and man does it run and sound great, even with the stock exhaust, with no ECM recalibration. It made a noticeable difference with no cost. | ||
| Thunderbox |
Did you do a dyno before and after. Or is this another seat of the pants I can hear my bike rumble dyno test. If you put a flow meter on a Uly you will find the only difference with the airboxes is with the sound and maybe the temp of the incoming air. There is no air flow increase with the new airbox. You can prove this out yourself very easily, with a vacumm gauge if you don't believe me. | ||
| Jmhinkle |
Thunderbox, I'm glad that you managed to buy the absolutely perfect Uly, but please don't start this Dyno crap again. The numbers are out there for everyone to see, they just don't match what you want to claim. It seems as though you have the true anomaly. Your bike even defies what Al at American Sportbike has found on the dyno that you supposedly live by. I bet your bike could have a sock in the throttle body a completely sealed intake lid and a completely sealed exhaust and still be absolutely perfect as long as it came stock that way. We've been down this road before and I won't argue reality vs. perception again. | ||
| Thelumox |
unfortunately Buell and every other motor company has to sell the machine to the government first. part of the fun for me is to put the bike back to a place where it runs like it should. after intake, exhaust and fueling mods, my bike runs cooler and makes more power. it is louder, but that's ok with me because the cagers can now hear me while they are talking on their cell phones. spec ops pipe airbox/breathers rerouted american sportbike remapped ecm | ||
| Thunderbox |
So Jm why don't you just tell us you didn't dyno your bike because dynos are useless. Right. Don't bother scolding me when you haven't done the work to prove a thing. I have and would be more than happy to send you a copy of both the before and after if you want more proof. I also trust the shop that knows how to set up a Uly properly with a dynomometer. (Message edited by Thunderbox on April 11, 2007) | ||
| Etennuly |
What are you using for a vacuum source? Is it above the throttle plate or below it. The air box holes allow it to have more air volume available to use. It will only reduce the creation of a vacuum in the air box itself as the throttle is opened. At WOT it will only flow what ever the physical characteristics of the throttle body will allow. The change doesn't necessarily make the air flow faster, it just reduces a source of restriction. If you want the air to flow faster through the intake you could turbo or supercharge it. On a bike that is meant to be "enjoyed", not just raced or run WFO on some deserted piece of highway somewhere, the a$$ dyno is the only one that counts for me. I can feel a noticeable difference in how much easier the front wheel comes up with only a throttle twist and a quick shift to second, and how it pulls. Yes, it also sounds better. If it only makes a 1/2 horse power difference on a dyno or even none, I don't care. I don't ride a dyno, I ride a Ulysses.  | ||
| Jmhinkle |
"So Jm why don't you just tell us you didn't dyno your bike because dynos are useless" I have before and I will again. "I don't dyno my bike because it is useless." It has nothing to do with real world horsepower! What do I and other have to say to make it clear to you? WOT runs on a dyno don't mean poop for how a bike is ridden on the street. If I gave a crap about you and your dyno I would ride a ZX-14 or Hayabusa. WTF is wrong with you? You really don't have a clue about how air flows, the difference in density vs volume, fuel mapping, ECM logarithms, or any real world applications. Strap your ass to the dyno and stay there please while the rest of us truly improve how the bikes run and function. | ||
| Smcnamara |
Can we move this thread to Jo Momma? Oh wait, wrong board. |
