| Author | Message | ||
     Ulendo |
ok, I'm getting tired of using the muffler on my cityX like an old fashioned flint striker, and I'm looking into options for a rear mount / undertail setup. I do alloy fabrication work for a living, so the custom rear 'cowl' is a relaxing saturday project, some time over the winter. Pipe is relatively easy to route along the left side, under the shifter & riders peg, and a bit of tweaking on the LH passenger peg mount gets it plumbed all the way to the underseat area. sourcing a muffler is driving me nuts. Akropovic, Scorpion, FMF, and the import pipes are all too long. The only 'usual suspect' thats short enough to fit back there is the Jardine - I'm not real fond of loud pipes ( I'd be fitting the quietcore), and I'm not fond of 'packed' cans (that settle) vs baffled mufflers, so I'm looking for other ideas. A local muffler shop has a polished stainless steel baffle can designed for a small import car that he figures would be ok as far as flow rates, etc, but he has no idea what it'd be like for back pressure, or sound. can is (approx) 13" long, 4x8 oval, w/ 2 " inlet 2" outlet.( thats with the tone baffle in - IIRC its 2.5" with the baffle out) I figure overall max dimensions are 5H*10W*17L, but the shorter the length, the smoother the pipe transition will be. looking for knowledgable input on how this sort of car type baffle muffler would work with the Buell cam / heads / long pipe setup?? suggestions for id/od on the long pipe from the OE collector to the new muffler location? constructive input on the project greatly appreciated. | ||
| Blake |
I think you will pretty much be on your own breaking fairly untrodden ground or at least very lightly trodden ground. The biggest hurdle you face from my perspective is how to mount the system to the tail and the engine without it getting ripped apart as the frame and engine/tranny are not hard bolted together, the rubber isolators let the engine/tranny assembly move/vibrate separately from the frame/tail-section. If your main issue is with the stock muffler contacting the ground, I suggest focusing on the suspension instead of moving the muffler. That said, this has been done before. There are photos around here somewhere. It may even have been done by Trojan-Horse or Hillbilly-Motors; I just cannot recall for sure. Check our their websites? | ||
| Blake |
I also recall seeing a pic of a tube framer fitted with a Ducati 749/999 under-tail muffler. If you don't like that you might consider the aftermarket for the older Ducati machines with the dual mufflers, or maybe some of the current Japanese under-tail mufflers? | ||
| Buelltroll |
 Dunno whos it is or who did it. I do remember that its fake though. | ||
| Ulendo |
blake - theres a lot more to the contact issues than just suspension travel. first, at 5'4", and 145lbs , I'm a relatively light rider: harder suspension settings cause handling issues, especially on washboard, rocks, and other broken surfaces. break-over angle has also come into play a few times - low speed stuff, with very little suspension motion, it'll drag the muffler going over a hump/ridge. as for the mounts, I plan on incorporating the flex sleeve section from an automotive application. that'll eliminate both stress, and vibration transfer ( but thanks for making sure I was aware of the issue) Arcfab is the company doing the titanium under tails for Duc's, Buells, etc - too much money, plus, they'd need to have my bike ( east coast - west coast thing) Buelltroll - that photoshop looks like its done using the scorpion dual can system from an SV1000. nice system, but they dont make one for the Buells ( no one does, as there's no existing tail on the lightnings) | ||
| Cereal |
I know that White Bros made a prototype side exhaust for the S1 years ago, but never produced it. Post some pics of your project when you do it. Sounds interesting. BTW Ulendo, I loved you in "Dark City"  | ||
| Buelltroll |
It's not photoshop. Someone did it at home. I meant a fake by one of he cans is a dummy and not plumbed in. | ||
| Ulendo |
<quote>I meant a fake by one of he cans is a dummy and not plumbed in<endquote> ROTFLMFAO - talk about trying to fit in with the UJM crowd!! I may be way out in left field, but at least I'm trying for functional!! heck, if its non-functional, did they at least build the dummy can so they can use it for extra storage? (one possibility for my setup if size & flow are an issue is to go single can on the left, and re-arrange the underseat stuff into the RH space) | ||
| Ulendo |
cereal - actually, my kids tell me this this is much more like me  | ||
| Blake |
blake - theres a lot more to the contact issues than just suspension travel. No, not "suspension travel." Ride height adjustment via sag settings is the issue worth investigating. I suggest looking into your suspension settings first before possibly mucking up your bike something horrible trying to treat a symptom rather than the root cause. To clarify it would seem prudent to check/verify the sag values and adjust them to the minimum acceptable range. Specifically, verify sag for front and rear with you on the bike in full gear and normal riding position. Total suspension Sag front and rear can be adjusted to as little as 1" (25mm), but 1.25" (33mm) would be preferable. It is the damping settings that most affect ride stiffness. Easiest way to avoid any bottoming out while negotiating speed bumps is to slow down; another approach is to get up off the seat and let your arms and legs help the suspension similar to dirt bike style riding. | ||
| Blake |
If your ride seems harsh I'd suggest playing with the damping settings, then consider adjusting the fork oil level and/or viscosity. Aftermarket revalving kits by Traxion Dynamics are highly touted for their smoothing effect. If you don't ride two-up, you might also consider trying out the straight-rate Buell race spring for the rear shock. | ||
| Blake |
The bottom line in my view is that your experience of "getting tired of using the muffler on my cityX like an old fashioned flint striker" should not be happening and since it is, there is a solution outside of relocating the underslung muffler. | ||
| Blake |
As far as how a reconfigured exhaust system will affect how the bike runs, that is largely unknowable. The probability that it will work okay without a specialized Direct Link reprogramming of the fuel mapping in the ECM is small in my opinion. And then even with a full blown dyno tuned Direct Link mapping, the probability that performance will be an issue is not insignificant. I guess what I'm trying to convey is that the risks are significant while the gains are virtually nil. | ||
| Ulendo |
rotflol - I'm probably under-stating things a bit blake. the way my suspension is right now, on road, and 'normal' use its very very smooth. Riding stand-up, I can probably go over a 'parking lot' speed bump at 50 mph without any issues. ( and yes, I DO ride stand-up on the rougher sections) however, beyond a certain point, slowing down to do 45-50 miles of the stuff isn't too feasible for day rides...the dents are me misjudging the size of the rocks in the trail (they were higher than speed bumps, and I was going 50-55 mph) the intro was more of an attention grabber than anything (got your attention too, didn't it !) to repeat the other portion of what I'd written earlier break-over angle has also come into play a few times - low speed stuff, with very little suspension motion, it'll drag the muffler going over a hump/ridge. thats really where I want the clearance. cant ride out of a wash, or off the end of a log bridge if the belly is acting like a plow. ( and wheelies aren't always feasible, either - been there done that on some stuff already) as for fueling issues, I was figuring the 'race' ecm, and dyno tuning would be mandatory - my bad for not stating that clearly. 'power' isn't an issue - a wide powerband, smoothness & efficiency would be more useful for how I'm using the bike. the easy solution is to get a different bike - unfortunately a) I like the cityx, and its ergo's are dead on for me on long trips. ( long being 400+ mile days) b)no pre-built bike that I'm aware of will fit my ergo's, and do everything I want, it would just change what I need to work on. c) swapping bikes isn't in my budget (or I'd most likely have bought 2 bikes in the first place) | ||
| Diablobrian |
There was a pic posted here before of a Uly with a ducati tail/muffler... I hope this helps with ideas for routing your pipes at least.    | ||
| Ulendo |
sweet!! hillbilly? trojan?? whoever built it, it pretty much confirms the concept. the 749 / 999 rear can is one of the OE pieces I'd been eyeing up - figured the cost would be prohibitive for me though! oh - and where did they get the 'tidbits' for it. Wirespoke wheels? Sueprmoto front clip? | ||
| Blake |
Good grief! I had no idea! Have at it and be sure to take some good videos and photos of the log jumping exercise! Cool stuff for sure!  | ||
| Blake |
Yep! That's the Ducati exhaust I recall.  | ||
| Xgecko |
check out some of the Japanese buell cans...I'll check my Buell mags when I get home (im in Diego Garcia at the moment) Im pretty sure they had a few undertail mufflers on the market | ||
| Cereal |
Hey Xgecko. I don't care what they say about the lagoon, watch out for sharks. | ||
| Ulendo |
<quote>take some good videos and photos of the log jumping exercise<endquote> blake - have you been talking to debueller? he & his brother got a real kick out of my 'rail grind' technique when we happened on a downed tree across the trail on the KVR run! | ||
| Ulendo |
hmm: checked out ebay, and it looks like take-off Ducati mufflers might be cheaper than I thought....like $50 or so!!  wish me luck in the bidding, and the blue beast should look quite interesting by next spring | ||
| Ulendo |
just for the curious, I finally found the website for the red-and-white motard pictured in this thread - Bikefarm.de, and its for sale....and 19,900 EUROS!!!! http://bike-farm.de/html/FMSENGLISH.htm my way is DEFINITELY cheaper than that!! ZOIKS!! |
