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Dhays1775
| Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 07:27 pm: |
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hey guys, just wanted to say thanks for the info. Al Lighton from American Sport Bike gave me a stock muffler after i mentioned modifying mine to be just a little louder. i did a little searching on here and found a thread about the muffled thunder from Keda Designs. mine is ugly as sin, but i'm pretty pleased with the outcome. my wife let me buy a little wire feed welder, so that's what i used. i hate wire feed welders (much prefer tig), but i did the best i could. i ended up chasing the holes burned by the welds. wire speed cranked all the way up, still burning holes. i used 1.75" 316 stainless steel tubing for the outlets, angled up and back. i had pictures of the whole process, but they got wiped from my phone. not happy about that... anyway, the idle now sounds very authoritative. overall, it doesn't seem to be any louder on the top end or at 7000 compared to stock. power difference, can't really tell any. like i said before, ugly as sin, but i'm very pleased with the outcome. i'll post pictures in just a few minutes. thanks again guys for the awesome info. |
Dhays1775
| Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 07:43 pm: |
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Dhays1775
| Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 07:47 pm: |
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Dhays1775
| Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 07:49 pm: |
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i sand blasted the muffler, but i forgot to repaint it. i'll just take care of it at a later date. oops. i think i'll just enjoy it for now...
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D_adams
| Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 08:03 pm: |
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It's pretty fun welding .015" sheetmetal when there's 2 layers, isn't it? Hit it with a grinder to smooth off the splatter and clean the welds up some. Lemonchili did his pretty similar to yours. |
Dhays1775
| Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 08:08 pm: |
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i plan on it, i just didn't have a grinder handy at the time. thanks again dean. you were my inspiration. you are awesome. |
Two_seasons
| Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 08:21 pm: |
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I assume you are using the same auto hobby shop that I used over 36 years ago. I used that shop to pull off my carbs, clean & sync them, then reinstall. That was on a 1975 Kawasaki Z1-B 900. Great bike and easy to work on. If that were my exhaust, I'd be grinding down the high spots and then painting it. Hard to work with stock exhaust as far as the mods go. How did the back sides of the tips come out? I assume that is why you cut the back end of the muffler off, yes? If you are not satisfied with your work after that, I'd find an excellent weld shop, show them what you did, give them a sketch of what you'd like them to do to the existing exhaust, find out what they want dollar-wise, and go from there. I heard Clark Howard say it takes 10,000 hours in anything to be an expert in it. While I know that isn't true (fighter pilots/helo pilots, for instance), it does improve your technique, no matter the task. Your welds look good considering your work environment. Congrats. And thank you for your service to our country. |
Dhays1775
| Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 08:36 pm: |
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Steve, more than likely is the same place. That building has been there for some time. As far as the weld goes, I'm gonna get a flapper wheel and go to town. I plan on smoothing the welds a little then throwing a few coats of high temp black on it. What do you mean by the tips? I didn't have a way to cut the little "S" pipes inside, so I had to cut the end off to cut them flush to put in the stainless tips. Thank you for the compliment. And as far as being a Marine, I love it!!! That's why I chose to give 4 more to the Corps. It's my duty to serve, my honor to stay in. Semper Fi!! |
Two_seasons
| Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 09:01 pm: |
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Dave: What I meant by the back side of the tips is the weld spatter. Really had to do what you did without burnouts, also hills and valleys. I would imagine that is where you had the most difficulty, the tips area. And sorry to mislead on my service, actually USN. Any chance you know USMC Staff Sgt. Guest and his wife Daleen? He is my nephew. |
Dhays1775
| Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 09:27 pm: |
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I knew you meant Navy. The Marines overran your base because we were tired of El Toro. Hahaha The hardest welds were on the seam. The tips were pretty easy because the walls of the steel were pretty thick. Everything else would blow through. Took me about 3 and a half hours just because of that. SSgt Guest, the name sounds familiar, but I can't say for sure. |
Two_seasons
| Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 09:43 pm: |
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As USN vs USMC goes, "take anything you want" or so the old myths go. Glad you're a BadWebber Dave. Here's a story about Gabe, my nephew. He is tough as nails and hardly has any noticeable limp now... http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?t =272050 Semper Fi Dave. |
Dhays1775
| Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 10:00 pm: |
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That is a very moving story. I'm proud to have Marines like him teaching FNG's like me. I've been to Iraq once and Afghanistan twice. I do this because I want to!! Thanks for the support. |
Two_seasons
| Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 10:58 pm: |
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Gabe never complains about it, just a new chapter in his life. Helps to have a supportive wife too. My wife and I were looking at your profile pic and she said "hey, he reaches back and grabs his wife's leg too". We both enjoy riding and it's nice to see you two enjoying your time together. |
Dhays1775
| Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 11:10 pm: |
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she's the best passenger i've ever had, so it only made sense to marry the woman!! she's gotten used to her little kz440, so i'm trying to convince her to get an sv650. i think it's working... she's the best wife i could ever ask for. been by my side for more than most would care to admit. and she supports my passion for anything two-wheeled!! |
Dhays1775
| Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 11:42 pm: |
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32horHCmJkE here's the video i shot after i installed it. |
Sparky
| Posted on Monday, November 14, 2011 - 06:32 pm: |
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What all did you modify besides adding outlet tubes? It looks like the inner tubes are removed from the outlets, but how far inside did you go in their removal and were any chambers opened up? |
Dhays1775
| Posted on Monday, November 14, 2011 - 07:37 pm: |
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sparky, all i did was cut the end of the muffler off. there is a chamber wall right inside there where the two outlets exit. i just cut those two flush at the wall and welded it all back up. that's pretty much it. |
Bextreme04
| Posted on Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - 11:26 am: |
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lol... it looks like my welding! |
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