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Ranger3987
Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 - 05:17 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

First i would like to say hello to everyone seeing as how i'm new to the forum,
so the situation is this i recently purchased a 2004 xb12r and so far its an amazing bike but its nowhere near where i want it as far as the exhaust note is concerned.
also i need something with just a little more low end pull and more top end power seeing as how i'm mostly riding with people riding jap bikes.

right now i have about $400 to put towards an exhaust a friend of mine has a D+D exhaust he would let me have for $350 and after looking at the exhaust shootout i know it would be good as far as sound is concerned but not so much when it comes to top end power so any suggestions on what would be a good performing exhaust as well would be very helpful
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Ebuella_virus
Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 - 07:03 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Special Ops...
Great sound
Stock or Race ECM
Less expensive
Performance is there
+ Odie is a great guy to work with... top notch
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Sort23
Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 - 10:14 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I have the Special Ops with stock ECM. Runs and sounds great.
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Aj06bolt12r2
Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 - 01:23 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

+1 on the spec opps
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Aj06bolt12r2
Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 - 01:24 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

But understand that installing any exhaust isnt going to allow you to run with the jap bikes on the straights.
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Ranger3987
Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 - 01:41 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

i will look into a spec ops pipe more later this week i guess the only downside with the spec ops though is i've read in the forum it can take a while for odie to get stuff sent out seeing how he has a life outside exhaust pipes,
i know in order to really run with the jap bikes i would need major engine work which i cant afford and i dont think i wanna give up the gas mileage
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Bigredwood
Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 - 02:33 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Ranger,

If you wanted to run with Jap bikes . . . buy a Jap bike or something without a pushrod v-twin. To build a Buell up to 140+ rwhp is not only expensive, but will make the reliable bike you have . . . no longer exist.

If you want more low end change your primary gearing. Then kick the crap out of your buddies at every streetlight in town. My 12 holds it own just fine . . . keeps up with a 03 GSX1000R till about 100mph. Do you honestly need more?

Sorry to be harsh. Buells are great bikes. Ask anyone on the forum . . . we love our bikes. They straighten corners better than most stock rockets and have a torque plant that makes short-shifting a random occurance. Welcome to BadWeb. Welcome to being a Bueller and I hope you enjoy your Xb as much as I enjoy mine.

P.S. Special OPS and Drummer get my vote. I give the edge to OPS because they keep the valve.
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Retrittion
Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 - 05:15 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

SpecOps

I run it, I love it -- confuses the rubes. What more can you want?
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Paint_shaker
Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 - 11:38 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I dont believe you can go wrong with either the Spec Ops can or the Drummer can. I have the Spec Ops on my 08 XB12R with a stockm ecm. No probs.
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Jerseyguy
Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 - 11:55 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Drummer! www.kdfab.com
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Packrat
Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 - 12:22 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I have Special OPS muffler on my '05 XB12Scg..great sound and looks!!!! But the interactive valve would have to be disabled in order to run the race ECM, as it is programmed to run with "open" pipe.. I've also had a Drummer on my '07 xb12Scg.. I like them both..about $150.00 difference in price..Drummer being the higher priced....
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Point_doc
Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 - 12:38 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

After you read the "XB Exhaust Shootout" from American Sport Bike call Al and talk with him, he is a GREAT resource on all of Buell topics. I always call Al to get his perspective on many Buell questions that I have.

Concerning “low end pull", Bigredwood has given a solid suggestion. He has also shared a proper and safe perspective about our bikes, “. . . keeps up with a 03 GSX1000R till about 100mph. Do you honestly need more?”

Last week I was riding my bike as hard as I could, hitting the rev limiter in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gear. Bending the speedo to 125 plus and wishing I had a faster more powerful bike (MV Agusta Brutale)! After an all day ride I finally got this “feeling” out of my system and was very, very thankful that I was on my Buell. I arrived home safely!

My point is that these jap bikes may be and are attractive with the flash and big numbers but at the end of the day you will ride home and park your bike in your driveway.
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Metalstorm
Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 - 02:45 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Where do you want most of your power?

At low rpms? At the high end of the rpm range? Perhaps right in the middle?

This is what you need to consider.
Take note of where you ride the most in the rpm range then check out the exhaust shootout and see which one has the best results at your prefered rpm : )
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Buelldawg
Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 - 09:00 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

DRUMMER!!!
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Firebolteric_ma
Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2008 - 09:32 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Make your own muffler, there is nothing special inside them things!

Use ECMSPY, don't waist money on a race ecm, within 5 minutes I can make a stocker a race...

Then Ride!
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Ranger3987
Posted on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 - 02:57 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

well it all seems to be good advice normally i keep it between 3-5.5k rpm which i guess is where i want more power at but i also want more when i do get into the 6.5k-red line rpm range.
personally i can see using ECMSPY but i feel like if i were tuning it i would end up messing something up and F***ing up my bike which i really dont wanna do....

as far as making my own exhaust i dont exactly have all the required tools so thats not much of an option
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Swordsman
Posted on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 - 09:07 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Heh heh, before you go buying a Drummer, someone should point out that they're FREAKIN' LOUD. If that's what you're going for, then more power to ya, but there have been a few members that got one and had to ditch it later on because the constant barrage of sound was just too much.

~SM
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Ranger3987
Posted on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 - 11:15 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

well, are we talking a lot louder than a 1200 sportster with straight pipes? cuz i had one of those for a while and didn't bother me very much
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Point_doc
Posted on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 - 12:08 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

The sound that comes from the Drummer Muffler is just right, plus the quality of the muffler is from a Craftsman.

Kevin builds his mufflers for a living and the muffler reflects his dedication and the research he has done to produce a respectable muffler. He doesn't do this as a hobby or just on the weekends and this muffler is a direct reflection of his character, quality.

Also note that the knowledge that Kevin has is built into the muffler and this is from the time he has spent developing the muffler on a dyno and from the track. Then his skill as a Craftsman with metal working is reflected in the presentation of the muffler on the bike. The sound and the performance comes from time spent researching and developing the finished product, a Drummer Muffler.



(Message edited by point_doc on July 02, 2008)
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Marko138
Posted on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 - 09:56 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I love my Drummer. It sounds great. But I wouldn't say it's terribly loud. In fact, I wish it were a little bit louder.
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Buelltroll
Posted on Wednesday, July 02, 2008 - 10:01 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

mancrush anyone?
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Retrittion
Posted on Thursday, July 03, 2008 - 08:53 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Odie, the builder of SpecialOPS pipes is a "Craftsman" as well, and my tailgunner is a great pipe that gets lots of kudos (I'll grant that Drummers are nice looking but they are not some high arcane technology formed from the energies of a far off dark sun or something -- it's a pipe, sheesh -- you'd think it was made of Adamantium or something... ).

It IS loud -- and I ride with some form-fitting earplugs for the same reason I shoot with ear protection -- I want to still have my hearing in a few decades. However I would say that you CAN ride without ear protection -- I have on occasion and I only do the "Huh? What was that?" routine for 10-15 min after getting off the bike. I also ride with an Arai and they are not quiet helmets. so your helmet can effect this noise issue as well (my RX7 resonates at just above idle RPM for instance).

Personally I have found my 12R's sound now about a VRod with straight pips light after spending time around the HD dealership. Seems louder than any Sportster I have been around -- but I don't spend lots of time around them so I'm sure there are Sportsters louder than my R.

I have heard good things about Rebel Racing pipes, as well as Drummer of course. Personally, I suggest looking around and asking questions and getting what fits you, your bike, and your wallet. On numbers I would suggest Special Ops and Drummer for XB12s and maybe Jardines or the like for the XB9s based on the shootout info posted at American Sport Bike a while back (Al of American Sport Bike is a great source of info).

And get ECMspy, if only to look at your bike's internals and save yourself 1/2 hour of labor on those TPS resets since they are easy to do -- even a dork like me can't F one up!
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Ssscrudddy
Posted on Wednesday, July 09, 2008 - 01:12 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Jardine race can, they sound great & seem to be smoothest throughout the power range. They arent too expensive over here (UK.)
They do blow all the packing out after about 5000 miles,but sound better for it. I suppose it depends on how you ride. I tend to be at 3000 rpm around town, & out of town anything from 3.5 to redline, accelerating hard :-)

I needed to add a poweriser after fitting the can, the engine management can only do so much.

I could never re-map any good on need for speed, so I'm not going to try & re-map for real on my bike, hence the poweriser.

We also get tested on noise for track-days, & its too loud for that approx 122 db(ish), so definitely too loud for the road. Not a problem on tick-over which is how they measure them for the MOT (passes just)


One other issue, mine shook itself apart after a year, had to drill out the rivets & re-rivet it.

2002 XB9S

(Message edited by ssscrudddy on July 09, 2008)
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Aj06bolt12r2
Posted on Thursday, July 10, 2008 - 01:19 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Dude no offense ssscrudddy but the way you describe it I would assume that the Jardine is a piece of trash lol.
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