Exhaust Modification

[bil2303]

Is there really enough noticible increase in performance to justify spending money modifying a bike,s exhaust. I'm not interested in seeing how fast I can go, another 2 or 3 MPH don't mean anything to me. Does it improve performance on trails.

[cheezy]

Its not about MPH, its about HP, and yes, it helps.

[XCgeek]

IMO, generally no it is not worth the money to modify ones exhaust even for MX. The bike manufactures are not stupid people, they put a lot of time and money to design a system that works well every where.

Aftermarket pipes can give more HP but this often comes at the exspence of HP somewhere else in the rev range, or flat spots, or the power can become aburpt. This is often not a proble on the MX track as good riders don't mind a lake of bottom end or abruptness but joe average wont benifit and not very many trails riders will either.

Also, power can decrease if the jetting is not resorted for the new pipe.

One good advantage of aftermarket pipes is that they are often much lighter than OEM and often cheaper to if you need to replace the OEM due to damage.

Spend the money on suspesion and riding classes and you will enjoy things much more. (even in MX, you have two options. 1 spend money on a new pipe and get better results or 2, spend money on a riding class and get better results and get sponsored and let them buy the pipe for you.) ?

[Just_a_trail_rider]

I agree and wish I had listened the first time.

Is the performance of the bike really holding you back? What will the extra 2hp give you. Will your lap times be faster?

First upgrade your safety gear to the best stuff possible. Don't wait for the injury like I did. Then, get the suspension done. You will notice big, big improvements and may not crash in the first place and scuff up your new safety gear.

[YZBrad]

IMO, generally no it is not worth the money to modify ones exhaust even for MX. The bike manufactures are not stupid people, they put a lot of time and money to design a system that works well every where.

Aftermarket pipes can give more HP but this often comes at the exspence of HP somewhere else in the rev range, or flat spots, or the power can become aburpt. This is often not a proble on the MX track as good riders don't mind a lake of bottom end or abruptness but joe average wont benifit and not very many trails riders will either.

Also, power can decrease if the jetting is not resorted for the new pipe.

One good advantage of aftermarket pipes is that they are often much lighter than OEM and often cheaper to if you need to replace the OEM due to damage.

Spend the money on suspesion and riding classes and you will enjoy things much more. (even in MX, you have two options. 1 spend money on a new pipe and get better results or 2, spend money on a riding class and get better results and get sponsored and let them buy the pipe for you.) ?

Took the words right out of my mouth.

And the price of aftermarket exhaust systems for 4 strokes is just ridiculous.

[JSanfilippo]

On a trail bike (TT-R, DR-Z, XR) going to an aftermarket slip on (even a quiet one) will improve throttle response significantl(with proper airbox mods/jetting). On an MX bike, slip ons really don't do much and full systems just move the power around. On competition enduros (KTM EXC, Yamaha WR, Honda CRFx, Husky TE, Husaberg FE) the stock exhausts are generally a good compromise between sound and performance and should be left alone unless upgrading to a better looking quiet exhaust

[ovrrdrive]

I agree with above...

On a small trail bike it will help a decent amount. It will still be the same engine, it will just breath a little better.

On the bigger bikes, nah, leave em alone. My YZ450f has more power than I can handle now.

[Motocross26]

Suspension is going to make you faster and let you go longer without wearing out.

[Darvo]

I disagree. My only experience with 4-stroke pipes has been on several yz250f's. I think a pipe is a must with these bikes, it helps the power everywhere. Where I live the bikes come jetted fat enought that no jetting is required with a pipe. Pipes are worth the money, well at least that are on yz250f's.

[bil2303]

IMO, generally no it is not worth the money to modify ones exhaust even for MX. The bike manufactures are not stupid people, they put a lot of time and money to design a system that works well every where.

Aftermarket pipes can give more HP but this often comes at the exspence of HP somewhere else in the rev range, or flat spots, or the power can become aburpt. This is often not a proble on the MX track as good riders don't mind a lake of bottom end or abruptness but joe average wont benifit and not very many trails riders will either.

Also, power can decrease if the jetting is not resorted for the new pipe.

One good advantage of aftermarket pipes is that they are often much lighter than OEM and often cheaper to if you need to replace the OEM due to damage.

Spend the money on suspesion and riding classes and you will enjoy things much more. (even in MX, you have two options. 1 spend money on a new pipe and get better results or 2, spend money on a riding class and get better results and get sponsored and let them buy the pipe for you.) ?

Yea, thats the way I feel about some of these expensive mods, can also a good way to screw up a perfectly good bike.

[SuzukiRM-Z450]

I want aftermarket so im legal in national forest. All im looking for is a slip on.

[velosapiens]

in my experience riding with others, high performance pipes make alot of bikes harder to start, jet, and generally live with for serious trailriding. less issues with the 'q' models.

imho, if you think you need a fancy pipe, what you really need is a grownup motorcycle. i run the stock pipe on my fe550 and 300exc and an aftermarket sparkarrested 'q' on my 250sx to be enduro legal.

[Darvo]

in my experience riding with others, high performance pipes make alot of bikes harder to start, jet, and generally live with for serious trailriding. less issues with the 'q' models.

imho, if you think you need a fancy pipe, what you really need is a grownup motorcycle. i run the stock pipe on my fe550 and 300exc and an aftermarket sparkarrested 'q' on my 250sx to be enduro legal.

Do you not consider a 250f a grown up motorcycle. Maybe your grownup motocycles are to big for you, and you need to grow up ?

[velosapiens]

Do you not consider a 250f a grown up motorcycle. Maybe your grownup motocycles are to big for you, and you need to grow up ?

you probably mean 'too big'.

nope. i do not consider a 250f a grownup motorcycle. here's why:

1) weak. therefore people try to make them more powerful since they are so weak, with the result that they are.....

2) loud. loud = bad

3) fragile. must be revved high to be able to get out of their own way, causing early death.

4) expensive to maintain, due to (3)

5) no matter what you do, they still suck at altitude, which is where i live.

it's only my opinion, and my opinion is definitely slanted towards mass amounts of trailriding and off-road racing, and no mx, but in my opinion, the ONLY uses for a 250f are:

a) a learner bike for timid people and kids

a test bed to see what breaks first when current technology is pushed beyond its limits in an attempt to get maximum racing performance. hopefully this knowledge will get applied to grown-up motorcycles so the rest of us can spend more time riding and less time fixing grenaded engines.

you are welcome to have a different opinion, and that doesn't bother me.

mw

[SuzukiRM-Z450]

Oh yes Ryan Villopoto goes slow because hes on a beginner bike. I dont think so.

[velosapiens]

Oh yes Ryan Villopoto goes slow because hes on a beginner bike. I dont think so.

you are welcome to actually read the whole post. no one said rv goes slow. no one said he's riding a beginner bike. he's riding an overpriced cutting-edge test bed for stuff that breaks (didn't his bike break at washougal?). hopefully what is learned will benefit grownup bikes.

[MMotohead]

250Fs are weak? Definately dinosaur mentality. I can go faster and longer on either of my 250Fs compared to my CRF450R. 250Fs also have adequate low end torque these days. Calling them begginer bikes really shows how some people havent kept up with current technology. Thats just what I think, it doesnt bother me that some people feel different.

[Pornstar]

it's only my opinion, and my opinion is definitely slanted towards mass amounts of trailriding and off-road racing, and no mx, but in my opinion

you are welcome to have a different opinion, and that doesn't bother me.

mw

I stand with you.

For offroad racing and trail riding 250F are weak and i`m trying to be polite here. ?

For me they dont have enough power for steep loose terrains, rock beds, sand.... It was ultra hard to go through those terrains on my 250f and now i just blast on them on my 250 smoker.

Besides it was a very high manteinance bike because i was pushing the bike too much.

I love the ultra power of a 450 and i would like to get one, but the smoker is pretty fun to ride, ultra light and cheap to fix.

On the other hand I find the 250F great for MX SX because not everyone can handle a 2 stroke or a 450 on the track. They give you great torque so they are easier to ride. I am sure that i would have been crashing a lot less in the track if i had a 250 f instead of my 250 pinger. When i have ridden 250 f in the track they feel pretty smoth, you have more choices of gears to be in, etc...

So SuzukiRM-Z450 learn how to read first.

This guy was talking about offroad racing and trail riding.

And besides he`s just stating his opinions, if you dont like it you are free to state your point of view and to back it up. But if all you have is loud talk try to keep it to yourself.

[redrider7202]

What's with the downing of the 250F's???? I actually prefer them over something bigger and heavier. Where I ride I bearly get a chance to go wide open, if ever. Yea, maybe if you are always looking for more from a 250F then you need a bigger bike... there's no replacement for displacement. However, how many of us... and how often... can push i 250F to it's full limit? heck, these days a 250F produces more power then early 250's. And if your not needing the extra power, why deal with the extra weight?

[JSanfilippo]

I disagree. My only experience with 4-stroke pipes has been on several yz250f's. I think a pipe is a must with these bikes, it helps the power everywhere. Where I live the bikes come jetted fat enought that no jetting is required with a pipe. Pipes are worth the money, well at least that are on yz250f's.

A YZ 250f with an FMF Q (the original, not the Q2) is a more than adequate bike for 60% of the people on this board if they know how to use the power. They're isn't much reserve (if any) thats why everyone should be on 450s

Its those gay trail bikes like XRs, DR-Zs, and TT-Rs that need all the help they can get ?