[Imposter]

Everyone has a different opinion on what mufflers to use. I'm new to these forums and I read what I could about mufflers here, but I have a particular question about them.

Dilema: I live next to a house with a new-born and I go to work at 4am.

Question: What muffler can I use to get good performance but not so loud to wake all my neighbors and the baby? I have a 2002 EX500.

 

[Curt]

Yes, yes, me, too!

I hope you get some replies. I'd like to know, too. I have a Ninja 250, and I'm told that my stock mufflers are the quietest ones on the market, but I don't know that for certain. What makes the difference between a muffler that is quiet and one that is loud? What makes the difference between a stock muffler and one that gives extra horsepower? And the big question that we're both asking: Can we get a high horsepower muffler that is also quiet? For me this would ideally be an undertail muffler (or at least a single-sided muffler) that has a shiny appearance (polished stainless or aluminum).

Here's my list of priorities for an ideal muffler system:
1. quiet
2. undertail, or at least single-sided (two into one) (am I going to lose my center kickstand?)
3. polished
4. long life (stainless steel or aluminum)
5. high horsepower (I really have enough already, but I won't turn down an offer for more)

Please someone tell us!
Curt

 

[Imposter]

Bumped, as I'm seeking a reply.

 

[Freakinout]

Yoshi exhaust is going to be the only one quiet enough at low RPM for your situation. as long as you keep it under 4K then you shouldn't have any problems.

although from looking I don't think yoshi even makes one for the 500R, I've never heard the systems from 'two bros' or any other brand 'cept jardine, muzzy, D&D, and vance & hines. and all 4 of those are LOUD.

www.pipecity.com

Edit:

Hindle also makes a few systems, they'd be quiet enough to not be a problem either.
http://www.starcycle.com/street/hindle_kawasaki.html

a bit more pricey than others though.

 

[Uncle Bob]

IMHO, aftermarket mufflers are a waste of money, especially in a situation where not waking the neighbors is an issue.

Sound and power are directly linked to the "restrictiveness" of the exhaust, but at the same time some backpressure from the exhaust is needed in all but flat out running of the engine.

The power gains claimed for some exhausts are mostly auditive that is that the bike makes a sound that is louder and somewhat more pleasant to the ears create the illusion that the bike is faster but the claims just don't hold up when the bike is dynoed, oh you will get a very slight increase in power, and maybe a 5 to 10% increase in the very top end where you actually spend very little if any time anyways.

It's like my car, in the winter here our cars get extremely dirty from road spray and I for some reason I always seem to feel that my car performs better after I've had it washed.

Actually most of the power gains riders get when changing their exhaust comes not from the pipe itself but from the rejet they do to correct the lean condition that their bike now suffers. You can't just increase airflow without increasing fuel flow and most carburated bikes come from the manufacturer running lean ( to make the EPA happy).

So why not start with a rejet, much less expensive that a pipe, and see how that works out for you.

 

[Imposter]

Thanks for the advice Bob. Could you explain to me then, since I have stock EX500, what type of rejet should be done. I see rejets up to stage III. I assume it comes factory Jet Stage I (right). I always hear people saying if you change muffler then you should rejet. Does your statement mean that I can rejet without upgrading the muffler? How would that affect the bike?

 

[Freakinout]

You can do K&N air pods and rejet with a stage one and get a power increase, you can even do stage 3 and get a power increase, although you lose a little city gas mileage. highway you usually gain some after rejetting because you run lower RPMS at highway speeds (not all that much difference either way).

If you go all out and do K&N air pods, stage 3 rejetting, full exhaust, 5 degree ignition advance then you really boost the power output. new sprockets is the cheapest way to get a little more grunt out of your bike though.

 

[Curt]

Sound and power are directly linked to the "restrictiveness" of the exhaust . . .

So, Uncle Bob, would you say that in general a more restrictive exhaust would be quieter, but give less horsepower, while a straight open pipe would be loud and give the most horsepower? What about a larger muffler with more room for the sound to absorb? Or does that just make it resonate more and be even louder?

I'm playing with the idea of someday fabricating a muffler for my Ninja 250. I like quiet, and I'd also love to make it an undertail muffler if I can do it.
Curt

 

[03SSgt]

What carbs do we have on our bikes? I'm wanting to get mine rejetted with the stage 3 but have no use in buying a kit of jets that I will not use. Any help would be appreciated. Gotta get my baby finished so I can ride again soon :wink:

edit - my bike is a 04 500

 

[Freakinout]

What carbs do we have on our bikes? I'm wanting to get mine rejetted with the stage 3 but have no use in buying a kit of jets that I will not use. Any help would be appreciated. Gotta get my baby finished so I can ride again soon :wink:

edit - my bike is a 04 500

I couldn't tell ya the model numbers without looking, but a jet kit comes with adjustable needles and usually several jet sizes. www.denniskirk.com is a good place, www.factorypro.com is also good.

 

[03SSgt]

found the carb type, just fyi for those who might be searching for it as well...

Keihin CVK34 x 2

When I find the size for the jets, I'll also post that too. I just hate having to buy a kit with stuff I don't need in it. :wink:

SSgt Andrus

 

[Imposter]

found the carb type, just fyi for those who might be searching for it as well...

Keihin CVK34 x 2

When I find the size for the jets, I'll also post that too. I just hate having to buy a kit with stuff I don't need in it. :wink:

SSgt Andrus

Cool thanx bro. All info helps.

Speaking of info, what type of sproket would be good to move to, if all the above hop-ups have been done to the bike?

 

[03SSgt]

I spoke with a bike tech at my local dealership and he suggested I didn't do a jet upgrade on my bike. He said it was best for me to run it with the new exhaust and filter and check to see if it was getting too wet in there, then I could make the decision whether to change the jets or not. Oh, and he told me the jet size, but I already fogot

edit - my exhaust is the full D&D Show and Go system. I will be deaf in about a month, and so will you :twisted:

 

[Uncle Bob]

Well Kurt, the short answer is that straight pipes without ant restrictions would give you maximum horsepower at wide open throttle but would have no low or medium power. So should only be used in on track drag racing or by 1%'ers.

Bikes are designed for the use intended by the manufacturers, they have teams of designers, engineers and even race teams set up to prototype all the stuff you end up with on your bike. ( they also unfortunately have bean counters ).

They have chosen the best compromise of parts for the bike and if used as intended doesn't really need any mods. Please be aware that you aren't improving a bike by doing any mods, you're changing one trait for another, what I mean is that less restrictive pipes will give you a little more power in the top end but will also likely reduce responsiveness in low and medium rpm ranges.

 

[Monjoho]

Curt I also just wanted to give you a little advice about fabrication. It is going to be rather difficult to fabricate a quiet exhaust. They are quiet because they have baffles in the can and unless you have access to some very expensive and complicated machinery it will be very difficult to fabricate anything more than an open can which will be very loud.

 

[michiganarft11]

Someone on the forum bought some quiet baffling to add to their aftermarket muffler b/c they thought it was too loud. I think they said it was $50, and made some major improvements.

 

[jonesie619]

If the neighbors are your only concern, you can do what I did some years back. I had a Honda 360 that was customized (ahhh memories ) and also a Jeep CJ-5 that had headers and straight pipes. In order to not wake up the neighbors at 3:30 in the morning, I pushed or coasted around the corner and THEN fired it up.

 

[Curt]

Curt I also just wanted to give you a little advice about fabrication. It is going to be rather difficult to fabricate a quiet exhaust. They are quiet because they have baffles in the can and unless you have access to some very expensive and complicated machinery it will be very difficult to fabricate anything more than an open can which will be very loud.

I'm sure there's engineers who spend their entire careers designing mufflers. I'm not pretending to know 1% of what they know. I was just wondering if a hack like me could design and build a half-decent muffler. When I changed the muffler on my car, I tore apart the old one and had a look inside. It didn't look very hard to fabricate. I may try it some day.

A few years ago there were some people stealing trees where I lived. Well, they weren't stealing the whole tree, but just the main trunks. They would pick a prime hardwood of high value, and they would go in in the middle of the night, cut down the tree, and haul off the trunk. Don't ask me to explain their actions. It seemed like a lot of trouble and risk for not much reward if you ask me. Anyway, the guys supposedly had Volkswagon mufflers on their chainsaws. The concept was that even a chainsaw can be quiet if it has a good enough muffler on it.

Someone on the forum bought some quiet baffling to add to their aftermarket muffler b/c they thought it was too loud. I think they said it was $50, and made some major improvements.

Yeah, I remember reading that. That may be perfect for Imposter.
Curt

 

[Imposter]

Sounds like something I will look into.

 

[ZX-2R]

CHEAP

When I was in Hawaii, in the Navy we couldn't pay the outrageous fees sometimes for brand new things...mufflers all eaten out or just a straight pipe was stuffed with very course Steel wool and a cotter pin was all that held it in. If you want to spend a little money the disk system works out pretty good. You can add or remove disks to go loud or really quiet...I used an exhaust tip resonator for my "muffler", and it was pretty quiet. I guess it would depend upon how wierd or where you live as to what you wanted to do. Slap in some stainless steel screen wire all wadded up and cotter pin it...I like to be heard when I ride, but I like to hear others when I'm not riding...so...let us know!!!