Topic: 4 pipes = bliss

[bikerbart]

Ok so since I cant get my yosh rep pipe to seal as of yet,I put my 341's on it and Wow,what a difference.Its like I'm riding a different bike.The low end is considerably better,which I love.Until I do complete suspension upgrades,I ride it like its a 40 yr old bike(ok 37).Needless to say I dont beat the piss out of it because its my only bike.Sounds different,feels different.I love the look as well.Its tempting me to line my orange tank and make it mostly stock again(except for the handlebars)

[MCRider]

Ok so since I cant get my yosh rep pipe to seal as of yet,I put my 341's on it and Wow,what a difference.Its like I'm riding a different bike.The low end is considerably better,which I love.Until I do complete suspension upgrades,I ride it like its a 40 yr old bike(ok 37).Needless to say I dont beat the piss out of it because its my only bike.Sounds different,feels different.I love the look as well.Its tempting me to line my orange tank and make it mostly stock again(except for the handlebars)

Fact is, most of us live in the low to mid-range of our bikes. I've learned the hard expensive way that building a street bike for high end is most likely a waste. My current project is going for lots of mid range.

A stock motor with a sweet compliant suspension is a joy to ride.

As to handlebars, you may like a semiflat bar like a CB400F or a European Touring bar like from the R series BMW. Not so radical as Cafes, but still lets you scoot forward when things get twisty.

[bikerbart]

I currently have norman hyde M bars,love em.Keeping them.They are kind of like mustache bars.

[MCRider]

I currently have norman hyde M bars,love em.Keeping them.They are kind of like mustache bars.

Very nice, I've seen them. In the Euro Touring vein.

[bikerbart]

Now that I have been riding with 341's its like a new bike.It has been very happy.I have been riding to work everyday and the bike has never been better.Sure the carpy pipe was great when you revv it,but I just couldnt get it to seal.I may weld some thicker flanges on the end(washers)as the original spickots have a much better sealing surface(surface area)But until then,I am rocking the original pipes,and she purrs.

[wannabridin]

I have a cArpy 4-1 waiting to go on, so I have to ask, did you have the baffle in?  I thought most of the problems with a 4-1 came from lack of backpressure, which a 4-4 provides...  I REALLY want a set of benjies 4-4's, but I don't have $1200...   so what can I do to help the carpy pipe to seal better??  Sorry to thread jack, just trying to get the whole picture!

[dave500]

i made a collar to take the drone out plus add a little more backpressure,i have plenty of low end and mid i think,and its not noisey,just some four to one i had a straight through tacked on to,it had a chrome megaphone looking thing rusted out.

[florence]

It is interseting what you say about low down power.  I recently went from a motad to a laser.  The difference was amazing.  The motad 4-1 made the bike sluggish but the laser 4-1 gave it loads of low down power, like a completely different bike.  After looking into this I think it has a lot to do with carb main jets.  I had always wondered why my bike had larger than standard jets and now I have this pipe on I can see why.  My friend who owned the bike before always had a laser 4-1.

Personally, I don't like 4-4 pipes as I find them bulky, a bit ugly and very expensive.  Still that is only my opinion and I know that most people love them.  In the 1980s they were the first thing we took off and chucked away.

The only problem is that those old laser pipes seem really hard to find nowadays.

[Duke McDukiedook]

What is important in the 4-1 is if it is actually 4-2-1 like in the Yoshi and the headers are all of equal length to make sure the pulses are equal and in the same beat.

[Speed King]

I love my 'M' bars.

[FrankenFrankenstuff]

I put a 4:1 header on my bike about 15 years ago.....now I am longing for that old stock sound. What the hell was I thinking? put the stock pipes into the trash.

[GammaFlat]

I put a 4:1 header on my bike about 15 years ago.....now I am longing for that old stock sound. What the hell was I thinking? put the stock pipes into the trash.

I did the same thing 10 years ago (smacks heel of hand on forehead)... I'll give myself a little slack... the old pipes had holes (2 if I recall), were heavier than the 4-1, and golly, they were old.  My oh my, we think about things differently now.  The pipes themselves might have been hard to resurrect but I should have at least kept the shields and connecting hardware.  I now have a brand new set of HM341s going on after the rebuild this winter. 

[MCRider]

I put a 4:1 header on my bike about 15 years ago.....now I am longing for that old stock sound. What the hell was I thinking? put the stock pipes into the trash.

I still prefer the 4-1 sound, but i hear you. What is the real head slapper, is the 10s of thousands+ of good 4-4 sets that ended up in the landfill.

And many times that the Harley stock pipes that are in the landfills. Wow.

Can we waste stuff or what?  I guess these days there may be more recycling going on.

[dave500]

i pulled a set of stock harley pipes out of a skip bin a few months ago,obviously someone has got vance or other pipes,these were heavy as hell,i took them to the guy that does my paint,he does custom bikes mostly harley,he gave me $50 bucks for them,i was happy with that,hell use them on bikes to pass inspection etc.,my little bit of recycling helps keep the world green enough to offset the use of my pre pollution v8 holden.,ive been driving a skip bin truck now for 8 years,,man the stuff i take home.last week i found a perfect mitoyo 0-1 micrometer!its old but zeros ok.

[MCRider]

There you go! It all works out.