Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums banner

stainless pipes by feked.com

16K views 37 replies 13 participants last post by  mudshark88 
#1 · (Edited)
guys,

I mentioned elsewhere my disappointment after bafflectomising standard carb' type silencers (no cats) after having tors. I lost a big chunk of mid-range torque, that I had when I had the tors fitted, enough for me to need to put the 18t sprocket back on. I just fitted these stainless throughout, straight through silencers from feked.com They are similar in size and appearance to the standard silencer, only slightly louder than the bafflectomised stockers, no incriminating 'not for road use' statements emblazoned on them, great build quality and £297 delivered. That's a lot cheaper than the chromed steel aftermarket pipes I had before the tors, one of which rotted through from the inside out (that's another story)

Anyhow, the best bit is, I got my mid range back and the bike is a joy to ride again :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck8ZYexxGtI
 
#3 · (Edited)
bends included

Forchetto,

They came supplied with stainless bends, which have a hidden clamp bolt. They're a nice curved shape like the standard pipe, although they sell a cheaper angular chromed bend too. I don't know if they'll fit an SE, but here's the link to the Hinkley bit of their site: https://www.feked.com/shop/index.php?productID=575

here's a picture of my (stainless) link pipe:
 
#4 ·
guys,

I mentioned elsewhere my disappointment after bafflectomising standard carb' type silencers (no cats) after having tors. I lost a big chunk of mid-range torque, enough for me to need to put the 18t sprocket back on.

I am thinking bafflectomy on the T100 but just the end baffles and no punches straight through and leaving everything else the same. (air box, etc) Do you think that will cut the mid range or did you go further?

But great sound and great price on those pipes. Wonder how much with exchange and shipping to Canada.
 
#5 · (Edited)
whoops!

deluxe,

The bafflectomy doesn't lose torque from what you have on a standard pipe, I was talking about compared to tors. Sorry for the confusion. I've edited the original post to make a bit more sense, but I'll try to put it a bit more plainly, this is just the latest in a littany of exhaust posts of mine. This is a list, not including any airbox, mapping or Ai stuff, to avoid further confusion.

1. efi bafflectomy, in the stickies

2. efi header cat'lectomy, in the stickies too

3. attempted/failed cat removal from silencers (in the efi bafflectomy thread)

4. s/h togas very old set. lhs one rotted through from inside out

5. s/h tors, from ebay, didn't like the 'not for road use' script plastered over them for traffic wardens to see

6. s/h early stockers (no cats) failed stage 2 bafflectomy with pointy rod, loss of torque from what I had with tors

7. fitted feked stainless long silencers, joy, wunderbar, all I want from my exhaust at last.

that's a good few threads in a nutshell for you.
 
#6 ·
deluxe,

The bafflectomy doesn't lose torque from what you have on a standard pipe, I was talking about compared to tors. Sorry for the confusion. I've edited the original post to make a bit more sense, but I'll try to put it a bit more plainly, this is just the latest in a littany of exhaust posts of mine. This is a list, not including any airbox, mapping or Ai stuff, to avoid further confusion.

1. efi bafflectomy, in the stickies

2. efi header cat'lectomy, in the stickies too

3. attempted/failed cat removal from silencers (in the efi bafflectomy thread)

4. s/h togas very old set. lhs one rotted through from inside out

5. s/h tors, from ebay, didn't like the 'not for road use' script plastered over them for traffic wardens to see

6. s/h early stockers (no cats) failed stage 2 bafflectomy with pointy rod, loss of torque from tors

7. fitted feked stainless long silencers, joy, wunderbar, all I want from my exhaust at last.

that's a good few threads in a nutshell for you.
Thanks johnyC,..didn't mean to cause you any grief :D

I've read a bunch of your stuff as well seen the videos. I really appreciate your efforts and am sure I'm not alone in expressing thanks.

Did you have to remap? Can't remember earlier posts of yours if you gutted the airbox, AI, snorkel, etc.
 
#8 · (Edited)
feked update

boys & girls,

I took my bike up to be dyno'd today, just to see where I was with the feked pipes compared to the tors. The only things different from the last tors run, was that I used an open ended Triumph paper filter instead of the Unifilter (I had to cut up the Unifilter to make a new filter for my Beamish)


I'm sorry about the poor quality of the charts, the printer at the dyno room only worked in b/w today, then my scanner went for a sh!te, so I had to take photies of the charts instead:


It shows the feked pipes make a bit more power and torque than the tors, no great surprise there, but my fuelling with the Arrow 2/1 map is now a bit on the weak side (was a bit rich with the tors from 6,000 up) I can't really do much about this with the Triumph maps available (wish I had carbs) and Willie the dyno guy (who sells, fits and sets up power commanders) said it wasn't really worth the extra £500 or so to flatten the bumps with a pc111. I'm delighted with the way the bike goes, the 19t is going back on tomorrow, but if anything the seat of the pants feel is that she's really getting a move-on where the a/f is at 14, then spins right through to the red.

here's the previous dyno run with tors, for comparison:
 
#10 ·
Wrote to them (feked.com) to enquire if those stainless silencers might fit my 09 SE. I thought it might make a change from my Arrows, giving me a true Triumph sound and enabling the fitment of the centre stand, unlike the Arrows.

This is the reply I got today:

Sorry, I rarely get told what models they are fitted to by our customers

Thanks
Gordon


Obviously wasting my time there...:mad:
 
#12 · (Edited)
stand stops....

.....none fitted mike,

If you look at the picture on the previous page, you can see a wee bit of daylight between the sidestand and the link pipe. The pipes have a slightly upward sweep to them and they don't touch, so no stop required. The centrestand just about touches the bottom of the silencer body, but doesn't make any noise so I haven't bothered about a plate. When I was having the link pipes welded to the silencer, the one wee improvement I made, I could have fitted a plate then but didn't see the need. Here's a picture of it:


Forchetto,

I'm sorry to hear of the response you got, maybe he simply doesn't know. I don't know either, but I suppose there's one way to find out, which is for me to try and fit my bonnie pipe to an SE. Whether MCS will allow this is another story, but I'll ask the next time I'm in. Alas, my bike is off the road this week as my ecm is off to Pieman again for further tweaking, but I will try and get you an answer. Here's a picture showing the welding I did, to make it a rigid one-piece assembly like the Triumph pipe, but also to show something else. Following repeated dyno runs to the rev limiter last Sunday (things got a bit warm, there was smoke coming off the link pipe area) the pipes are now a straw shade at the hot end, as stainless goes when it gets burny. Perhaps that's why Triumph chrome plate the stainless headers, it doesn't bother me but you're as well knowing before you buy incase it bothers you.
 
#15 ·
Forchetto,

I'm sorry to hear of the response you got, maybe he simply doesn't know. I don't know either, but I suppose there's one way to find out, which is for me to try and fit my bonnie pipe to an SE. Whether MCS will allow this is another story, but I'll ask the next time I'm in. Alas, my bike is off the road this week as my ecm is off to Pieman again for further tweaking, but I will try and get you an answer.
Thanks Johny. I was thinking about fitting NH Togas but after your "rusted through" experience I thought: better not!.The stainless feked pipes would match the standard stainless downpipes and sound and look more Triumph-like.
 
#18 ·
rotted Toga

Forchetto,

I thought I'd better show you what I was saying about the left side Toga. I bought them used, not sure how old they were, fitted them and at first they seemed ok:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWJfAjdf15M
but there was underlying corrosion beneath the shiny chrome plating. What seemed to be just a bit of chrome lifting at the welded seam, was in fact the remnants of actual steel beneath it turning into rust and the plating then lifted. I gave it a wee exploratory prod and it just caved in. I then went medieval on it and cut the end off to see the full extent of the corrosion, here it is:

As you can see from the next picture, the rhs pipe looks as good as new, I've no idea why just the left one rotted. I emailed Norman Hyde and threw myself on their mercy, asking if there was perhaps a 'shop-soiled' left side Toga lying around I could buy at a reduced rate, but I was sent a curt reply with a quote for the full price of a new pipe, about £160 if I remember rightly. I decided there and then not to trouble them again.

I tried to find a left handed Toga on ebay, but it would be easier to find a left handed screwdriver. If you can find a left side Toga yourself, you're very welcome to my right hand one, free to a good home :)
 
#26 ·
Forchetto,

I thought I'd better show you what I was saying about the left side Toga. I bought them used, not sure how old they were, fitted them and at first they seemed ok:

As you can see from the next picture, the rhs pipe looks as good as new, I've no idea why just the left one rotted. I emailed Norman Hyde and threw myself on their mercy, asking if there was perhaps a 'shop-soiled' left side Toga lying around I could buy at a reduced rate, but I was sent a curt reply with a quote for the full price of a new pipe, about £160 if I remember rightly. I decided there and then not to trouble them again.

I tried to find a left handed Toga on ebay, but it would be easier to find a left handed screwdriver. If you can find a left side Toga yourself, you're very welcome to my right hand one, free to a good home :)
Thanks. Very informative report as usual:). It amazes me how some suppliers do themselves no favours by treating customers with disdain. They seem unaware of the power of the Internet and how quickly their reputation can be spoiled.

It's a bit like when you leave a bad feedback on ebay. Suppliers go ballistic because they know it means a drop in sales.
 
#28 ·
I'm thinking about Togas for the Scrambler, mainly because my options are so abysmally limited - I don't want TORs again (my wife beautifully described them as making the bike sound like a wet fart), can't really afford a Zard and just plain don't like the look of the Arrows, even if I did want to blow over a grand on an exhaust. Which I don't.

Now I'm not so sure, although I haven't heard any other cases of them rotting away, looking at those pics does make me wonder whether it's worth giving over €500 for something that could be rotten through in a short space of time. That said, my original exhausts that I got over eBay and have had on the bike for less than 6 months are also starting to rust. Maybe it's just when they're left to sit rather than getting nice and warm and toasty by actually riding with them? I don't know. Anyway, I have to decide on whether to get new exhausts or Ricor shocks. I'm thinking with the exchange rate the way it is, that exhausts will be the winner.

bob
 
#29 ·
scram' togas

bob,

I bought a pair new for my '06 Scrambler, passengers remarked that the forward end of the silencers got a bit warm, care had to be taken to avoid getting burnt. N. Hyde sell a 'chip basket' type shield, but I didn't care for the appearance of it and sold the bike not long afterwards anyway:
[URL=http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g104/fomic/?action=view&current=P4290005.jpg][/URL]

I found them a bit too blatty round town, so I slid a pair of vw beetle tailpipes up 'em, which took the harshness out of the lower end blat:


here's the sound they made:
http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g104/fomic/?action=view&current=MOV00B.flv
 
#30 ·
Cheers for that Johny - I've seen the dodgy NH heat guards and like you, I really don't care for them, regardless how authentic they may be. It also seem that there's not a huge amount of difference between TORs and Togas, and at least TORs are cheaper. I'm starting to think that maybe I should just stick with the stockers until they rust through and then worry about it all then!

Cheers
bob
 
#32 · (Edited)
johny,

I had a couple of questions for you about the feked exhaust as I am in the market for some new ones myself. I can't tell from the photos on the site whether the bikes pictured are with the chrome or stainless option. Would I be correct in assuming the stainless is polished? Do you find you get much golding/yellowing with the stainless? If so, does it polish out easily? I like the look and the sound of these pipes, but was trying to decide between the stainless or chrome option. The dealership had me sold on the NH Togas, but after reading your experience I am not sure I am as sold on them. The other preference they had was the Arrows, but I like the classic stock look and not sure I wan't to go the route of the arrows. Staintunes are just crazy expensive, so I think those are out, which is why I find these interesting at the price.

Thanks!

- Sean
 
#33 · (Edited)
mellow yellow

Sean,

I don't know which pipes are shown on the feked web page, but when I pulled my stainless ones out of the box, they were polished and as shiny as chrome. the yellowing has only happened at the link pipe and the inlet end of the silencer body, if you look at the pic on page2 of the centrestand you can just about make out a line where the yellowness ends. That's just where the absorption cartridge begins, which is a bit cooler on the surface. The internal parts are made from stainless too, I asked before I bought them, so they shouldn't rot. They weigh a bit less than tors, but have a deeper, mellower tone, not intrusive at all round town. They roar a bit when you give her some welly of course.

I don't know if the yellow polishes out, I quite like it as it is, I don't know either if the yellow bits get yellower over time. They got a thorough roasting at the dyno last week (short vid in the dyno room, efi pieman remap thread) and they're due another roasting this evening at Willie's dyno' again. I'll let you know how it goes.

ps. dyno run postponed now until Saturday 27th
 
#34 ·
Sean,

I don't know which pipes are shown on the feked web page, but when I pulled my stainless ones out of the box, they were polished and as shiny as chrome. the yellowing has only happened at the link pipe and the inlet end of the silencer body, if you look at the pic on page2 of the centrestand you can just about make out a line where the yellowness ends. That's just where the absorption cartridge begins, which is a bit cooler on the surface. The internal parts are made from stainless too, I asked before I bought them, so they shouldn't rot. They weigh a bit less than tors, but have a deeper, mellower tone, not intrusive at all round town. They roar a bit when you give her some welly of course.

I don't know if the yellow polishes out, I quite like it as it is, I don't know either if the yellow bits get yellower over time. They got a thorough roasting at the dyno last week (short vid in the dyno room, efi pieman remap thread) and they're due another roasting this evening at Willie's dyno' again. I'll let you know how it goes.

I really appreciate the reply. I have seen some stainless exhausts that seem to have that brushed finish and I was hoping these did not.

I didn't even notice the yellowing on your photo until you pointed it out. The yellowing, as I understand it anyway, is a characteristic of the stainless steel exhaust? I could be wrong on that. I just thought they all did it at some point without being polished/buffed.

They look and sound nice. Are the ones you have posted the long or short version. I was looking at the photos on the Feked site. They say they show both variations, but the angles differ for each shot so it makes it hard to compare.

- Sean
 
#35 · (Edited)
length

Sean,

I have the long ones. The area in the header pipes at the crossover, where I removed the pre-cats from, I polished out the bluing where the wee cats had become very hot. I used a mop and some polish in a battery drill, must have removed the few microns of chrome too, because the bulge area where the pre-cats were has become yellowed. I don't know for sure, because I really don't mind it enough to go polishing it all out again, but I suspect that the hotter areas will inevitably yellow on a stainless pipe even after polishing out.
 
#36 ·
I am researching silencer options for my Scrambler - that is my Scrambler with Thruxton downpipes!
I have contacted feked.com after reading about their silencers here and seeing them listed on eBay UK.

So thanks for all the input here.

I am actually posting this because up until now I haven't read of anyone else having trouble with Norman Hyde classic silencers, nor of any issues with customer service at NH. Quite the reverse - even here on these forums people seem very happy with Norman Hyde products and service.
Thus, because I haven't read of any problems therein, I had begun to conclude that my experience with Norman Hyde must have been a one off. But perhaps it wasn't!

To be clear: I purchased a set of brand new NH Togas for my 2006 Scrambler about this time last year.
I LOVED the sound and look of these pipes - it was significantly better than the "blatty" sound of the TOR pipes and I also think the look is sleeker and easier on the eye - that is of course, just my opinion.
However, despite at least three or four really good coats of ACF-50 anti-corrosion treatment, including one very thorough going-over prior to fitting, I found that after just three months between December and February (yes I was riding the bike in all weathers, hence the ACF-50 activity) the pipes had started to rust/corrode.
It was in a similar place on both sides - near to where the silencers expand from the join side.
Also, one of the quite cheap plain screws that hold the baffles in place had come loose and a baffle had fallen out.
I say cheap and plain because it was literally just a single ordinary screw that screwed from the outside wall at the end of the silencer in to the baffle. Although this was on the inner wheel-side it was bit ugly and struck me as a bit poor for such pricey pipes!

I contacted NH and they agreed to take a look at them. So I sent them back.
To cut a long story shorter, Norman Hyde claimed that the corrosion I was referring to was just baked on dirt/tar and said they would clean them up and return them to me.
They did agree without argument, to fit a replacement baffle without charge.
Great, I thought, until they arrived with the same "dirt/tar" exactly where I had said they were corroding.
It was clearly NOT just dirt but rust and NH for whatever reason had chosen to either ignore it or simply didn't consider it a problem.

So I contacted them again and ended up having a pretty bad argument with someone at NH who basically said that these marks were to be expected and that I was expecting too much. Yes, that I was EXPECTING TOO MUCH of their products.

I asked NH to replace the Togas - assuming this was a one off problem, but although eventually agreeing to let me return them for a refund, Norman Hyde refused to send out a replacement set. They said this because it was likely that I would have similar problems in future and only cause more difficulties for them.
Yup, no word of a lie - three months after I fitted these pipes, they had started to rust and NH basically said I was being too fussy and that they could essentially do without me as a customer.

As I rode a 1998 Thunderbird Sport 20 miles per day, 5 days per week, through 4 years of London weather and sold the bike with 34000 miles on the clock with NO rust on the stock Triumph pipes - I know that it is not in any sense acceptable for a silencer to rust or indeed even tarnish after just three months.

Despite all of this, because I like the look and sound so much I had very recently been considering NH classic silencers for my modded Scrambler but this thread has reminded me what to expect of NH "quality" and at £345 or thereabouts, I think it is probably quality I should do without.

Anyway, all of this happened about a year ago and it is not my intention to cause un-due grief for a British company supplying parts for bikes that I really enjoy riding, but at the same time I think other potential customers should know about such experiences. Norman Hyde products are actually VERY expensive, I mean British-Customs STAINLESS pipes cost about the same as Norman Hyde chromed steel ones and are arguably a superior product by definition. I would buy the British Customs pipes immediately if they were only a bit more classic styled!

My experience with NH products AND customer service was awful and I guess I am not as alone as I had thought.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top