Triumphrat

dazco · 07-21-2006

I posted this question at BA and go a rather interesing answer. I was thinking about finding a cheap set of america pipes to replace the thunderbikes due to the fact that i don't like the volume. I was thinking what would happen if i removed any or all the baffles as far as volume, and even more importantly how far back towards stock would i have to go in my jetting and airbox mods and what kind of performance i'd lose. For the record, america pipes because i like the slash cut look and they're easier to remove the baffles, plus i want to keep my stock pipes for when i sell it or if i ever get a citation for loud pipes.

So i asked this at BA and "Dad" tells me he removed just one baffle on each of his america pipes and drilled some 1/2" holes in the second. He not only said it sounds nice, but i was shocked to hear his setup is the same as mine......snorkel gone, UNI, drilled airbox, 130's and TBS needles w/1 shim !

So the reason i'm posting this is to get your thoughts on it. Do you think it's really possible to run my setup with america pipes that have just 1 baffle removed and holes drilled in the second? I hate the idea of losing power, but if he did this and his bike is running good i gotta think the pipes as he's modded them are not too restricive. But if they ARE more restrictive than my thunderbikes, what would be the result with jetting and air mods that are geared to a pipe that less restrictive than the TB pipes?

Geoff · 07-21-2006

either it'll work or you'll be too rich.
you may have to go back to a 125, or a 120 main
Geoff

dazco · 07-21-2006

Thats what i was thinking. But then i look at Dad's reply and i gotta think there are only 2 possibilities......his bike is running bad but he doesn't realize it, ir the pipes ARE open enough. Really wish i knew. But thinking about it i suppose his bike isn't running as good as mine becasue even when i slightly over stuffed my baffles when packing them i lost a very noticable bit of power and had to remove the excess. And the america pipes gotta be a lot more restrictive even with one baffle removed and the second drilled because even with that done theres still a 3rd baffle ! And my pipes are straight thru.

SalMaglie · 07-21-2006

Well one thing to realize is all bikes aren't the same. Usually we vary in main jets by one or two sizes. FWIW, I'm running Epcos now, but used to run Speedmaster TORs and didn't have to change the jet size at all(132). The rest of the setup was unifilter, snorkel removed, 45 pilots. Although looking down the Speedmaster offroads you see an aprroximately one inch hole down the entrie length of the slipons, they were fairly quiet....not much louder than stock.

dazco · 07-21-2006

Quote:

On 2006-07-21 13:56, SalMaglie wrote:
Well one thing to realize is all bikes aren't the same. Usually we vary in main jets by one or two sizes. FWIW, I'm running Epcos now, but used to run Speedmaster TORs and didn't have to change the jet size at all(132). The rest of the setup was unifilter, snorkel removed, 45 pilots. Although looking down the Speedmaster offroads you see an aprroximately one inch hole down the entrie length of the slipons, they were fairly quiet....not much louder than stock.

That was another thing i was wondering about....TORs. I've always heard they didn't make as much power as thunderbike or other similar pipes. Is that true? Also, they talk about the current ones being louder than the original versions. if thats true, how much louder and which did you have. I'd consider TORs if i could be sure they would be considerably quieter and not sacrifice much power. Funny......a lot of people say the tors don't sound good, but i find the soundbyte of them at BA to sound really good in a very unique way.

SalMaglie · 07-21-2006

Yeah, I think there's 3 different versions of offroads, all with a different sound level. And this was back in June of 2003 when I bought my offroads, so who knows what they're like now. My offroads do sound a lot like the clip you mentioned, maybe not quite as loud.

Thunderbike pipes I've heard, and I honestly didn't think they were that loud, just slightly louder than my offroads, and a lot like the offroad video/sound clip you mentioned. Who knows, maybe there's different versions of them? I know the Tbikes I heard on a bike locally didn't sound as loud as the clip at ba.com. All I know is my Epcos are fairly loud, probably too loud.

I'm not helping much, am I?

I would imagine the best thing you could do is like you said....buy a set of stock America pipes for cheap, and then drill out one baffle at a time till you get the sound you want. Then change jets accordingly. I don't think you'd have to change much in the way of jet sizes since you have the airbox drilled, but that's an opinion.

There also might be some differences between the 865 and 790 motors that affects jet sizes. Really the only good way to know if you have the right jetting for the pipes is by getting the bike on a dyno. Can you find one in the LA area for a reasonable price and a good reputation? I sure wish I could where I live as I've just gone to the Freak and I'm wondering if my 155 mains are the right size for optimal performance and A/F ratio.

dazco · 07-21-2006

Well yeah, that helped because since you have early tors and have heard Tbike pipes and said they weren't much different in volume, that pretty much ends my interest in the. May as well just hang onto the Tpipes or try the america thing. I probably won't tho unless i find a dirt cheap pair because it's purely experimental in that i have no way of knowing if i'll like the results or end up trashing them.

SalMaglie · 07-21-2006

I've seen stock America pipes on ebay for $50, but haven't looked in awhile since I have too many sets of pipes already(stock, Speedmaster offroads, and Epcos). I have a buddy who likes to mess around with pipes for VTX1800s and I was thinkinking of taking my stock pipes to him and see what he could do with them. I'd like something in between my Epcos and offroads, but still keep the tapered ends of the stock ones.

I have heard Budweiser's drilled stock America pipes when I paid him a visit in Albuquerque, and they were about the best sounding pipes I've heard. Nice little low grunt, but not too loud. I think he has his airbox drilled too. You might want to shoot him a PM over at ba.com and ask what his setup is and what he's done.

dazco · 07-21-2006

Thanks, i'll PM him.