New exhaust is built - now with photo's and a Sound bite

[treedragon]

Hi all

the subject says it all really.
The exhaust master has welded it up, it has been briefly tested for sound. All stainless and in 3 sections, very straight forward to get off, even the rear headers are not difficult just four allan head bolts and a clear run for a looooong allan key. It exits into a Termignoni carbon muffler from a Ducati Streetfighter and has a rather nice rake to it with the slash cut end fitting right on in there, it compliments the bike form well, (I will have to get the rest of the bike up to standard now). It is a very delectable piece of work and I will be putting it up for the sexiest exhaust seen on an XZ 550  ;D The bike no longer has a centerstand nor a place to put one.

There is a few minor weld jobs to be done, lugs for springs and the like, my job is to clean up and polish the whole system...........

I did have a camera in hand but alas the batteries were flat so the visuals will have to wait, sorry about that, I can't even sit here and drool over it myself................. sigh

So the other wondering some may be having is "what sort of note does it have?"
Very nice, sort of loudish without being abrasive, a full rounded mellow note with hints of echo and emphasis on the lower registers and no bark to it with just the merest trace of a chirrup in there somewhere, (yes I know I have been reading to many wine bottles)  ;D  ;D  although I am one for quieter bikes this I like, at full song it will be something.........

So I am hoping to have it tuned up for the next weekend ride, it's bound to need bigger jets now, and we get to see how these cams really work.

Of course this is not necessarily the end of it, there is the ported heads, balanced crank, Weber carb all sitting there, and let us not forget the exhaust vacuum pump to suck the air from the crankcases (considered one of the cheapest forms of horsepower to be had)   8)

 

[fiatracer]

show us da pics! i cant wait to see

[Drikk14]

Yes sounds like a work of art!! Let us see pics! ;D

[treedragon]

Camera batteries charged now!!

.........however the bike is still on the bench at work  :(  but I will take a preliminary shot tomorrow before removing it.

When it is all smoothed, buffed and polished then I will take a series of it apart and on the bike captured from the most seductive angles I can find of course  8)  8)  8)

Before the end of the week I should a good idea of how it is performing, bigger jets I'm a thinking.......

The only other things I have tweaked is the seat form, not a visual thing really but at least it means the seat pad can be finalized so I can now go ahead and mold up a new one.

My rear brake pedal is not in the right place and I have now seen one I can adapt to the rear sets. It is off a Suzuki 400 thingy and it is pivoted behind the peg and curves over the top, will help to compliment the new exhaust line nicely. It is yet to be decided whether I go with a cable or rod to the brake arm.

The other job to be done is to convert the rear brake to a live hub, ie put a bearing and spacers in there and then anchor the hub to the frame or engine rather than the swingarm, in this case it will likely be the frame where the centerstand was bolted.
Under hard braking there is better steering control and particularly useful is how it keeps the bike level by distributing the load into the body of the bike.

oh well enough for now, updates in a day or two.


PS: Sorry guys there will be no pre photos, I have agreed to only show the finished item and that will be a few days away.
 

[fret not]

Treedragon, will you be permitted to show the system off the bike?  I'm interested to see what you all did with the rear head pipes and how they are managed.  Sounds like it is definitely designed for sporty use, racing.

[treedragon]

fret nut

It's pretty simple really, the two pipes join in a Y just below the head and then its a straight run down to where it starts curving under the engine a photo of it on the bike will show it nicely, remember I have a lot of stuff removed from that area anyway.

I cut off the center stand mount points plus the thin wall pipe that goes from one side to the other. Some may be wary of this but close examination of the swingarm etc shows more than enough rigidity. In the unlikely event that I get nervous about it then it is an easy thing to add a cross brace now the pipe work is done.

I should be starting on the clean up and polishing tomorrow.

 

[treedragon]

Well well........... so it is now on and running  ;D  ;D  ;D  ;D  ;D  ;D  8)

No tuning needed really to get a good first run, but more potential there is I am sure, (there is a slight and short stumble if the throttle is snapped open), plug color is good. It is going to get some tuning anyway, Weber carb's on next. I'm thinking next week I will start on constructing the inlets.

It has a great note, particularly at speed and is not offensively loud. It does not sound like any XZ I have ever heard, has a deepness to it that belies the small CC rating.

Performance................ quite different, and I have only done about 10k so far, it reminds me of a 750 and very smooth with it.

It has better bottom end and more power all round. The around town speed limit here is 50kph, (about 30 mph), and the first part of the run was at this speed, it didn't matter what gear, 1 thru 4 5 (euro gearing), all were great and pulled very well relevant to the gear.

On the open road at speed........... well chalk and cheese really I'm pleased to say and I am going to enjoy getting to know this revitalized beastie.

Whereas before with just the new cams in it was a very, straight, linear, increased power delivery with a love of revs, now with the new exhaust on, this si still true except that from around 6500rpm you can feel the rate of pull increasing without any noticeable step, would equate to a steepening torque curve by the feel of it and still in love with the revs. Best 550 I have ridden that's for sure........... and there is a ride on this weekend woo hoo!!  ;D  ;D

So then the photo's








 

[Jirik]

 :o wow! :o

[QBS]

Outstanding!!  First Class work!!  Thank for having done it.

[Re-Vision]

Admire your work but the muffler doesn't look well on this old bike. JMO     BDC

[Rikugun]

:o wow! :o

And How!  :D  Way cool. I think it all works including the muffler. Treedragon has taken his V in a different direction and I think the exhaust is integral to that look. His bike stopped looking like an old Vision some time ago!  ;)

My only concern is the loss of the centerstand from a servicing standpoint. I recognize it was unavoidable and probably helps the overall look by cleaning things up a bit. Well done.

[fiatracer]

what would it run for you to build me one? Killer job bro

[unitivegreybird]

yes I know I have been reading to many wine bottles

Is that like talking to plants to help them grow, reading to wine bottles helps them age?  :-X

I kid, I kid, damn that is a fine bike, and that exhaust looks killer. Magnificent job.

I think it's a bit funny that these 30 year old bikes have been (and remained to be) so capable that their performance either matches or exceeds that of the majority of modern bikes today. And now your bike has the looks as well!

[kwells]

Um Yes please.
Great job!

[supervision]

  nice job!!,  bet it sounds good too.

[Drikk14]

Wow that is very nice looking

[iain]

Martin
did you want me to bring up my Weber manifold for you to have a look at.
{Nice job]

Iain
NZ

[The Prophet of Doom]

Awesome job Martin.  Best custom pipes I've seen.
I was looking at my tiny rear Y pipe the other day - yours must have about 3 times the volume.  It would be interesting to try it on a bike without the hot cams to see what makes the biggest difference.

[Rick G]

They are magnificent !  Doesn't surprise me though, New Zealanders  have  a reputation of great engineering and craftsmanship. It's oriented to the performance side of things though, I still need a centre stand.

[pullshocks]

Very tasty.  Are all the sections cut from stock pre-bent tubing, or are they custom bent?  I'm going to ask my son if he will weld me up one (suitable royalties would be paid to the designer).