Need help tweaking my SBP pipe

[SD moto man]

I just put on my SBP x chamber and high performance air filter and I am not that happy with the results. I'm not sure if I did something wrong or maybe this pipe isn't all it hyped up to be? I was running the stock pipe without the muffler cap before, and I was getting lots of low end torque and topped out at 34 with the GPS. After I replaced the pipe, it tops out at 31 and has NO low end at all. I can tell the pipe has some pull to it in the mid 20's that my stock didn't, but so what. I used to be able to cruise up this steep hill around 15mph, today I rode up the first part and immediately had to peddle for it not to stall and eventually just gave up and turned off the hill. I tried adjusting the header as long as I could to get the most torque, but still so weak compared to the stock pipe! I just spend $100 bucks on these two items hoping it was going to make my bike totally awesome. I'm pretty disappointed so far. Maybe I have to get the pipe welded and seal up any leaks where the silicone tubing covers?

 

[Dperezj]

Hhhmmmm, I always heard that too long of an exhaust can lower strength, but if you switch back to your stock muffler (leaving your new air filter on) do you get better performance? I'm looking into getting a better filter myself! Where did you get that one??

 

[GearNut]

Have you re-tuned the carburetor yet?
When you change out the exhaust or intake parts (air filter), and especially both at the same time you must re-tune the carburetor to work in harmony with the new parts.
If you do not take the time to do this important step in the hop up procedure you will be sorely disappointed with the results.

Here, read section 2 of the installation instructions.
http://www.sickbikeparts.com/Manuals/Tuned Pipe Installation Instructions.pdf

 

[Cruzen 619]

Yep, I had the same results, I took it off and put back on my stock exhaust without the cap on. I found a spray paint can the same size as the stock exhaust grinded off the bottom and drilled six holes around the top of the can and clamped it to the muffler, now it it quiter and still has the low end power. and it has a stainless steel tip on it,I going to try and solve the expansion pipe problem in a couple of days.

 

[Dperezj]

Then it must be that you have to readjust the carb because maybe its not breathing so well with the new filter? And where did you get the filter??? Lol

 

[SD moto man]

I read that section while installing the pipe, but when I took it out for a spin and checked my spark plug, it looked like the carb was tuned correctly. See the next post for the picture of what my plug looks like after full throttle and killed the engine. It looks like a chocolate brown gray color to me so I thought it was fine. Note that this is the stock spark plug pushing 2 years old. I was thinking about replacing it, but haven't noticed any performance problems prior to these upgrades so I think the plug is fine. The filter is also from SBP, it looks real nice on my bike.

 

[SD moto man]

Here is the picture of the plug

 

[F_Rod81]

Take off the air filter and put the stock cover back on and see if that is your problem. Getting the 2 upgrades to work together optimally can be tricky. I never could get the SBP filter to work with the expansion chamber how I wanted, I tested and tried jetting on both sides of spectrum (with the SBP filter) and the black cover worked best for my conditions. I ditched the stock carb and I now have an RT to accompany my expansion chamber.

You should be able to run just the expansion chamber with a .72 jet and get some good results. Once you get the exhaust dialed in, then go ahead and install the performance filter and test and tune.

 

[Drewd]

I never really saw a lot of power gain, if any, with a SBP tuned pipe but it did allow me to shift my power band to my desired location (low rpms) so I could do some serious hill climbing....lots of short shifting.

 

[SD moto man]

When you shifted your power band down to low rpm's, did you try to make the header as long as possible? Did you leave the silicone tubing on it or did you weld it all up? I tried to make the header as long as I could to get the most torque and the bike was horrible at low speeds off the line. I had to get it going around 8 mph before I could let the clutch out or it would be very jerky and want to stall. Tomorrow I am going to put the stock filter back on and see if that makes a difference. Also, how temporary is the silicone tubing? I saw it melting a little on the header just after a 10 minute ride, is that normal?

 

[Texhun]

Does your engine 4 stroke any? Cause when I put on my Xchamber it was the same deal. I had great torque with the stock pipe but when I put on the Xchamber, I had less torque and could barely reach 30MPH, and my engine was 4stroking like crazy through most of the RPM range. So I got the DAX RT and jetted it out to where it did't 4 stroke at all, then instantly I could tell the difference when racing it. I had amazing torque and could hit 34MPH easy without any 4stroking at all. And yes it would be a good idea to weld it solid cause your gonna have a ton of problems later with those dumb hoses. Just make sure you've got the pipe exactly where you want it before you weld.

 

[SD moto man]

Yes my engine was 4 stroking a lot now that you bring it up. But I think I discovered another part of the problem, my spark plug. This morning I put my stock muffler and filter back on to do a test to see how it performed compared to last week before I did some repairs and maint to itand upgraded my parts, and I was shocked to only get it up to 27mph, where as last week I was going 34. So the pipe actually gave me about 4 mph faster than stock, but still lost all torque. Also, I noticed that it was jerky and sputtering when I was trying to get it started and got worse through the morning. After a little more experimenting, the spark plug wouldn't even spark. This was the stock plug and was more than 2 years old now, so I ordered a NGK and I am hoping this will help, but I don't think it will solve everything. I will be able to tell tomorrow if any of these problems were caused from an old plug and then go from there. For the 4 stroking, that means that it's too rich correct? So I will try to adjust the C clip on my carb I suppose and test it some more. It sounds like a new carb all together might be something to consider for the future as well...

 

[Texhun]

Yes it means its very rich, its like running with the choke on all the time. My bike was extremely gutless before I rejetted my carb, and I got a new plug to see if it would improve anything, if anything it starts up easier but thats about it.