2 STROKE WORLD .net

The 2-Stroke Garage => General Chatter => Topic started by: suey1958 on December 10, 2019, 07:47:33 AM

Title: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: suey1958 on December 10, 2019, 07:47:33 AM
I will soon bite the bullet and get a set of pipes for the RD350 project. (Not DG's) (No center stand will be used)
I don't have a welder or fab shop so anything thats close to a bolt on is best for me.

I really like the JL stainless w/carbon tips. I saw the thread where Chuck reworked the connections to stop them from leaking, also the side stand needs some reworking to be just right ?

I know the Spec 2's are favorites for lots of you. Is there any rework that needs to be done on these,...Are the connection points on these OK ? Also, Any side stand issues with these?

Looks like Garrett has the connection issue on the Millennium solved. Kawtriplefreak mentioned that there may some side stand mods needed for these.  Just collecting information,...Thanks   :umm:
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: paul1478 on December 10, 2019, 08:25:06 AM
SPEC2 for the 400 are a very easy bolt on application. I assume same for the 350.
Side stand, well I did the relocation kit from EC and still drags on hard left turns. I need to fix that...
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: Organicjedi on December 10, 2019, 08:34:01 AM
You won't go wrong with any of the options above. All of them will need sidestand work. The way chambers tuck under the bike is right in the path of the sidestand. You can move the sidestand out by either bending it or using HVC Cycle's kit. You can also move the mount forward. Plus the peg on the side of it will need to go.

I like my Spec II classics. I only have experience with those vs stock.

You can get Garret's o-ring manifolds and fit them to JLs if you want. That should stop the leak.
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: SUPERTUNE on December 10, 2019, 08:38:24 AM
Most all chambers need side stand work or relocation kit to work well.
Ian cut his off and moved it on his 400 and works real nice.
As far as performance these 3 are good pipes for power, each one tunes a little different.
The JL's are a frown only because of the headpipe leakage and extensive work to fix do drive the price point higher just to have that GP Race look.
I'll have my new ones from Garrett soon to start testing early next year on the dyno.
Chuck
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: Kawtriplefreak on December 10, 2019, 09:12:18 AM
Moto Carrera now Garrett's would be my choice.
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: 2 Stroke Jamoke on December 10, 2019, 10:14:36 AM
Here are a few pics of my kickstand, like Chuck said I cut it off and moved it foward and over to the side frame rail. It works great, I do think I need a different spring because the stock one wont quite pull it all the way to the frame when it's up. It doesn't drag tho!
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: 2 Stroke Jamoke on December 10, 2019, 10:17:20 AM
Btw I should add if you cut very carefully you can separate the kickstand mount and the frame member it's on without hurting the frame at all. After a quick spray paint the frame looks very nice under there!
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: m in sc on December 10, 2019, 11:15:03 AM
agreed, ive moved a few.

in regards to the pipes: my lomas pipes hanvent ever leaked, but i think im using specII flanges. I cant remember what i did there. Also, theres an o ring in there now.

that being said, garrets pipes or specII's are the way to go IMHO.
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: pdxjim on December 10, 2019, 11:31:06 AM
I have had quite a few different pipes on different bikes thru the years.

I've had Spec2 and Pipelines on an RD350, JL's and M77's on my TDR, Denco's and K2tec on my Triples ...

Anyway, there are only a few variables involved.  Price, fitment, performance and looks.   You can rank those in whatever order makes sense to you.

For my LC, my choices are a few pipes from Japan, a few from the UK, or Garrett's Millennium pipes modded to fit.

I'm in line for a set of Garrett's pipes for a few reasons, number one being he is a friend and close to me, so I can drop the chassis off to him and he can custom fit them to my LC which, of course, has different mounting points and fitment issues than the usual suspects.  He can deal with the center and side stand clearance as well. 

Gary Spec2 Shumake has been in the game a long time, but Garrett is the young upstart ... I like that too.  Garrett's customer service and entrepreneurial spirit are inspiring, and the price point on his pipes are great as well.

As with Chuck, we have a plan to get them on the dyno against some of the other pipes on the market after the new year.   My dyno guy is currently prepping to race and wrench XR69 superbikes with Team America at the Philip Island Classic in Australia, so is a little busy at the moment.  :dawg:
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: Hawaii-Mike on December 10, 2019, 12:48:37 PM
This discussion is  RD related, I want to add for people looking for Kawi triple pipes, Jim Lomas (JL) are the best I have tried.  They cost more but they're worth it.  Some people don't like the look because JL's are long.  I would rather have the best performing pipe even if it's longer.  BTW, do you remember Bassani pipes for RD's?  They are long too.
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: AAAltered on December 10, 2019, 02:22:28 PM
Ive been through many pipes too, currently running Milleniums.  For my bike, kickstand relo Kit *and* turning (cut, move, and reweld the spring hook) the spring 180 degrees was the ticket to get the kick tucked up nice....

(http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff131/aaaltered468/EAC64C4E-F894-4B59-B4AE-20F9E84989A6.jpg) (http://s239.photobucket.com/user/aaaltered468/media/EAC64C4E-F894-4B59-B4AE-20F9E84989A6.jpg.html)

(http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff131/aaaltered468/C4EF7215-BC20-4F71-A648-5FEFDC5923E7.jpg) (http://s239.photobucket.com/user/aaaltered468/media/C4EF7215-BC20-4F71-A648-5FEFDC5923E7.jpg.html)
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: suey1958 on December 11, 2019, 06:53:33 AM
Thanks Guys,  Great Info there,...Not exactly what I was hoping to hear though. Guess I thought some of them would just bolt on like the DG's on my other bike.
Are Spec 2's on the shelf or are they made to order?,... Just curious about turnaround time on those. 
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: m in sc on December 11, 2019, 07:12:38 AM
typically made to order. 3 weeks = 6 typically.

worth it.
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: teazer on December 11, 2019, 12:22:32 PM
I have Bassani, J&R and Jemco for GT750 and they all have their pros and cons.

On my RZ are a set of Spec2 that have been on the bike since I bought it in 93 and they are great pipes.  quiet enough for street use and make good power.

The last RD350 I rebuilt came with JL pipes which looked spectacular and even with pretty radical porting and YZ85 reeds were remarkably streetable.

We had a few sets of DG back in the day and they are good value but not in teh same class.  Also had Swarbick pipes for an RD400 but sold the project before I finished it, so can't comment on how they compare - but they are essentially a race pipe with similar dimensions to JL.

Depends on your priorities.  For top end, try Swarbrick.  For looks JL stainless and great streetable power at reasonable cost Spec2.

Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: pdxjim on December 11, 2019, 01:06:45 PM
Forgot to mention we had a set of Millenniums on the GRA tuned RD350B "kart track racer" we built for the 6hr endurance race last summer.

(https://i.ibb.co/n6mJ1k2/Travis-Bol.jpg)

With the Millennium pipes and GRA tune, it pulled stronger than any RD I've ridden.

Hardest part was keeping the front wheel down.

https://youtu.be/S00ewG-9M1E
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: suey1958 on December 12, 2019, 08:30:40 AM
I would agree with Teazer that the best looking pipes are the JL'$   :righteous:    (imo they would look better if they weren't quite as long though)
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: paul1478 on December 12, 2019, 09:15:33 AM
I also think they sound the best.
Title: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: Seizer on December 12, 2019, 12:54:50 PM
Me too. Shortened them up with some JL shorty carbon cans.


https://youtu.be/Zn_s0zsAbck

And with original cans


https://youtu.be/7EgLLC-FtqQ
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: pdxjim on December 12, 2019, 04:53:33 PM
Sounds great Chris!

I do agree the JL's sound fantastic when new.  Keep in mind tho, after a few hundred miles the zingy sound deadens quite a bit as the insides and silencers get coated with oil and carbon.  I got these for my TDR almost 15 years ago, and are hanging up in the garage currently as I've got other pipes on now.

(https://i.ibb.co/xYc9BCj/3-CEC92-EB-7-A6-A-409-A-B765-F0-A88-FC74-FEE.jpg)
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: Seizer on December 12, 2019, 06:19:08 PM
I bet those TDRs are so much fun. I've ridden cafe/sportbikes the majority of my life. This year I bought a Tuono and the upright riding position really makes it enjoyable. Now considering some drag bars on the RD too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: suey1958 on December 13, 2019, 05:21:05 AM
Sounds Great Seizer !
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: Seizer on December 13, 2019, 11:17:25 PM
Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: quocle603 on December 14, 2019, 06:35:36 AM
It really depends on what you're looking for...I went to HVC cycle chambers because someone was selling them for 400 dollars shipped. I had them on and rode around a lot on the freeway, which was fine but when I moved back into the city, it was a different story. I ended up switching back to stock pipes and it was better on the low and mid range for me.
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: GRA2STROKES on December 15, 2019, 10:47:51 AM
Thanks for the good words jim about the pipes. I have used all the pipes mentioned above and they all have the same issue with the kickstand fortunately for me I can my own pipes and have total control over what's going on with them. For me and what I want to offer is a modified kickstand not really a relocation kit. My plan is to move the spring to the front side bs the rear and to cut the kick stand only keeping the very top and the foot. From there use a straight tube vs a bent rod that was designed to tuck under a stock pipe. You should end up with the same angle and length at the end of the day. A lot of people have just simply bent the kickstand to clear which causes the bike to lean over a ridiculous amount. 

I've ran Jim Loomas back to back with fpp and couldn't tell a difference other than they look very nice but are spendy. I've ran spec 2 classics his latest design for them to my pipes prior to owning them and hands down they way out performed spec 2 pipes. The first set of pipes I have built is going on a customer bike and my dad will be riding it to do the tuning. He has never ridden or used the pipes so I will report back with his input.


Garrett

You can check out my section for pics and what not.
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: Dvsrd on April 04, 2020, 08:49:32 PM
Anyone have an idea what a pair of Spec 2 classics cost these days? Mild steel raw/uncoated.
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: 85RZwade on April 04, 2020, 10:21:36 PM
I would say check Gary's website, but...well, you know
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: thatguy on April 04, 2020, 10:31:48 PM
Quote from: 85RZwade on April 04, 2020, 10:21:36 PM
I would say check Gary's website, but...well, you know

That's some vintage internet there. :D
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: SUPERTUNE on April 04, 2020, 10:38:24 PM
Very close to $840 shipped to FL.
More for oversea's I would think.
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: Striker1423 on April 05, 2020, 04:00:35 PM
Quote from: SUPERTUNE on April 04, 2020, 10:38:24 PM
Very close to $840 shipped to FL.
More for oversea's I would think.

I talked to him last summer. He said to MI it would be around $750. So perhaps the cost went up a bit.
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: teazer on April 05, 2020, 04:28:48 PM
Side stands are an issue alright.

Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: Seizer on April 05, 2020, 11:18:54 PM
Quote from: teazer on April 05, 2020, 04:28:48 PM
Side stands are an issue alright.

Ugh....
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: SUPERTUNE on April 05, 2020, 11:40:52 PM
Cut the mount off and move it forward on the frame. Less work on the arm if you do.
Chuck
Title: Re: If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?
Post by: bhh1989 on April 07, 2020, 01:43:52 PM
I just received my set of Garrett's Millennium GP pipes and he has really taken the original design up several notches (I had a pair of the originals). The new mounting flange, removable silencers, the rubber mounts... I am stoked with these.