If you were buying expansion chambers today,..What brand would you buy?

[suey1958]

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   

[paul1478]

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...

[Organicjedi]

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.

[SUPERTUNE]

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

[Kawtriplefreak]

Moto Carrera now Garrett's would be my choice.

[2 Stroke Jamoke]

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!

[2 Stroke Jamoke]

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!

[m in sc]

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.

[pdxjim]

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. 

[Hawaii-Mike]

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.

[AAAltered]

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....

[suey1958]

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. 

[m in sc]

typically made to order. 3 weeks = 6 typically.

worth it.

[teazer]

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.

[pdxjim]

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.



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