MAC vs. Stock sound?

1982 KZ1100, Stock exhaust but right side muffler has rusted out.

Looking at replacements which aren't noisy. It appears that the MAC 4-1 is the only one available. How much noisier than stock is it?

The other alternative is to find generic mufflers and bolt on to the existing headers.

Thoughts?

Well, It will be noisier than stock. Can't say how much, but it will be. I have a Kerker and love the 4/1 sound. You will need to rejet also. Have you checked ebay?

going from stock to mac made my bike a bit louder in the lower rpm range, and quite a bit louder in the upper rpm range, nothing too loud, it wasnt as loud as new ninjas (till I took out the baffle:evil: )
Scott

Bluemeanie wrote:

Well, It will be noisier than stock. Can't say how much, but it will be. I have a Kerker and love the 4/1 sound. You will need to rejet also. Have you checked ebay?

When replacing the exhaust with aftermarket parts, how do you know which jets to get for the rejet?

slater_kz550 wrote:

Bluemeanie wrote:

Well, It will be noisier than stock. Can't say how much, but it will be. I have a Kerker and love the 4/1 sound. You will need to rejet also. Have you checked ebay?

When replacing the exhaust with aftermarket parts, how do you know which jets to get for the rejet?

A free flowing aftermarket exhaust will flow more and your engine will need more fuel, so you go up to larger jet sizes. 1 or 2 steps on the main is a good start. Then you start reading your plugs and fine tune it from there.

I couldn't find stock replacement mufflers for my KZ550 so ended up with a Mac 4 into 1. Mac claims no rejetting is necessary, and once I cleaned and reset the carb adjustments to stock, I haven't felt the need to rejet. The bike still stumbles at idle until it's well warmed up, but then it's a 26 year old well used engine. It could probably use a little more air coming in from the box, but I won't play with it unless it becomes a problem.

It is not particularly louder, but it sounds like crap compared to stock. Think of an AMC pacer with a hole in the muffler. It's a farty and raw sound compared to the smooth and low roar from the stock pipes.

I have a set of 87 cop bike mufflers for $50 plus ship from Atlanta. They are chrome and look fine from the top and sides. I hope to be where the bikes are on Sunday and can measure if you like.

Here is what my MAC 4-into-1 sounded like before I took the whole damn bike apart...

video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7945586270369492607&hl=en

Here is how it stands today...



Post edited by: sheik*yerbouti, at: 2007/01/27 15:33

A lot depends on what type of baffle is in the pipe. I went from a Yosh pipe with no baffle, that was very loud, to a Kerker with a street baffle, which I thought was too quite. I have grown to like it though.

I put a MAC black ceramic 4 into 2 on my ST as I hated the look of their 4 into 2 w/turnouts. The sound with baffles isn't all that loud. I have an S&S 4 into 2 on one of my carb test bikes and it is similiar and similar to a baffled 4 into 1 Kerker. I don't consider these systems loud. No heads turn when I am driving in town normally. At highway speeds above 80 mph, the exhaust note is somewhat louder than a stock system.

I put a MAC black ceramic 4 into 2 on my ST as I hated the look of their 4 into 2 w/turnouts. The sound with baffles isn't all that loud. I have an S&S 4 into 2 on one of my carb test bikes and it is similiar and similar to a baffled 4 into 1 Kerker. I don't consider these systems loud. No heads turn when I am driving in town normally. At highway speeds above 80 mph, the exhaust note is somewhat louder than a stock system.

but where the hell is the reply to *my* post...? It's got video and everything!

(edit) - ok my girlfriend typed that when we got home while i was in the hopper...

Post edited by: sheik*yerbouti, at: 2007/01/28 01:42