MAC exaust system

I finally found an exhaust system for my 1982 kz550 ltd, has anyone used this exhaust? have any comments before i order it, it is a brand new system

I have a Mac 4 into 1 on my 81 550. It's not nearly as good as stock, but it works. It sounds like a Briggs & Stratton compared to the sound of the stock pipes.

I put it on four years ago when the stockers rotted completely out, and I couldn't find stock replacements. Mac was the only complete system available and it was inexpensive.

It went on very easily. It was a little fussy getting all four head pipes to seat properly and not leak, and it took some time to sort out attaching the muffler bracket at the passenger footpeg. Mac ships the pipe with a bolt on bracket to allow retention of the centre stand.

Mac claims no jetting is necessary when changing from stock pipes. I find my 550 is rougher than ever on startup, and was initially stumbling until 4000 RPM. However, I cleaned the carbs and reset everything, including the adjustment screws, to stock settings, put in a clean new air filter, and most of those problems have cleared up. It still starts terribly, but once warmed up it even idles without stalling (!!!). I suspect a freer breathing air filter would probably help.

Since putting the Mac on I've been considering alternatives. It occurs to me that anything that fits a 550 Zephyr should work with a KZ550. The engine specs are very similar. I'm not sure if the head pipes are the same diameter. The Zephyr came with a 4-2-1 chrome pipe when new, I think, which would probably sound and look vastly better than the Mac. But it would probably cost three times as much too.

If this link works, this is the Mac pipe I have.

www.macperformance.com/store/category.cfm?SID=3&Category_ID=628

I hope this helps.

Thanks for the input, so it did not improve your performance?? That sucks it sounds so bad.

Well, I couldn't have continued riding with the stock pipes, so anything that kept it running was a good thing.

For the money, the Mac pipes are fine. They do the job, and weren't much of a headache to install. I really didn't expect a performance gain, but then I'm always sceptical of anyone claiming big gains just from swapping a pipe on a 25+ year old bike.

If and when I get around to prettying up the bike, I will probably look into the stock Zephyr pipes.

KZDon wrote:

Well, I couldn't have continued riding with the stock pipes, so anything that kept it running was a good thing.

For the money, the Mac pipes are fine. They do the job, and weren't much of a headache to install. I really didn't expect a performance gain, but then I'm always sceptical of anyone claiming big gains just from swapping a pipe on a 25+ year old bike.

If and when I get around to prettying up the bike, I will probably look into the stock Zephyr pipes.

As you can see in my sig line, I have the Mac 2-1, and I pretty much agree w/KZDon. I don't think it will improve performance but don't think it will hurt either...and they are cheap

Something I didn't ask was whether you still have stock pipes on the bike and what condition they are in. If the stockers are serviceable, stick with them. Besides, they look muuuuuuch better.

I have to agree with everything Don said. On my 81 550 I had to make my own muffler bracket, (It's just a piece of metal with 2 holes in it).

It definitely needs rejetting if you want it to run smooth at lower RPMs when cold, but even then, I don't know if it will ever run as smooth as stock. It breathes a lot more than stock.

Don't like the sound, but at least the price was ok. You can always put a different muffler on it like a Kerker K series canister if you can find one. I bought it really just for the 4-1 pipes.