I want it LOUD!

OK.... You might have read in a previous post, I just got a '99 KZ1000P that I did a upper end rebuild on. I am going to do some mods to make it more of a cruiser and less of a police ride (ie no fairing, lower the backend, new seats....)

Now... what can I do to make it a loud cruiser, well not really a super loud thing -- you know what I'm talking about -- normal cruiser loudeness. Now the kz with standard 2 in 1 pipes and megaphone mufflers is super quiet. Should I chop the pipes right before the megaphone? Any other ideas? (luckily I don't live in an area that has any stupid laws about modifications and what not...)

Thanks

4 into 1 's sound pretty good. If all you want is loud, maybe one of those x pipes that's always on Ebay??? The pipes on those are really short.

Is attenuation of frequency a concern or do you just want volume?

That is, if you take the muffler off.....do you like the "tone" (I don't, but maybe you do), or are you looking for a deeper or grumblier sound?

Post edited by: Virii, at: 2007/06/28 12:11

Deep grumbly is GOOD!

I'd recommend against short chopping it, then. Designing your sound can be tricky but you can get it close easily enough with some minor fiddling.

Short and baffle/packing-less and you'll get volume but at the cost of your desired frequency ratio, increasing high frequency permiation in this case.

First, pull out any baffles or packing you currently have leaving your length and diameter as is and see if you like the volume and tone (under load, your compression waves are going to obviously cause some changes but this is a good starting point)

From there, you could redesign your insert or baffle, lengthen or shorten your pipes as you see fit. I think an empty straight is tinny so I made a custom perforated standoff insert that increases the diameter and length of the passage. You can cut out a lot of the high frequency later if you're not opposed to an insert (for example), focus on the volume and the low frequency, is that about where you want it?

The sound I wanted needed a packing standoff with .125" stainless walls in a 1.9" inside diameter pipe perforated to fiber backing and finally outter lined with small strips of roofing tar (which does little for the overall sound but prevents muffler casing vibration). I went just a couple of inches longer than the standard outlet pipe. I do lose a lot of volume but it's *definately* louder than stock and I lose a significant amount of high frequency.

Post edited by: Virii, at: 2007/06/28 12:35

So, as a vulgar generalization...straight and open will get you more decibels (it's actually quite a bit even without going shorter). Then get rid of some of the high tones. Fiber does a pretty good job of cutting out high end (do a tight packing in your case).

If you wanted, the stock mufflers have space to "kill" (HAHA heeh..heh ....yeah, anyway), offering a veritable smorgasbord of options ranging from micro resonation chambers to a multitude of different packing and baffling options but I think for your case, a simple open pipe with fiber will put you about where you might want to be. Will be louder without being too tinny and will give you some throatiness (is that a word?)

Post edited by: Virii, at: 2007/06/28 17:57

Oh....don't forget your jetting changes...but that's a diffent story.

Wolfie,

How does one remove the baffles from a stock 4-2 exhaust on a '78 KZ1000? I've not tried removing them, but from just a quick look from the back, it looks like they're welded in there.

Sorry if I'm missing something obvious here. I've still got a lot to learn.

You might be seeing some epoxy or aluminum beading. I had an XS650 years back (without the inturned megaphone) with massive amounts of crud I had to scrape out and two rivets to drill but I was committed to a stock look and I get a sense of satisfaction from taking things apart, particularly if I'm not "supposed to".

I've seen some megaphones that appear to have rivets holding the inturned end and baffle so you may want to check for that first. If that's the case, kill the rivets and you'll probably have your baffle.

On the XS650, I ended up working the majority of the bead out with a large cylindrical drill (similar to what you'd use on a door handle) and using a multitude of dremmel attachments before I got to the point where I could just give it a nice big yank.