Kerker vs. MAC

In looking into a 4 into 1 exhaust, should i spend the extra money and get a kerker, or is it not worth it??

I think the MAC "canister" is a better pipe as far as performance goes. The Kerker is quite a bit louder and physically larger. I have both and I do not like the Kerker. The Kerker though has a better quality finish. as far as the black pipes go. The chrome pipes are of the same quality. since I have both- If I had another choice- I would take the MAC. This is just my opinion though.

Having used exhausts from both Kerker and MAC I would agree that Kereker has the better finish. I much prefer the sound of a semi-open Kerker baffle to just about anything on a 4 cylinder Kaw. I think the Kerkers are worth the money, just my opinion though. Kerker seems to have a soft spot in the middle powerbands, and a bit of a surge near the top end. My expereince with MAC 4-1 was a smoother power band. But there are a lot of factors at play other then just the exhaust. Either one is an improvemtn over stock, and a big one at that.

my experience is that kerkers bottom out on some bikes and get dents....for a number of fixable reasons probably....that said i have never had a mac ....but....otakar seems to be spot on with his advice on all things that i've had experience with too.so i would trust him 100%....that is just me though......

that also said.......kerkers go with kawi's like apple pie and vanilla ice cream .....and are a sure bet to wake up the neighbors....they have a cool factor and the chrome ones are beautiful as long as they are in good shape.....

good luck ,craig

As far as other modifications go with pipes (jets), is the MAC or Kerker a bigger pain in the ass??

I like the Kerker.The Kerker i have had for the last 10 tears or so has been welded. hammered on and been on several bikes.
The Mac is a bit thin walled it seems. The Mac is a good torque pipe but i like the Kerker since i'm not looking or bottom end any way. I have run Mac and Kerker on the same bike with the same carbs and didn't have to rejet.
Wired Georges site probably will get you in the ball park with jetteing. Roy

What I have found is that as the Kerker looses its glass packing it starts to take the engine a bit lean. With MAC however this is not a problem. Now on the other hand if you decide to go with the Kerker "Can" pipe over the "megaphone" pipe, (the ons that came on the ELRs) these are known as "K" series, those are much better pipes and have the best of both worlds. If you decide on a Kerker go with the "K" series.

Probably depends on what bike the Mac was made for. The Mac on my firends Honda was very different than the Mac on my bike. Having both the Kerker and the Mac on GPZ's, I like the kerker much better. The Mac is louder and sounds like BB's in a coffee can. The Kerker is throatier and deeper.

I have two with Kerkers and one with a Mac (that bike previously had one fo the Kerkers).

To agree with Otakar, I'm talking about a K-series, street-baffled, aluminum canister Kerker, not the megaphone type. Also the Mac is a chrome canister type.

As far as bottom clearance, they are about the same.

The Kerker can almost use stock jetting. Well, it can if you don't mind taking a little longer to warm up the bike. The Mac required total rejetting on the mains and pilots. (Both were on the same bike with no other changes.)

The Mac seems to have less back pressure, at least at lower RPMs than the Kerker, hence the larger pilots. On the Highway, I haven't noticed any real performance edge of one over the other, but it is pretty hard to judge that on different days and different bikes.

Seems to me, though, if it needs bigger mains, then it's using more gas and therefore more power? Or is it just wasting the gas somehow? Don't know. Since I don't race, I don't really care. I prefer the Kerker though, just for aesthetics and sound, but the Mac is worth the money because it's so inexpensive compared to the price of the unobtanium the Kerker is made from.

Last year I was looking in to new pipes for my 1000LTD. I looked at the MAC, Kerker, and Vance & Hines I ended up buying the V&H megaphone and I like it a lot. Looks good fit on the bike easly and I like the sound. Very noticeable power gain over the stock pipe.
Others here have had problems fitting them to their bikes, mabey I was just lucky? The Kerker was more that $200 more than the V&H or MAC and I dont know why.
Tom

Mercymac wrote:

In looking into a 4 into 1 exhaust, should i spend the extra money and get a kerker, or is it not worth it??

I've never owned a Kerker, but I have had three different Macs over the years. They fit reasonably well, are louder than stock (of course), but they lasted for as long as I owned the bikes. I noticed two downsides. The first was the collars that came with the pipe were flimsy and I kept the sotck ones on. The second was, one pipe that I had on a suzi GS450 rattled rather that roared. On the whole I would buy another one.

hope this helps....Sam

So i went on to Denniskirk to look up the K series exhuast, and it doesnt specify if it is a K series or not.. they have two kerkers listed, one is 540 and the other is 664, so im guessing the more expensive one is a k series??

www.denniskirk.com/jsp/product_catalog/P...afCatId=&mmyId=14606

I ride with a Ducati rider, a FJR1300 rider, and my fatherinlaws electraglide. Everyone agrees my bike sounds the best. It has the kerker megaphone, I've never had the Kerker canister or the mac. I like what I like tho. I likes the kerker.(sorry, goofy comment, I likes the crown too!!!)