I want a Kerker

trianglelaguna wrote:

is'nt that like a i.q test for toddlers...don't touch the hot stove...but if you do you will learn....man i swear i pressed so hard on our one bent burner....i pressed hard enough to bend it back itno it's holder..but i had just cranked it to high 3 seconds before.....OH F___...it smelled like burned flesh and put a giant white universe tatoo on my palm and fingers...there was puff of smoke and crackle sound like steakhouse t.v add......don't cook before fully awake...must make note!

I thought you already had callouses on your fingers from touching your pipes to see which cylinders are firing :laugh: :laugh:

Kaw... Tri's a manly man... Doesn't use his fingers for exhaust heat measurements....:blink:

What's all this have to do with wanting a Kerker????? :huh:

Already past that phase...

Hell, bottom line is if you want a Kerker for what ever reason you choose (we all had our reasons such as sound, performance, looks etc...) then you go buy one... Can't get any simpler as that...

There wasn't a question (unless I missed it) such as whats better V&H vs. Kerker vs Yoshi... That came from the rest of us throwing our 2 cents worth in..... :S :laugh:

having been off the boards for a whil due to life doing it'd ususl thing around here. I came on here the other night for the first time in OH SO long to see what the latest scuttlebutt was on 4 into 1... as my thirty year old V/H has finaly worn a hole in the bottom when the collector has the usual speed bump ding. Anyways the point I was after was , in all this talk about pipes, no one has used the word stainless steel .. Is it that there isn't one for our older bikes? Will I need to copy off my old 4in1 to get one? And as to the part about how far down the headers hang, in MHO it has to do with engin heat control. It would seem to be a toss off between ground clearance and having this "oven" snuggled up close toyour oil pan/sump.. and as these old bikes are cooled mainly by the oil...yada yada.. As most would know, heat is the main killer of oils ability to do it's thing. So if I were in the pipe business I'd sure not want to get the rep of being a maker of engin cookers. Sides , as I remember back when I first bought this bike, having a header was for improvement of clearances in the curves as well as HP... So we could be all bad in the twisties...

If you ride a 650/750 look for a zr7-s pipe, they are full stainless systems and since they are factory kit they sell for fairly cheap on ebay.

If you have a 1000 I think there is an Italian company that makes a stainless 4 into 1.

Leather... I have a couple web sites I've found for SS and Titanium piping and collectors if you need.... Not cheap $$$ but what is these days...

In another posting, researching to make my own based on the 70's era Yoshi concept.... 4-1 collector to 3" exhaust/muffler end...

I can't remember where I saw the stainless system before; but when using google to try and find it I found these....


yoshimura-shop.netmove.co.jp/ap/dtcat?p=...2_e/c_cycl3_e&d=1606

yoshimura-shop.netmove.co.jp/ap/dtcat?p=...2_e/c_cycl3_e&d=1608


Nice looking pipes, no price listed however. I wonder if they still make these.

Wow - this thread actually got back on topic...

Good quality stainless steel 4-1 pipes from Japan start at about $700.00 and go up from there.

There is a very good selection of 4-1, 4-2 and even 4-4 pipes in stainless and titanium - although I know you won't like some of the prices. The titanium 4-4 pipes (done in the style of the Z1 4-4's) cost over $3,000.00 for the set.

hardr0ck68 wrote:

I can't remember where I saw the stainless system before; but when using google to try and find it I found these....


yoshimura-shop.netmove.co.jp/ap/dtcat?p=...2_e/c_cycl3_e&d=1606

yoshimura-shop.netmove.co.jp/ap/dtcat?p=...2_e/c_cycl3_e&d=1608


Nice looking pipes, no price listed however. I wonder if they still make these.

Woho--- I don't even want to guess the price on those. :ohmy: :blink: :blink:

Well Yoshi design, not Kerker (on subject)...

Jeff, since you mentioned in a posting regarding V&H & your dissatisfaction and in regards to V&H & Keker KZ production stops....

Outside of the 2 to 2 exhaust @ Z1, will you be offering the Kerker or another name brand 4-1 exhaust system?

OMR - we often have Kerker pipes on the shelf - we just don't have them on the web site (yet... note to self - bug Steve to add them to our web site). Currently we have at least one chrome 4-1 for the KZ900/KZ1000 in stock.

We can get any of the Kerker pipes still made.

A year or so ago when we dropped V&H, we looked at stocking lots of Kerker pipes. Unfortunately about that same time Kerker dropped the majority of the pipes we'd want to carry. All the pipes for the 70's and early 80's Suzuki GS's were dropped. The Honda DOHC pipes were dropped. Many of the Kawasaki pipes were dropped... so there's only a handful left... We'd researched 25 pipes we'd wanted to carry only to have Kerker drop nearly 80% of them.

We have looked at either importing pipes, or getting them made. The importing part is getting tougher - we were contacted by an overseas (European) pipe maker - but the importation paperwork is getting ugly. Pre-1979 pipes are not difficult to import - BUT, in 1979 the EPA/DOT regulations concerning emissions kicked in. Technically all 1979 or later pipes being imported HAVE to adhere to the EPA/DOT regulations. Some companies are currently getting around this by only importing race pipes... even though they get used on the road. This is treading on very thin ice - Dynojet was nailed a couple of years ago for selling power commanders strictly for off-road/competition use - but the CARB (California Emissions Enforcers) folks took a very skeptical view of cruisers being used for off-road or circuit racing - Dynojet was nailed $1,000,000.00 for this and forced to provide retrofit kits making the bikes compliant again.

Even companies like Kerker and V&H are going to feel the heat on this. The laws in most states actually prohibit most of the aftermarket pipes being sold today - but very rarely do these laws get enforced - that's changing. You are starting to see jurisdictions inspecting bikes for compliant exhaust systems. Anything 1978 or older is likely to slide without any issues - but theoretically, any 1979 or later bike should be running an OEM pipe or one compliant to the EPA/DOT standards.

Not helping any of this - the US Dollar is not in great shape against the Yen - so that market is very expensive at the moment - and that's were all the VERY nice pipes seem to come from.