exhaust opinions

im in the market for a ne exhaust for my 750 four cafe. i would like to know some of you guys experences. MAC, V&H, Kerker? any sound bites or photos of your bikes. thanks guys

gixxerkidd03 wrote: im in the market for a ne exhaust for my 750 four cafe. i would like to know some of you guys experences. MAC, V&H, Kerker? any sound bites or photos of your bikes. thanks guys

Have used Kerkers since the brand was established back in the 70s, they were good enough that Kawasaki teamed up with them to offer a "Kawasaki by Kerker" 4-into-1 exhaust -- I have one on my 1978 Kz1000. Vance and Hines used to be backed by solid engine research, don't know if the founders, who were drag racers, sold their company or not.

Me personally, I would first look to find which brand has a volume of re-jetting advice on this forum and on the web, because if you don't re-jet to flow more fuel, you can suffer a drop in performance and if you get a chrome system, the chrome can turn blue because you may run lean and when you run lean the motor runs hot. Plan on a re-jet, and try to figure out if you can get instructions on that either from the pipe manufacturer or online.

Mac for torque,Kerker for horsepower and a beautiful well made pipe.

Now for twice the price you can get a not so quality product from kerker. I agree with the sound from the kerker pipe is divine, so too is the sound from a Vance Pipe with a comp baffle. I'd not know if they offer much for those bikes new any more but my cash would buy a Vance and Hines pipe. Again quality on all of these new production pipes is absolutely less than par ESPECIALLY when the pipes are going for more than 6 bills for a kerker.
When I first got my kz 1000 years ago I knew a drag racer. He was totally serious, had his own business and made all his income from racing and wrenching. Fabulous guy. He told me if I wanted sound, Kerker, wanna win in the quarter mile Vance. He changed my mind about kerker fairly quickly.
Personally, I don't see either being much better than the other. So it's personal taste. If cost is an issue then without a doubt go for vance and hines. Looks great, sounds great and has really good gains when piped, jetted and podded.
Why don't you youtube it and find out. There are many many videos of exhaust sounds to choose from

I used my Kerker for a long time, but recently switched to (most of) a factory pipe from a ZR-7. The Kerker had a couple dents, probably enough to affect flow.



The ZR-7 exhaust is insulated double-wall stainless. Heavier, but hard to get much higher quality, and check out those crazy cross pipes!





I ditched the enormous muffler and cut probably about a foot off of the end of the pipe. Between that, and leaving my center stand at home, this system is actually a little bit lighter than the Kerker.







I picked up a Supertrapp spark arrestor.















Maybe just slightly louder than the Kerker, but this pipe just sings when you wind it out! I've become a fan of parking garages, usually doing a few extra laps around the structure (ahem) looking for a good spot.

Most importantly, it's yielded some performance gains. My seat of pants dyno tells me it makes a couple more ponies, and it does so more smoothly. I actually have to keep a closer eye on my tach, this motor will happily rev way higher than I feel comfortable with 33 year old valve springs.

really cool. that seemed like that worked pretty well for ya. i went ahead and just orderd the V&H 4-1. i will post a build thread once i get the bike running. thanks for all the input guys

so today i recieved my V&H 4-1 today. it came with the 8 exhaust spacers ( which were to long and i use my old ones). i wondering if the 4 exhaust flanges are suppose to bolt up flush with the head and if there a certain sequence your suppose to tighten them? it seems i can get riders right flange to bolt flush with out an issue but the rest dont seem to want to. the last thing i want to do is snap off a stud or something. i didn't spend a whole ton of time on it but i thought it would go a little smoother. any tips??

someone?

Installation of exhaust system.

Assure the old exhaust gaskets are removed from the head, as they are sometimes so encrusted into the head you don't realize they're still there.

Would also check for a second old gasket encrusted in the exhaust port. Sometimes, two old gaskets are used during reassembly instead of one new gasket.

Would always use new copper crush gaskets.

Usually the split collars are okay to reinstall (after cleaning with wire brush).

After removing all old gaskets, and cleaning the engine exhaust port recess areas with q-tips and acetone, use a dab of Permatex high-temp copper silicone to hold each new gasket in its place inside the port. Let the Permatex set up for a few minutes so it will hold the gaskets in place while you're busy keeping all the collars and clamps together and pushing the header into position without parts falling all over. For me, grease is just too messy and imo less effective toward enhancing the seal.

Fit a pair of split collars onto each header pipe with the small non-flared end pointing toward the engine to press against the flared ends of the header pipes. The flared ends of the split collars fit into recesses in the exhaust clamps.

In other words, the split collars are positioned with the plain end abutting the header flange and with the other end (the curved end) snugly fitted inside the clamp channel. Sometimes it requires some maneuvering to assure close snug fit at the clamp/collar interface.

If preferred, may use masking tape or rubber bands to hold the split collars in place together on the pipe during the installation.
Then it's much easier to lift and maneuver the header into position when only having to fool with the clamps and assuring fitment at all the clamp/collar interfaces.

So with exhaust clamps hanging loosely around header pipes and new copper gaskets fitted inside the head recesses with a dab of hi-temp sealant holding them in position, and split collars taped in position, hold the headers in place on the head against the gaskets.

While holding everything in position, loosely start the clamp holder nuts onto the exhaust studs, and assure all parts being properly fitted and aligned before tightening the exhaust stud nuts against the collars.

Clamps press against split collars.

Split collars press against header flanges.

Header flanges press against copper gaskets.

Good luck with the installation.

Good Fortune!

verynice. im outta bed and heading to the garage! i will let you know how all this goes. thanks alot!

new tank and exhaust. what do you guys think?

the v/h header looks great on your bike!!!!!!!!! think you'll be very happy with the performance... if it is a bit quiet with the baffle?? try removing the packing or possibly cutting down the baffle if you need a bit more sound... believe you made a good choice on exhaust and saved a lot of money also!!!