Are MAC exhaust's any good?

Time has come for me to replace the exhaust on the Ltd. I See lots of MAC Exhausts on Ebay and wonder are they any good? Will I need to rejet if I fit one? Can I still get at the drain plug and the Filter. I have only ever fitted Motad and they are the business. Also what are Vance and Hynes like? Anyway thanks Guys

Are you looking for a 4 to 2 Mac's or 4 to 1? I have a 4 to 2 I may be selling.

MAC pipes are probably the lowest quality of the pipes on the market today - and priced accordingly. In some cases they are the only option for a bike. They are usable, but on many of the models, they use a flimsy steel plate as the exhaust flange. This plate bends easily causing exhaust gasket sealing issues, owners then overtighten the nuts - and bend or break studs...


I have a MAC pipe on a GS1000 (it came with the bike) - it works - the black look is OK. I also had a similar pipe on a CB750 DOHC - and it rattled horribly in the muffler - just a bad weld internally that couldn't be fixed easily.

cheap made, in this case you get what you pay for

Jeff.Saunders wrote: MAC pipes are probably the lowest quality of the pipes on the market today - and priced accordingly. In some cases they are the only option for a bike. They are usable, but on many of the models, they use a flimsy steel plate as the exhaust flange. This plate bends easily causing exhaust gasket sealing issues, owners then overtighten the nuts - and bend or break studs...


I have a MAC pipe on a GS1000 (it came with the bike) - it works - the black look is OK. I also had a similar pipe on a CB750 DOHC - and it rattled horribly in the muffler - just a bad weld internally that couldn't be fixed easily.

Jeff, was this always the case with the MAC's. The reason I ask is the set I have just changed out seems to be very good quality. And I'm comparing it with the Kerker (old Kerker which I read some people is better quality than the current version). The gauge of the metal seems to be just as good as the Kerker. And the chrome seems good too. No pealing or anything. Don't know how old these MAC's are but they are the kind that flare out to the sides. Just wondering. But I know even back in the day (70's, 80's), the MAC's were thought to be inferior to the KERKER's, Yoshiumra and Vance and Hines (at least I think V&N they were around). But I seem to have always had the feelings that the MAC's and Jardines were comparable. Please feel free to set the record straight. I'm just going by seemed to be the popular back then.

I had an older MAC 4 into 1 pipe, I installed it on this bike. It was of good quality, don't really like the sound, sounded really wimpy, to quiet.

With all the fitment issues Ive had/fixed for myself and others with vance & hines in the past 10 years Id rather take my chances with a mac,I think Id rather have a pipe made by duncan hines than vance & hines these days! :sick: :woohoo:
Anybody remember who used to make those early yosh pipes for pops that everybody likes so much?
Hers a clue,It wasnt vance and hines! :woohoo:

KZJOE900 wrote:

Jeff.Saunders wrote: MAC pipes are probably the lowest quality of the pipes on the market today - and priced accordingly. In some cases they are the only option for a bike. They are usable, but on many of the models, they use a flimsy steel plate as the exhaust flange. This plate bends easily causing exhaust gasket sealing issues, owners then overtighten the nuts - and bend or break studs...


I have a MAC pipe on a GS1000 (it came with the bike) - it works - the black look is OK. I also had a similar pipe on a CB750 DOHC - and it rattled horribly in the muffler - just a bad weld internally that couldn't be fixed easily.

Jeff, was this always the case with the MAC's. The reason I ask is the set I have just changed out seems to be very good quality. And I'm comparing it with the Kerker (old Kerker which I read some people is better quality than the current version). The gauge of the metal seems to be just as good as the Kerker. And the chrome seems good too. No pealing or anything. Don't know how old these MAC's are but they are the kind that flare out to the sides. Just wondering. But I know even back in the day (70's, 80's), the MAC's were thought to be inferior to the KERKER's, Yoshiumra and Vance and Hines (at least I think V&N they were around). But I seem to have always had the feelings that the MAC's and Jardines were comparable. Please feel free to set the record straight. I'm just going by seemed to be the popular back then.

My recent experience is just with pipes that came on bikes I bought. In the case of the CB750 DOHC, the MAC was at least 5 years old. In the case of the GS1000, the MAC was very new when I bought that bike - probable one 1-2 years old. What does not seem to have changed is captive exhaust flanges - these are the weak point in their design. We've had more than one or two customers who have broken studs overtightening the nuts.

I fitted this two into one MAC system onto my 750B4. One of the flanges wouldn't fit up against the head good enough to seal. I used a piece of closet dowel to tweak the pipe around so that the flange would mate up.

Once I got the jetting right, took a couple of tries, I've been satisfied. At the time MAC was the only company selling a two into one system for a twin.

Bill
Had to use IE to post this pic.

It seems like every header Ive come across in the past with those built in flanges made from thin plate has had the flanged bent by some weight lifting gorrilla,they need to make some sort of spacer that fits over the studs to limit how far you can crank the nuts down on them.
Im a big fan of those big ol stock flanges just for this very reason.

KZCSI wrote:

I fitted this two into one MAC system onto my 750B4. One of the flanges wouldn't fit up against the head good enough to seal. I used a piece of closet dowel to tweak the pipe around so that the flange would mate up.

Once I got the jetting right, took a couple of tries, I've been satisfied. At the time MAC was the only company selling a two into one system for a twin.

Bill
Had to use IE to post this pic.

This is the same set I put on my B4. I got it used, it was pretty good quality, fit easily but I do have to use double gaskets on one port to get a tight exhaust seal.

It jets same as stock: 125 main jet, the 45 pilot runs OK but a 50 pilot jet runs better.

bountyhunter wrote:

KZCSI wrote:

I fitted this two into one MAC system onto my 750B4. One of the flanges wouldn't fit up against the head good enough to seal. I used a piece of closet dowel to tweak the pipe around so that the flange would mate up.

Once I got the jetting right, took a couple of tries, I've been satisfied. At the time MAC was the only company selling a two into one system for a twin.

Bill
Had to use IE to post this pic.

This is the same set I put on my B4. I got it used, it was pretty good quality, fit easily but I do have to use double gaskets on one port to get a tight exhaust seal.

It jets same as stock: 125 main jet, the 45 pilot runs OK but a 50 pilot jet runs better.

I do like the exhaust sound. It's got a good punch without any sharpness.

Bill