OK guys, real talk: IS a Kerker worth it?

My dudes!!

THIS is why I love motorcycle forums, guys. THANK YOU. Wow. Just wow. I've belonged to the VJMOG, 2-stroke World, CB1100F.net (still a member), and the ZRXOA forum. ALL are great....and now I'm loving KZrider.

Boy......that is really disheartening - but also not terribly surprising - that the new Kerker quality isn't even in the same stratosphere as the old ones. *Sigh*......that sucks. I'm sold on the Delk now.....you just can't beat stainless, plus the price is less than HALF of a Kerker.

I'm KICKING my own face for not pulling the trigger on a NOS Supertrapp that popped up on eBay this winter. And it was cheeeaaapp.....like, 275.00...or something like that. Would have created a marital kerfuffle though...lol. Wife rides a 2001 W650.....so, she's in the cool-kids Kawi club, but she and I have VERY different financial approaches to motorbike ownership! LOL!

OK - wow. Digesting all of this. I'll keep looking. Yeah - I'm seeing that the MAC header is actually pretty good. I think mine has around 2k miles on it, maybe more, and it still looks great. It's the chrome pipe. But the SOUND!! It's just kind of tinny....or....boy, it's hard to explain. I had a V&H 4-1 on my '81 CB900F and it growled. I loved that pipe AND the bike. I also had a MAC on my '82 GPZ750.....and I remember it sounding tinny too....now that I think about it. I'm just looking for the deep roar/growl that we all love.

Anyone else have success getting a different can on the MAC 4-1 header? I'm sure with some basic bracket fabbing and ingenuity I can get something else on there. I'm a pretty good fabricator if that's where this needs to go.

THANKS AGAIN, guys. Cheers.

I describe the Mac sound as a couple BB's rattling inside of a coffee can.

Old headers come up on ebay pretty regularly. Gotta check fitment for both the 650 and 750 bikes since the headers are very similar. Trick is finding one that isn't all bashed up on the bottom side. You can send our whatever you find for ceramic coating so finish isn't overly important. A number of the old headers are Kerker's, sometimes without the badge. You just gotta know what you're looking at.

Regarding Supertrapp, I've got a NOS system in the garage, along with two different types of mufflers, but never put it into service because it seemed to hang below the engine more than I like. Took the path of lowest resistance during restore of my 750 and just used the stock pipes. One of these days I'll either off the system or learn how to mod it so it tucks up tight to the sump. A retirement project maybe...

Almost all of the irritating nature of exhaust sound can be traced to the high frequency range. If the baffle in the Mac can is removable, and if it's wrapped with sound dreading material, wrapping additional glass mat around it might be an inexpensive way to deepen the exhaust note by attenuating the higher frequencies, while only slightly decreasing decibel level. Doing so worked wonders on the exhaust note of a pair of Bassani 4/2 collectore we were able to fit to an old set of Jardine 4/2 crossover headers.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

There are things that just go together.... peanut butter & jelly, pizza & beer, bacon & eggs



Kawasaki & Kerker is another one.

Exactly! I had my bike in the shop the other day and some kid who rides a new sport bike complemented me on the sound of my engine. And I'm sure he's never heard of a KERKER.

Here's some history. Must have been just before Eddie Lawson's Superbike championships with Kawasaki.

www.kz-1000.net/post/127930228642/kerker-history

There is an interesting two-part magazine article about aftermarket exhaust systems in the Articles section of KZR. Sadly, I cannot open any of the files there, but if you can, I think you will enjoy the read.