Victory Vegas 8-Ball Project: Part 1

[Duken4evr]

I like it.

Interested in the final outcome of the tuning though. My guess is the cool looking but untuned straight pipes are the cause of the power loss. All those loud pipes out there, "saving lives" but losing power on bikes that are not terribly powerful to begin with. I find it rather funny, actually.

An exhaust with thought to scavenging, harmonics and resonance in it's design beats a simple straight pipe any day.

[seruzawa]

Originally Posted by Duken4evr

I like it.

Interested in the final outcome of the tuning though. My guess is the cool looking but untuned straight pipes are the cause of the power loss. All those loud pipes out there, "saving lives" but losing power on bikes that are not terribly powerful to begin with. I find it rather funny, actually.

An exhaust with thought to scavenging, harmonics and resonance in it's design beats a simple straight pipe any day.

Open straight pipes, more correctly called drag pipes, give a small hp gain at the top end but wreck the hp on the low and midrange. Aside from being illegally and painfully loud they make any V-twin run worse than they would with a system that provides some back pressure. Technically the open pipes are scavenging fresh mixture from the engine before the exhaust valves close. So you get backfiring and reduced hp below top rpm.

This reinforces the general and correct opinion that the people who run open drags are morons.

[Duken4evr]

Reread the article and noticed that MO is being politically correct and that the exhausts have baffles in them Could be straight pipes with simple corks on the end are not all that condusive to making HP either.

The Akrapovic full exhaust system on my FZ1 is very cool. It has tri tapered headers, starting small at the exhaust port, then stepping bigger 2 more times. Kind of like an expansion chamber on a 2 stroke. Major horsepower increases (around 18 hp at times) from 5,000 rpm all the way to the to the 12,250 rpm rev limiter result. The stock exhaust is a complete boat anchor on my particular bike. Heavy, ugly and not very good at producing power.

My favorite setup on cruiser type bikes is the HD baggers with the Vance and Hines monster ovals. They are well made, make more power than stock and sound friggin' awesome. Deep, full and soulful, with none of the loud and harsh blat factor that is all too typical. They allow the unique HD sound to emerge at it's best.

Worst sounding bike I ever heard was a Honda VTX with straight pipes. God awful, it sounded like a marine engine missing on a few cylinders. It amounted to sonic diarrhea...

[The_AirHawk]

Originally Posted by Duken4evr

Worst sounding bike I ever heard was a Honda VTX with straight pipes. God awful, it sounded like a marine engine missing on a few cylinders. It amounted to sonic diarrhea...

Yeah, those offset-crankpin 52-degree twins of Honda sound like Hammered Ass unless you combine the pipes. Sounds almost like a Briggs & Stratton lawn tractor, and probably makes nearly the same HP.......

[Kevin_Duke]

This is definitely not the end of our engine tuning...

[Sir_Angus]

While doing research on the 2011 Vegas 8-ball I stumbled accross the article.

[soapbox]
First off, I prefer the 8-ball styling. I've owned many bikes and, quite frankly, am no longer interested in spending my weekends polishing chrome. I'd rather be riding! Second, the only true benefit to owning a H-D is being able to say "I ride a Harley." Besides being louder they aren't any more reliable, better looking (IMO), and certainly aren't cheaper. In fact, on any new H-D since 2005 most owners have to spend about $1k to retune their brand new bike because they don't run right with all the emmission requirements. For long rides, I'd rather have a good shaft drive Honda any day. Ever tried to replace a chain/belt in the middle of BFE? Finally, like a previous poster said, most new owners turn to the manufacturer parts book at first; so it make sense for the writer to start there, too.

What really disappointed me is that for a general motorcycle site that should inspire camaraderie amongst riders there sure are a lot haters on here. Yeah we get it you like sportbikes! Now piss off unless you have something constructive to add. Not everyone likes or wants a your bike either.
[end soapbox]

Good job to the writer. I'm looking forward to Part 2 when you get serious about customizing.

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by Sir_Angus

While doing research on the 2011 Vegas 8-ball I stumbled accross the article.

[soapbox]
First off, I prefer the 8-ball styling. I've owned many bikes and, quite frankly, am no longer interested in spending my weekends polishing chrome. I'd rather be riding! Second, the only true benefit to owning a H-D is being able to say "I ride a Harley." Besides being louder they aren't any more reliable, better looking (IMO), and certainly aren't cheaper. In fact, on any new H-D since 2005 most owners have to spend about $1k to retune their brand new bike because they don't run right with all the emmission requirements. For long rides, I'd rather have a good shaft drive Honda any day. Ever tried to replace a chain/belt in the middle of BFE? Finally, like a previous poster said, most new owners turn to the manufacturer parts book at first; so it make sense for the writer to start there, too.

What really disappointed me is that for a general motorcycle site that should inspire camaraderie amongst riders there sure are a lot haters on here. Yeah we get it you like sportbikes! Now piss off unless you have something constructive to add. Not everyone likes or wants a your bike either.
[end soapbox]

Good job to the writer. I'm looking forward to Part 2 when you get serious about customizing.

Welcome to the forum, Angus! Check back tomorrow afternoon for Part 2 of our Evil 8 project.

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by Sir_Angus

Good job to the writer. I'm looking forward to Part 2 when you get serious about customizing.

Part 2 is now up for your viewing pleasure: http://www.motorcycle.com/how-to/vic...t-2-90808.html