Zaphod Breeblebox
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Posts: 117
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posted May 15, 2004 11:01 AM
Arata Full Ti Pipe Installed!
I finally had the time to install the Arata pipe on the 12 this morning. The install went well. It took me about three hours from the time I began 'till I fired it up.
I followed the excellent advice offered by others in previous threads, and removed the radiator mounting bolts (2 above, 1 lower left). This allows the radiator to be pushed forward a little bit - just enough to provide some much-needed clearance.
I reused the old exhaust gaskets as they were in good shape. I cleaned the carbon off of them with a Scotch Brite pad and they seem to seal well.
Everything lines up just fine. I used anti-sieze lube on all the joints, and that helped things fit together. Just the usual fiddling before installing the keeper springs and tightening the header flanges.
No problem with the first firing. The bike exhibits a minor idle hunt, with a total RPM spread of about 250 or 300 RPMs centering on 1000 RPMs. I did not need to adjust the idle speed.
The sound is excellent - it actually caught me off guard because it *is* loud. Not as loud as a D&D, thankfully, but very authoritative sounding. Deep and mellow, not raspy. Sounds like a big-bore bike should.
I'm letting it cool down now, then I'll double-check the header flange bolts and button it up.
Pics and ride report will follow! 
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Zaphod
Y2K ZX-12R
  
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VincentHill
Needs a life
Posts: 6520
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posted May 15, 2004 03:47 PM
Raise your idle to about 1200 rpms and pipes are extremely sensitive to throttle body sync!
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Made History @ Daytona and still one fast old man!!
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Zaphod Breeblebox
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Posts: 117
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posted May 15, 2004 05:18 PM
Vincent - I had my throttle bodies synced very recently, resulting in a noticeable increase in throttle response as well as an increased sensitivity to the fast idle lever. (This makes me think that the TB sync was way off from the factory at delivery....) Anyway, the TC sync is good. The idle hunt is minor with this pipe, but I will kick the idle speed up a notch.
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Zaphod
Y2K ZX-12R
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Zaphod Breeblebox
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posted May 17, 2004 08:45 AM
 Edited By: Zaphod Breeblebox on 17 May 2004 09:47
Riding Impressions
My butt-dyno tells me that the bike feels pretty much like stock up to about 5500 or 6000 rpm, at which point there's a noticeable bump in power, all the way up the tach. Speed builds very quickly. By the way, I am not running a PCIII.
Low-speed driveability is not compromised. It will still loaf along at 20 mph through school zones smoothly, without lurching.
The exhaust note is loud, deep and mellow at low throttle openings - but crack the throttle and I'm rewarded with a louder, raspier "bwwwwaaaaaaaa!!!"
There is some minor popping on deceleration - just enough to add character.
I was not expecting the dramatic change in the bike's handling. Dropping that boat anchor from the bottom of the bike makes more difference than I would have expected. Turn-in is much easier and quicker, and the bike is still very stable in turns. I did not weigh the new exhaust before installing it, but the shipping weight of the whole thing was 15 pounds - including the substantial cardboard box, and the box containing the silencer. So I'm guessing the system weighs around 12 pounds. What does the stock system weigh - 30 or 35 pounds?
And here's a puzzler: the bike seems to run cooler. Yesterday the temps were in the low 80s and, being run hard, the temperature guage would run at the 8-o'clock position, occasionally going to 9 o'clock. Previously the temp guage would have consistently been a notch higher. I can only guess that the thin-walled titanium sheds heat much more rapidly than the stock stainless, and that this allows a more efficient heat transfer generally.
I will post pictures of the installation tonight or tomorrow night, if my wife will get off the damned computer!
By the way, does anyone know of a way to post a wmv file? None of the free hosting services will host them.
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Zaphod
Y2K ZX-12R
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VincentHill
Needs a life
Posts: 6520
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posted May 17, 2004 09:15 AM
Zap, The freer breathing and the Cat gone helps the temp. The Back fire is usually lean which I cured by putting as little as 5% into the 0% throttle box. Actually my guess is the pipe is closer to 8 or 9 pounds (I always stand on the scale with and without the full pipe.
I do not remember if the muffler was round or Oval, but I am a little surprised by the Noise? What is the diameter of the core tube in the muffler? If it is over 2 or 2.25 inches, that would be the #1 reason
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Made History @ Daytona and still one fast old man!!
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Zaphod Breeblebox
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Posts: 117
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posted May 17, 2004 09:53 AM
Vincent - the silencer is oval. The core tube is, I think about 2-1/8"....I'll measure it again when I get home.
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Zaphod
Y2K ZX-12R
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Zaphod Breeblebox
Expert Class
Posts: 117
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posted May 18, 2004 11:38 AM
Vincent - the core tube in the silencer measures 2-3/8". Quite a large hole; no surprise about the amount of sound getting out of it!
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Zaphod
Y2K ZX-12R
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VincentHill
Needs a life
Posts: 6520
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posted May 18, 2004 02:27 PM
WOW! That is the largest I have seen yet! You "May" want to ask them what the next size "Smaller" is and if it is 2 1/8 I would seriously consider getting the tube, some packing and a set of their rivets if they do not use screws
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Made History @ Daytona and still one fast old man!!
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Michael Lee
Zone Head
Purchase Ivy
Posts: 729
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posted May 18, 2004 05:30 PM
How much additional H/P do you feel you could gain with the PCIII? and why did you chose not to run one with a full system?
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Zaphod Breeblebox
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Posts: 117
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posted May 18, 2004 06:28 PM
Vincent - I'll stick with it - I don't mind the sound level, as it's really not that bad if you're not whacking it.
Michael - I wanted to try the system without at Power Commander to see if it's tractable. The bike behaves very well without the PC III, but I think I could probably get a bit more midrange if it were properly mapped, and cure the minor idle hunt.
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Zaphod
Y2K ZX-12R
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Zaphod Breeblebox
Expert Class
Posts: 117
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posted May 18, 2004 06:30 PM
Now for the install pics!
Headers installed - left-hand side. Note the crossover pipe is at the bottom of the header, on the inside of the curve.
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Zaphod
Y2K ZX-12R
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Zaphod Breeblebox
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Posts: 117
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posted May 18, 2004 06:30 PM
Headers installed - right-hand side. For these two headers, the crossover pipe is higher up on the headers. Not sure what the theory is here.
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Zaphod
Y2K ZX-12R
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Zaphod Breeblebox
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posted May 18, 2004 06:31 PM
Edited By: Zaphod Breeblebox on 18 May 2004 19:33
Collector joined up to header pipes. The labelling is dummy-proof.
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Zaphod
Y2K ZX-12R
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Zaphod Breeblebox
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Posts: 117
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posted May 18, 2004 06:35 PM
Springs installed.
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Zaphod
Y2K ZX-12R
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Zaphod Breeblebox
Expert Class
Posts: 117
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posted May 18, 2004 06:36 PM
Fully buttoned up, after the first ride.
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Zaphod
Y2K ZX-12R
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Zaphod Breeblebox
Expert Class
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posted May 18, 2004 06:36 PM
Rear view.
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Zaphod
Y2K ZX-12R
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Zaphod Breeblebox
Expert Class
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posted May 18, 2004 06:37 PM
Closeup of silencer...
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Zaphod
Y2K ZX-12R
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ZXLNT
Needs a job
Kawpuke Extraordinare
Posts: 2853
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posted May 18, 2004 09:47 PM
Thats nice looking..
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Zaphod Breeblebox
Expert Class
Posts: 117
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posted May 19, 2004 06:47 AM
Thanks, ZXLNT.
Something I neglected to point out - if you'll look at the first of the install pics, you can see that access to the oil filter has not been compromised.
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Zaphod
Y2K ZX-12R
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your car is slow
Needs a job
Fuck Nitrous...Got Boost?
Posts: 4089
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posted May 19, 2004 07:31 AM
Very...very nice pipe.
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Do not taunt happy fun ball!
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VincentHill
Needs a life
Posts: 6520
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posted May 19, 2004 09:00 AM
Edited By: VincentHill on 19 May 2004 10:02
I see 2 things and "1" I do not like! I do not like the bracket that holds the muffler to the "S" Pipe. Everything else is beautiful. (The 2nd thing is I see just how big the muffler exit is. That is one large opening!)
Did I just see something else? A solid mounted (to the head) pipe? Or you just did not install the spring yet?
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Made History @ Daytona and still one fast old man!!
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Zaphod Breeblebox
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Posts: 117
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posted May 19, 2004 10:38 AM
Vincent -
I understand what you're saying about the spring bracket on the silencer. It's more substantial than it appears from these pictures, and the spring tension is not very high at that location at any rate.
I'm not sure I understand your second comment - if you are asking whether the invididual header pipes are solid-mounted to the head, the answer is yes. No springs are used.
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Zaphod
Y2K ZX-12R
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