Pipe construction

[Oldnick]

I have just bought a 1998 Valk-based trike, It has what look like std Valk pipes, but to fit the tike axle, they have been slashed right behind the main muffler. So no 3-pipe outlet pipes a nd no tail extensions.

They're quite noisy. I  LOVE the sound, but Mr Plod may not and, I have to register this guy.

Any way to quiet the pipes easy?

Big thanks for stuff

Nick

[BF]

A Rex Marine 4 inch silencer and a set of Grumpy's tips.

Can some provide him the links please?

[Blackduck]

I have after market front pipes with 12" x 1 3/4" bore glasspacks, slots away from the engine.
Good sound with out being to loud, if in doubt use 18" glasspacks.
Cheers Steve

[Oldnick]

I have after market front pipes with 12" x 1 3/4" bore glasspacks, slots away from the engine.
Good sound with out being to loud, if in doubt use 18" glasspacks.
Cheers Steve

Thanks for the reply.

You appear to be from where I am from! Western Australia. I have tried to say all that on my profile, but it won't let me save it.

Where did you get yer pipes? Do you have to have custom front pipes? How exactly do glasspacks fit into/on/around the system? ummm...what exactly _are_ glasspacks ????  What slots??? etc

EDIT: Also, do you know _how_ loud your pipes are? They will measure this when I rego. ATM my pipes are about 115dB and they want 94dB max! So...a big fail there.

Sorry. New to all this, although an oldtime biker. And since this beast is not yet even rego'd and I have only puttered around on it, I would like to get this done as cheap and fast as possible, just to get rego and riding.

Nick

[Blackduck]

Where are you? Can show you the setup if we are not too far apart. Check your messages.
Pretty certain 18" would be quiet enough and for licensing you could go with a smaller tailpipe and aim the ends down.
Don't know anyone with a sound meter or would check mine.
Depends on how they check the sound, drive by type at constant throttle then mine would pass.

[Oldnick]

Where are you? Can show you the setup if we are not too far apart. Check your messages.
Pretty certain 18" would be quiet enough and for licensing you could go with a smaller tailpipe and aim the ends down.
Don't know anyone with a sound meter or would check mine.
Depends on how they check the sound, drive by type at constant throttle then mine would pass.

Yeah I need to ask how they check. IME you do it at 1m distance, but that's amps and speakers.

I just got your PM. I am in Stoneville, so yeah it would be worth my while to see what your setup is.

Nick

[Blackduck]

Ok, can work in a meet,  you have another PM
Cheers Steve

[Oldnick]

Ok, can work in a meet,  you have another PM
Cheers Steve

Hey Steve! I appreciate the time today. Thanks.

I checked out the exhaust. Somebody has drilled the back muffler baffles...at least. But I reckon the whole back end, minus the last pigtails, is there. They are pretty thoroughly drilled......but there is a ridge there about halfway along the muffler units (does not gel with Exsdhaust 101!), so I can ram a plug down there and see what happens. If it's still too loud then I am going to have to go the hotdog/truck stack route!

I really wonder about what has been done. For noise no worries, but if no carb changes (jets etc) are needed, is there a serious performance boost?"

My ultimate would be a glass pack that could be repacked, if the pack failed, reversed to get "that snarl" etc.

Nick

[Blackduck]

Unless the carbs have been played with you will not effect anything changing the mufflers.
Yours should have different carb needles to the later bikes and they are a tad richer so no problems.
Cheers Steve

[Oldnick]

Yeah I reckon I will do whatever, get it rego'd then worry about carbs and stuff.

I do know the trike has had a mod to the trigger wheel. I am not sure of the ins and outs, but I gather kt givves more grunt and torque, but notr so much up top, Whatever, if it also requires some carb changes for that mod, then it will still be there.

Nick

[Oldnick]

Well I took one of the pipe sets off and I am not going to be ramming any plugs worth carp in there. I would be afraid of simply losing the whole silencer and baffle down the pipe.

So it's a rebuild, or a new build.

I am going to ask a new question about hotdog type mufflers. There seem to be several options, with everybody saying one is better than another.

Nick. 

[Blackduck]

Nick,
Have the mufflers been cut open?
I just hit the local exhaust shop and took what they could supply, been that long I do not know what brand I have.
Think they are much the same  what we can get here.
Wish I was in town for longer and could help you out, work has me pegged to leave on the weekend.
Will try to hit the shop in the morning and see who their suppliers are.
Cheers Steve

[Oldnick]

Nick,
Have the mufflers been cut open?
I just hit the local exhaust shop and took what they could supply, been that long I do not know what brand I have.
Think they are much the same  what we can get here.
Wish I was in town for longer and could help you out, work has me pegged to leave on the weekend.
Will try to hit the shop in the morning and see who their suppliers are.
Cheers Steve

Hey Steve. I do not think they have been opened up. It's just that if I look at the rear end, the back of the back baffles are floating. The metal around them has been ground down...don't know why. It means the tail ends of them are not attached to _anything_, so of course they seem a bit....vague.

The thing is I am reading that the hotdog stuff is changing as we speak...BAH!

Look again don't go to too much stuffing about. I really feel that the more _I_ stuff about, the more I "own" my Valk! I know I can sound like a whining little sissy, but my best work with machinery was when I started out scared and confused, then convinced myself to man up and learn S**T.... and really KNOW what was carrying me.

Nick

[Oldnick]

BTW, I have seen 15" hotdogs advertised, so I can get that bit more length and still fit it in the shortened pipes...

Nick

[old grouch]

Nick- I posted to your thread on the GoldWing forum - "Some quiet please" - Grumpy  on there.  There is a member here goes by MarkT who has a business of making custom exhaust for Valks.  IIRC he has rear baffle sets that have been removed (ragnor cut) which can be welded onto the cans to restore the cut/drilled piggies.  That would get you back to stock sound.  Send him a PM or go to his website - horseappleranch .  He is a good guy & will help you if he can.  If your pipes can be lowered enough to clear the axle, you would then be good to go.  When I triked my Valk I had to lower the pipes to clear the axle, so I know it can be done.  I no longer have the trike so can't provide pics, but basically you just make a bracket that bolts to the frame where the mufflers do now & then bolt the mufflers to the bracket.  I think I was able to lower the back of the cans about an inch.  Hope this helps.  Stan

[Oldnick]

Nick- I posted to your thread on the GoldWing forum - "Some quiet please" - Grumpy  on there.  There is a member here goes by MarkT who has a business of making custom exhaust for Valks.  IIRC he has rear baffle sets that have been removed (ragnor cut) which can be welded onto the cans to restore the cut/drilled piggies.  That would get you back to stock sound.  Send him a PM or go to his website - horseappleranch .  He is a good guy & will help you if he can.  If your pipes can be lowered enough to clear the axle, you would then be good to go.  When I triked my Valk I had to lower the pipes to clear the axle, so I know it can be done.  I no longer have the trike so can't provide pics, but basically you just make a bracket that bolts to the frame where the mufflers do now & then bolt the mufflers to the bracket.  I think I was able to lower the back of the cans about an inch.  Hope this helps.  Stan

Sorry I have not replied. I did not get an email notification.

In my pipes (I have cut them open) _every_ baffle has been drilled. The mufflers have actually been cut open and "stuff" done. In addition yes, I think the Ragnar cut had been done to shorten the pipes.

For the porpoises of rego, I am going to stuff stainless steel wool in there, weld them back up, and hope they don't ask. But then, as an inveterate builder and an amateur welder, where amateur literally means "for the love of it" I am going to bulid myself a custom set that fits for length and is fully demountable for adjustment of muffling wrapper. I just got all the materials today and got quite excited laying them out and seeing a mockup of the final result!

I am aiming for something that has the amazing snarl of the pipes without pigtails, but just enough down to get past a noise test.

Nick

I would rather not create any lower clearance, as I have to ride a dirt track just to get out of home every time.

[Oldnick]

Just to let everybody know, I cut open the pipes and for the purposes of rego, stuffed them with stainless wool. I actually measured the noise the way I have been told they do it and found that, noisy as they were, the pipes would probably have passed anyway! However, now I feel more comfortable.

Some of the chambers had been just drilled through, others had been gutted: and interesting job.

SO that's the pipes and the indicators, tyres, no leaks, lights, brakes OK..I just KNOW they will still find something