I thought someone might "pipe up" (excuse the pun) over the safety issue.
On a bike there is nothing worse than being cut-off by a motorist who is lane changing and who obviously didn't see you. Probably because you were in the blind spot of their mirrors, a bike being far smaller than a car.
A louder bike reduces the chance of this.
Bob

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Remember that Assumption is the mother of all f**k-ups.

I've heard this claim far too many times. wear bright colors on a near silent bike, then try dark colors on a loud bike. you'll be our new test pilot for a study. I'll bet bright colors like yellow, or green gain attention FAR more often than the LPSL crap. it isnt improving your safety at all, its merely a bandaid for people who cant ride where they're most VISIBLE.

As for the loud pipes verses quiet pipes issue, how about you start your own thread and go whine somewhere else.

Can you pretty much fit any silencer you like? So long as you get the carbs sorted, and fabricate brackets and link pipe? I have a Fuel silencer that was bought for an SV650 sitting in the garage.

Or are exhaust meant for the bike designed with a certain amount of back pressure, etc, etc?

Yes to all of your questions :P

Vando

Thank you sir!

Anyone know where I can buy a link pipe?

Yeah... your local welding garage =P


Vando

I love the sound of my WR450 exhaust

Vando

I'm having some link pipes made up to fit a GSXR 1000 titanium end can....

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http://www.tenere.co.uk

That simple? OK.

I used to work in an exhaust factory and the CNC machines that extruded or compressed the end of the pipe to the right diameters to make the sleeve joint, wasn't something I expected my local garage to have.

I think the diameter of the silencer pipe will not be the same as the diameter of the XT's downpipe, either. So significant extrusion or compression at one end of the pipe will be necessary.

How do the local garages achieve this, or do they just take two different diameters of pipe, split one end of one into a cone section, and weld it all back together?

Don't bother answering that , just googled and found these for sale.

Hi,
Can I ask, now you have the arrow can on, seeing as there are no supports/bungs to hold the plastic out. Would soft panniers press it down onto the can? and does the can get hot enough to melt the plastic?

cheers

The standard exhaust had been modified (shortened) by the previous owner of my 2007 XT 600 E and I fancied a SS replacement to give the bike a bit more style. I found a Dominator (oval) exhaust on eBay(UK):

Dominator Exhaust OVAL Stainless YAMAHA XT 600 05- + DB KILLER | eBay

I did a bit of research on Youtube etc which seemed positive, this was advertised as '05 on', I messaged them to confirm, the fit, they confirmed it would fit 100% so I ordered it. After a week I noticed it hadn't been dispatched so chased them up. They responded by asking for the outside diameter of the header and for some photographs of the bike with the original unit removed, I gave them what they wanted including frame # etc. A week later it was dispatched and I received it a further week later. I opened the packaging, both end can and link pipe were wrapped (separately) in bubble wrap which, when carefully removed revealed two dents in the can, on the outside where they would be seen, also there were areas of scratching which was less noticeable but obviously done in the factory. I immediately emailed them with photographs and they offered me a £40 partial refund, they then asked me to fit it and check all was otherwise OK. This I reluctantly did, albeit I didn't want when badly damaged (it's my job to dent it!) it became apparent very quickly that the link pipe wasn't the right shape causing the end can to sit where it would contact the rear tyre, not even parallel to the frame. I took photo's and emailed Dominator, who asked if I wanted a replacement, on the grounds that it too, probably wouldn't fit and/or arrive damaged I declined. I packaged it up in the original packaging (taking photo's as I went - just in case) and sent it back to Poland using their UPS account. A week or so later I was credited with the original price and packaging.

To summarise, hopefully in an objective way. I was disappointed with the packaging allowing the end can to be dented also no 'Fragile' marking etc. the build quality was good apart from the scratching which showed lack of attention to detail. Why it didn't fit, I really don't know, they had all the information possible. If there is a 'plus side', the company always responded rapidly to my communications and thanked me for my photographs, they refunded my money the day they received the returned item. Unfortunately they are still advertising this unit on eBay so BEWARE!

I'm not sure if my 'late model' (2007) bike is radically different to older models, I wouldn't have thought so, maybe you know different!) I'll keep looking for a suitable replacement unit over here in Portugal.

Update:

It's now about a month after I received my refund from Dominator, I mentioned above that Dominator let me return the item at no cost using their UPS account. Yesterday I got a bill from UPS for 182.00 € because Dominator have refused to pay the bill, seems strange as the original price for post and packaging was about £ 25.00. Looks like I've got another battle on my hands now, fortunately I hadn't deleted all the emails between me and Dominator and I've found the one saying to return it at no charge using their UPS account. Personally I'd advise against dealing with Dominator.