Drag pipe question?
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 15,705
Likes: 22,718
From: Farmington ,MS
I am a drag pipe guy and hope to be till I can't ride any more. As a general rule I always buy the cheapest set you can possibly get on ebay. I always install torque cones as well. I am about to buy another set. Are the more expensive pipes actually any better? Are the Paughco or Cycle Shack drag pipes any different than whatever the hell I get on ebay? Chrome better? Fit better? Resist bluing longer? I'm at a point with the bike were even though we are talking well over double or triple the cost, if the quality really is that much better, I will pull the trigger. If its really all the same $hit, then I'll buy the cheapies again. Please advise.
- EVO's hate drag pipes...kills bottom end
- Every dyno test I have ever read says torque cones don't work:http://www.nrhsperformance.com/tech_arcones.shtml
- Lollipops do work:http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/exhaust.htm
- If you don't want blue pipes, you have to do heat shields or buy the higher dollar pipe within a pipe type
- Dyno tests of different pipes:http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/exhaust_test_01.htm
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Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 9,193
Likes: 494
From: Richmond, VA
Thanks guys. I threw a hissy fit and just bought the cheap a$$ 59 dollar shipped to your door 1.75 chrome Chinese drag pipes. As soon at the refund came threw I ordered them. I have resigned myself to do the lollipops. I will just write the cones off as a loss and make a set of lollipops out of some cheap Lowe's hardware. Just one question. Can anyone give me an EXACT distance up the rear of the pipe the lollipops go? Remember, these are slash cut pipes, so from the front of the slash, they go in how far? No guessing now, I need a number I can use to help me drill the hole and install the lollipops while the pipes are in my hand sitting on the bench.
Last edited by bikerlaw; Feb 21, 2012 at 08:54 PM.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 15,705
Likes: 22,718
From: Farmington ,MS
Last edited by Tom84FXST; Feb 22, 2012 at 06:42 AM.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 4,468
Likes: 12
From: Bluffton, South Carolina
Most drag pipes come with a pre-drilled hole for a baffle, you can use that and then rust shouldn't be a problem. One note on the "cones", if you think about it people pay good money to have their heads ported to flow more air. Does it make sense to restrict it right at the port??? Lollipops. baffles. bolts and washers are a "tuning aid" for your pipes. If you spent the time, money, and effort you could build a pipe that wouldn't need any of these. However it may not fit practically on your bike. Also pipes perform best in a certain RPM range, above or below that it is a compromise. That is why we use these devices, we want to move the power band into a range that we normally use. Hope this helps.
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Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 9,193
Likes: 494
From: Richmond, VA
Well, I just got notice the drag pipes shipped today. All the other parts should be here by the time they arrive. I assume with the smaller pipes, and the lollipops, i should be all set. Once i get them on I'll post up a report on the results as compared to the two inch drags with the cones.
Tourer
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 259
Likes: 1
From: Kingston, Ontario
Hey bikerlaw,
I have tried to upload an image (not sure if it worked) of the "baffle ring" I am uncertain if it is the same as the lolipop trick (not sure what that is) it appears to be a slight reduction in size of the pipe with a round bar wealded to the center. You can find an example in the JP Harely Catalog (online) on the top right of page 228 for the Sampson Exhauts. It looks pretty easy to make one up.
I have tried to upload an image (not sure if it worked) of the "baffle ring" I am uncertain if it is the same as the lolipop trick (not sure what that is) it appears to be a slight reduction in size of the pipe with a round bar wealded to the center. You can find an example in the JP Harely Catalog (online) on the top right of page 228 for the Sampson Exhauts. It looks pretty easy to make one up.
Tourer
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 430
Likes: 2
From: ChiTown burbs
lollipop trick: got this from the above link. works great sounds even better.
how to:
Make a tunable baffle by purchasing a 1/4"x1" thumb screw or taking a 3/4" outside diameter washer and weld it to the top of a 3/4" x 1/4" bolt. Now Drill a 1/4" hole about 1" from the end of the drag pipes. Take the tunable baffle and place a 1/4" nut and a lock washer (away from the large washer) the on it. Now insert your tunable baffle into the exhaust pipe like the example below.
Visitors to the Bike Tech WEB site constantly provide improvements to this idea. If you don't have access to welding equipment, try this handy little trick sent to me by Nick
What I used was 1/4" x 1" thumb screws which can readily purchased at any local hardware store for about $ 0.50 a piece. They work great. The "football" shaped head on the screws measure approximately 3/4" x 1/2" so they have about the same surface area as the 3/4" o.d. washer because of the lack of the hole. And they do not require any fabrication.
It is amazing what a little creative thinking can come up with.
You can tune the baffle by changing the angle of the thumbscrew or washer to the exhaust pipe. For maximum torque, the washer will be at 90 degree angle to the pipe. For maximum horsepower the washer will be parallel to the pipe.
how to:
Make a tunable baffle by purchasing a 1/4"x1" thumb screw or taking a 3/4" outside diameter washer and weld it to the top of a 3/4" x 1/4" bolt. Now Drill a 1/4" hole about 1" from the end of the drag pipes. Take the tunable baffle and place a 1/4" nut and a lock washer (away from the large washer) the on it. Now insert your tunable baffle into the exhaust pipe like the example below.
Visitors to the Bike Tech WEB site constantly provide improvements to this idea. If you don't have access to welding equipment, try this handy little trick sent to me by Nick
What I used was 1/4" x 1" thumb screws which can readily purchased at any local hardware store for about $ 0.50 a piece. They work great. The "football" shaped head on the screws measure approximately 3/4" x 1/2" so they have about the same surface area as the 3/4" o.d. washer because of the lack of the hole. And they do not require any fabrication.
It is amazing what a little creative thinking can come up with.
You can tune the baffle by changing the angle of the thumbscrew or washer to the exhaust pipe. For maximum torque, the washer will be at 90 degree angle to the pipe. For maximum horsepower the washer will be parallel to the pipe.
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Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 9,193
Likes: 494
From: Richmond, VA
Well, I stopped at Loewe's and picked up the eye bolts, nuts and washers. We will see when the pipes show up. I have run lollipops before. On this bike in fact, but if I am going to violate all my rules and run them again I want all the input I can get from you guys. Clearly I am on the low end of the experience spectrum with these. Hopefully this time around I have them where they belong, set up right and working well. I am almost tempted to try them on my scratched up 2 inchers just so I don't have to wait a week for the new pipes to show up. I'll see how much time I ave after work tomorrow. Now you guys got me all wondering...... and stuff.
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Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 9,193
Likes: 494
From: Richmond, VA
http://www.ebay.com/itm/270916691681...84.m1439.l2649
Why do I always find what I want after I buy something I don't.