Martin Bros pipes-Not worth it.
#1
Martin Bros pipes-Not worth it.
Ok I'm not trying to bash the company here, but I wanted to give more of a heads up if your thinking about dropping big bucks on a set of there pipes. I Picked up a set of slighty used Martin Bros Two Down pipes over the winter for $290.00 in great shape, they are $700-800 depending where you get them. I knew they were not worth the new price, but for 1/3 I was like what the heck. A guy I rode with alot last season had a set on is 07 Stoftail and they were always turning gold, but other then that he liked them and so did I. Well my pipes do not discolor too much, but the fitmeant is not super up to par and the heat shilds are held on with little springs that wrap arouind the head pipes and lets the shilds vibrate alot! At certin RPM's the rattle is lounder then the top end chatter LOL! Last night me and the wife was riding to dinner and I said hun the bike sounds funny-then she said yeah it does and right after that I hear a ting ting nosie and she said "Well there it goes" One of the baffels fell out. We pulled over and got the baffle and some how she found the bolt, but lost the nut. I went home and then got a new nut and all is fine for now. I made a jam nut set up on the baffle bolts as well as blue loctite.
#3
Except that those pipes MSRP at $7-800! That is some big cash! For the new price, there are a lot of pipes out there that are much better in quality, performance, etc. You get what you pay for in general terms. It still pays to do a little research.
Thanks for the heads-up!
Thanks for the heads-up!
#4
You get what you pay for. LOL! Um yeah they are $700-800 pipes-i just got a deal on them. Well I could have got a set of new V&H Short Shots for not too much more, but every Sporty has them and I think the Martin pipes sound better and have a differant look. Again I'm not bashing or bitching about my pipes, just giving a heads up.
#5
I like the Martin Brothers. Good ole boys from Texas. But keep in mind the source. Those guys build works of art. I bet they would disagree but I am guessing that their stuff is built more for form than function.
#6
Join Date: Oct 2007
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Yeah about like OCC bikes too huh, form not function?
#7
I have to agree with XL50 on this one. We ordered a set of Martin Bros pipes for a friends bike I built. He had to have them!! I think they were called Medustas. Almost $900 for them. I figure they AT LEAST came with heat shields for that price. We get them and they are regular old chrome pipes, nothing special, no heat shields, no coating on the inside to keep them from blueing. When the box came, I didn't think there were pipes inside it. They are so light they felt like they were made out of soda can tin. So we call back up and Martin Bro's tells us the heat shields are an additional $200 more. We order them. They give you springs that hold the shields on. The springs stretched out within a few months of putting the pipes on and they rattled like crazy. I took the springs off and used stainless steel safety wire in place of them. I wouldn't use them again, way overpriced for what you get.
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#9
Tough lesson
You get what you pay for? I don't understand that. Those pipes are just cheap and poorly designed. Too bad you had to waste your money and time to find that out. And you are right ,they are not worth it. I see their pipes for sale ,from time to time, and they want top dollar for them used. And using springs instead of a clamps makes no sense. Oh well ,I hope you have better luck with your future purchases.
#10
Join Date: Mar 2012
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Never heard of them but they do resemble the V&H Big Radius which I had on my Road Glide. Loved the look but got mine in black and got the right leg pretty hot.
Then again I never heard of Akrapovic until last year so did some research. After finding nothing but positive reviews that is what is going on my bike.
Last edited by mikelikesbikes; 06-01-2015 at 11:22 AM.
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