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General Topics/Tech TipsDiscussion on break in periods, rider comfort, seats and pad suggestions. Tech tips as they become available will be posted here.
I spoke to the guy that recommended the exhaust to me and was told his shop recommends it for budget builds (the full length sharkroad 2-1). Sounds like they haven’t had a problem with it but not ruling it out.
On the fence about swapping the exhaust before bringing it to a better known dyno tuner or just leaving it and rolling the dice and only getting the new tune
Been browsing exhausts but haven’t had anything stand out to me yet.
You might ask the dyno tuner what he knows about them before doing anything. And I would listen to what rigidthumper had to say. I know he's straight up and knows his way around a dyno really well.
not annoying/deafening/droning when cruising but sounds good when on the throttle and gives good performance, decent build quality(dont want something that will rust within a year).
Ill call the dyno guy Im going to and ask as well.
I like the looks of both the D&D Gato and Billet Cat 2-1s but thought i was reading about some major quality issues with d&d stuff recently related to the inner surface finish breaking down into a sand like texture? Any truth to that or are do they still make a solid product?
I will be the outlier here. I would not give up on a dual system. I have run several 2-1 systems and each has produced an annoying drone at cruise; duals sound so much better. JMHO but take a look at the FM 2-1-2 system; X pipe and Jackpot mufflers. I ran an all bore 107, years ago that made 124TQ/110HP. Mild compression at 185CCP, carbed, Tman SM600 cam, basic street port head work. Not loud, similar sound to Rinehart TDs, very docile at cruise. Had a similar experience with a 98" build currently running where we tested 3 different 2:1 systems against a set of Bassani Prostreets, a 2-2 TD system and the 2-2 outperformed the 2-1 systems; that motor made 115/115 numbers; not quite 1.2hp/cu.in. but very close. So the general consensus that 2-1 systems are always the better choice is not necessarily true.
not annoying/deafening/droning when cruising but sounds good when on the throttle and gives good performance, decent build quality(dont want something that will rust within a year).
Ill call the dyno guy Im going to and ask as well.
I like the looks of both the D&D Gato and Billet Cat 2-1s but thought i was reading about some major quality issues with d&d stuff recently related to the inner surface finish breaking down into a sand like texture? Any truth to that or are do they still make a solid product?
The two dyno sheets I posted, the 96" at Roeder Racing is a Fatcat, the 103" at Hawg Werks, also known as Miami Valley V-Twin is a Billet Cat. Neither not obnoxious, but you hear them. The 103" has the fiberglass packed baffle. It's more mellow than the Fat Cat on the 96", which is a straight through steel baffle.
The issue with the internal ceramic coating that was chipping away I believe was only effecting black exhaust, and not chrome. Supposedly they have that sorted out.
I like D&D Exhaust, it works really well, and it makes power. I will say that their customer service has flat almost dropped out. And they used to be the easiest company to contact and work with. Now you're lucky if they call you back, and 99% of the time no one answers. I believe the original owner, Dave Rash may have passed away, or he sold the business. He would be in his 80's I believe. I had two of his email addresses from past use, and both kicked back as unknown email recipient. The rest of the company emails I have go through, but no answers.
I've been looking at other systems for future use. I can't buy from companies that are not giving customer service that's this bad.
Im liking the look of that Billet cat and numbers looked pretty good too. Glad to hear that the quality issue wasnt related to the chromed exhausts but it is disappointing that their customer service is so bad.
Wonder how long before the quality tanks?
Either way, I think if i make a change Ill grab that Billet Cat. Thanks for all the info - really appreciate it! Now just going to spend a few days doing mental gymnastics to justify buying this ;-)
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