Toutsuite
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Posts posted by Toutsuite
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Great bike and video! Get some goggles to complete the look - and be able to see where you're going as an added bonus! ;-)
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We look forward to seeing the photographic evidence of your work in progress! Welcome!
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Right, thought I'd get these up now, as with the new V&H exhausts she is now "complete"!
Smartpartz quiet baffles screwed in place. Still loud, but just right! Not antisocial.
and a final piccie of her gorgeous derriere!
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Nice ride! Hope you enjoy it (scottish weather notwithstanding)!
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Welcome gizmo, fellow draggie owner here! Custom or classic? Check the faq on how to post piccies and show us yer ride!
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Can't answer your question myself, but give Custom Cruisers in Derby a call on 01773 835666 and speak to Mike, he'll be able to give you an answer. Also he can probably get them for you (or an alternative) cheaper than you importing it from the states. Import duty is 3.25%, on top of 20% vat on the price *and* shipping (the shipping alone is something like $140!). I got my V&H Cruzers from CC, and am very happy with them (apart from them being too loud! But've sorted that out now). All the best!
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Welcome mate! As a suggestion, one way of dealing with the scraping is to swap your boards for pegs. Allows for much more leaning! Also I actually find the pegs more comfortable because you can pivot your foot to whatever angle your ankle feels most comfy with. For the brief period I had boards on my custom 650 the gear shifting up and down and breaking was killing my ankles. Swapped them for the oem pegs a day or two after I got the bike.
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Hello, welcome ride safe and enjoy!
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Greetings from south London, nightinvader and welcome! So she's going from naughty red to bad black? Either works, I'd say!
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Well, the dyno test results are in!
First thing to note, after 9 years and 33k miles, she's down to 35.4bhp max power on the rear wheel. Not too bad. A good question I suppose would be is the 40bhp quoted power of a new engine at the crank or the wheel? Anyhoes, it's not as if the bike feels sluggish to me.
The main thing of course is the air/fuel mixture graph. (I've only a printout copy so have no way of posting this). The guy at the garage explained the readout to me: a straight red line represents the "ideal" mixture (13 on the scale). Anything above the line (lean mix) but under 14 is within tolerance and doesn't necessarily or urgently require rejetting. Anything below the red line (rich mix) but above 12 likewise. With the stock jets I'm mostly just within tolerances (on the lean side of course), with the pilot jet putting me just a little outside tolerance. The guy's verdict was that I could get away with not rejetting. However, I think I'll have it done in the next month or two to bring her closer to the red line, maybe regain 2-3hp (and a bit more peace of mind!), and of course lose a few mpg.
Anybody know what the stock jet sizes are for the the draggie 650?
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aye gud fer er laff afta half a bottle of red on a fridy nicht!
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Drilling holes in the stock mufflers may produce a louder sound, but there is also the question of the tone and character of the exhaust note. The ones I've heard on youtube sound rough, raspy and brappy, not a pleasant deep rumble that would go with the look of the bike. I agree with the posters above, save up and get some proper pipes. Jardine slashcut slip ons are a not too expensive option at about £250. Check out custom cruisers dot com (based in Derby).
I know you said you hate screens, but they can in fact increase your top speed by reducing drag created by the "human sail" effect of the cruiser rider position.
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I got it from Maplins, simple analogue VU meter jobbie with a dial to set the dB level (eg you select 80dB and when the needle hits the middle, it reads 80dB), £20 -£30 IIRC. I use it to calibrate my home cinema normally.
Maybe I can nip up to Reading one of these weekends and give you a reading - any excuse for a trip really!
Edit - just checked, Maplins don't do the analogue one any more - they do the digital ones though, about £30.
Also my draggie is going for a dyno test on Saturday morning; then we'll see what's what...
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Finally go my hands on the quiet baffles this afternoon! Had to go get them from the Parcelforce depot myself or wait till who knows how much longer (end of next week prob), paid the vat (plus £8.00 "handling fee" - highway robbery!) and got them home.
Installation was not quite the breeze they claimed it to be, but not too difficult, about 30 mins.
So results? Quite impressive actually: I find it now is exactly as loud as it should be, without being embarrassing or obnoxious. The tone of the exhaust is almost totally unaffected, with a possible slight deepening as a result of the baffles, just without the harsh raspiness. They are effective across the rev range too, I can now open the throttle with relish and not worry about blasting everyone around me with >100db noise! It's perfect in fact! Very definitely louder than the stock pipes, but not too loud. Love em. I took a db reading when I first fit the pipes on, 2m behind the bike at idle, 88dB. Now it's 79dB. Result!
I also immediately noticed the increased back pressure on the pipes, the engine is noticeably peppier now. This means of course, a much less drastic rejetting will be necessary. Won't know for sure until she's had a dyno of course.
Smartpartz make add-on baffles for just about every aftermarket exhaust there is out there, if anyone else is interested. They're not a particularly cheap option, with posting, customs, vat etc (£85 it cost me in total), but a very effective one.
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If you have to wear earplugs at work - I presume something heavily industrial and manly!
- then you're used to loudness, so the cruzers don't sound so loud to you. As far as the idle speed is concerned, it should be higher than the stock pipes (a richer mix), unless you don't mind all the popping on deceleration or when you change gear.I'll let you all know what the smartpartz quiet baffles are like when HM customs gets round to letting me have them!
Almost all the comments I've seen on the interwebs are positive - in fact the only negative comments are from people who've taken them back off again for being too quiet! -
As you say Joe, each to their own. My own reasoning is that if I have to wear earplugs to ride, my pipes are too loud!
The legality thing is a bit more vague of course. Some people say the exhaust has to have an "E" stamp on it, others say as long as they're not marked "Racing only" they're fine. Mine have no markings. I assume yours don't have any either.
Leathy, I'd just like to say I have no prejudice against Harleys or their riders!
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It must have been a serious take away order to go that far.
Maaaaaybe a bit less of the casual racism eh, chaps? I mean NEV's comment was funny, though I doubt the boys from Bombay are too familiar with our local gangsta patois, but cracks about takeaways... meh... It doesn't quite present the best possible image of the forum to the eyes of the world, does it?
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Well, that may be Noise, but they look awful hairy for bankers!
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Well, took her out for another spin, in daylight this time. Rode down the A2 for a bit, touched 60, still too loud (but just about tolerable), and there definately is some power loss (expected). The one thing I did manage to do is cut down on the decel popping by turning the idle screw and enriching the idle mixture. Reduced popping a lot. Back home I noticed that the rear pipe close to the header is already turning blue! (not the heatshield though, so it doesn't show). And that's only after 20 miles. Well she'll stay in my car bay for now until the quiet baffles are installed, and then I'll take her for a dyno diagnostic thingy.
The couple of Harley's I saw on the road were all quieter than me!
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I think you should use regular as stated in manual.
Don't use polish, unless you have the odd spot of surface rust, or your pipes have blued. Polish finely grinds off the surface layer of paint and chrome. Do it too often and you'll end up polishing right through to bare metal. You should use a good quality wax to shine and protect your chrome (and tank, and fenders).
Show us some pics in the gallery!
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She be a fine lookin' ride Joe! Where was that taken?
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Just took a measurement, 88db at 2 metres behind the bike @idle. Wasn't able to rev it up at that distance, but can imagine it cracking 100db without too much effort. Can't wait for those quiet baffles!
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Also there is the issue of getting pulled over by the police every so often if your pipes are too loud.
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Well fearless, it's all subjective right? I mean I like the sound of the v&h's as well, I just think they're too loud, and that's without really opening the taps. Try hitting the motorway at 70 for an hour or so, and then see how many days it takes for the ringing in your ears to go away! ;-)
- then you're used to loudness, so the cruzers don't sound so loud to you. As far as the idle speed is concerned, it should be higher than the stock pipes (a richer mix), unless you don't mind all the popping on deceleration or when you change gear.
Almost all the comments I've seen on the interwebs are positive - in fact the only negative comments are from people who've taken them back off again for being too quiet! 
My Dragstar 650 Custom '02
in Yamaha Gallery
Posted
Cheers Leathy! I'm going to get the bike ACF50'd as soon as poss. The bike came with the saddlebag supports but no saddlebags when I bought it. Got these (in fake leather) from Custom Cruisers. I've found they're very practical.