Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Exhaust Bubs vs Epcos

Haven't heard much from the Bub crowd of late (assuming there is a Bub crowd). There seemed to be a few members that had reviewed them on the old site with favorable comments.

Anybody have an opportunity to see or hear both? Any thoughts on the comparison? The bubs look to be a bigger diameter pipe.

Everybody speaks well of the Epcos, and the price is about the same.

Specialty Spares may be missing out with no presence on the web, and their warranty (only 6 months?) seemed a little disappointing, although I don't see anywhere what the Epco or Bub warranties are.

I liked the Dresser Dog look, but I think they discontinued them? I would have wanted a longer version anyway.

The TORs are less expensive, and again chrome vs the stainless...

Seems all the pipes from "down under" (Thunderbike, StainTune) are much more expensive, as are the Sceptres which may be too loud for my tastes.

So that kind of leaves the Bubs and Epcos unless somebody has any other suggestions.

Let'r rip!

Kennymc has a set of the Bub dresser dogs on his 03 Speedmaster. I took it for a spin to check it out, and that bike flies! The Bub doods are one of the top Triumph performance brainiacs on the planet, like Thunderbike in NZ is. They are designed very specifically to gain performance, looks are secondary, but excellent looking high quality stuff anyway.
My vote would be the Bubs between the two. And they sound sooooo nice too. Different than all the rest of the pipes too. Like they should be.

Visually, the Bubs are kinda short and fat, and the Epcos are long and lean. I kinda wish I could have gotten long AND fat, but what guy doesn't wish for that? I believe Shari (Mert) has Bubs too but I could be mistaken...

not sure about performance, but i have seen/heard them and they look great, but the sound was a bit high and harsh for my taste. not as deep as the tbike's but the look and quality were top notch.

Frank

I have the BUB slash cuts, and I'm very happy with them. The dresser dogs are short, the slash cuts are longer, exit just below the lower rear shock mount.
I don't know which ones Frank has been listening to, but mine have a nice deep rumble.
Can't help with the Epcos as I haven't heard them.

Oh and Benny, I would say long AND fat .

epcos make small children fear you when you blip the throttle as you ride past,,,,,,,Angelis

i heard the dresser dogs. sorry should of said that before.

Frank

I've got a set of Bub Dresser dogs on my Speedmaster. Made a big difference in power, didn't have to jet any different. Plug color is good and no flat spots(the one at about half throttle it used to have) or blubbers. The bike pretty much just goes now. Wish they were longer for apperance and to get the noise a bit farther back. A nice rumble when at idle, almost cop bait at a slow cruise and awfull darn loud when wacked wide open. The wife likes them so they'll stay on.
Chuck

I have the Epcos and like them, nice sound and good power (I added the freak when I installed the Epcos). The best way to answer your question is for you to attend the '06 Georgia Rally, all exhausts will be here.

i have the dresser dogs...
i love the look and the sound is great... just perfect as far as i am concerned... not too loud so i feel like jerk riding through town after dark, but loud enough that i can be heard... most of the guys i ride with have also paid me compliments... some have even decided to start shopping for new pipes.

when i was shopping for pipes, i thought the epcos were a little loud for my taste

I too have the Specialty Spares (slash cuts) and have enjoyed them. I did modify them a little to get a bit more noise and was successful! They scream when I grab the throttle. They look pretty new except for the occasional scrape, dent from Florida road rocks!

I have ridden with folks that have Epcos, SS, Sceptres, TOR, and Thunderbike. They are all great pipes, and each has a distinctive tone. It is all up to your taste. If I had the money, I would get the Sceptres.

Ride Safe.

Ryan

I love my BUBS, the long slahs cut ones, put like 135 mains in to hopefully match. The thing is, the cagers know I am there now ...

I've had a set of Bub slashcuts for 2 years, and I believe Freedom has a pair of Epcos. His pipes look and sound awesome. So do mine. No problems with welds, or rivets. The pipes come complete with mounting hardware so all you do is bolt 'em on and go. FAST, I might add...

Way more performance than with stock pipes. I've gotten compliments about the Bubs from a lot of folks, including (gasp) Harley riders

Either brand would be a great choice, IMO...

roadie

I lost a baffle on my bub slashcuts because the revits loosened. The service from Bub has been great. I ordered the baffle and rivets from Bub, and received em in about a week. I'm replaceing the rivets on the other side too and I'll make a habit of checking them when I lube the chain. I've had the Bubs for 2 years now and I thought at the time they were the best deal. They were expensive at that time, but we were very limited in the choices we had for the America. Today there are a lot more choices, and mine is the only Triumph up here, and I have never heard or rode with anyone else on a Triumph, so I can't really compare the sound. I know for a fact that without a baffle they are LOUD! Louder then a shovelhead with straight pipes. He was surprized, as was I, but the bike runs much better with the baffles in. The baffles are going back in, so the neighbors are breathing a little easier now! No more car alarms and barking dogs in the morning.

Yep Benny, Shari and I both have Bub Slash cuts. I like mine, although I had some issues with rusty welds on the hanger. That was easily solved though. There is a paint that turns rust to a protective silver oxide layer of primer, almost undistinguishable from the original color of the weld bead. I don't worry about it any more, and those pipes ROCK!! Have a bud with a tricked out Sportster 1200 (which was a BIT louder when sitting idling), and he got quite a surprise when following me one night out of the parking lot (not only the sound, but also how quickly I pulled away!)

Yep Benny, Shari and I both have Bub Slash cuts. I like mine, although I had some issues with rusty welds on the hanger. That was easily solved though. There is a paint that turns rust to a protective silver oxide layer of primer, almost undistinguishable from the original color of the weld bead. I don't worry about it any more, and those pipes ROCK!! Have a bud with a tricked out Sportster 1200 (which was a BIT louder when sitting idling), and he got quite a surprise when following me one night out of the parking lot (not only the sound, but also how quickly I pulled away!)

Greg, what's this paint you speak of?

Is it true you don't have to re-jet with the Bub exhausts? I'm getting a new 05 Speedmaster from Simi Valley Triumph next Tuesday. I was thinking about getting Epcos but the idea of tearing apart a brand new bike gets me tired. It's been 14 months since I was in an accident that almost killed me. I had to get a total hip replacement and still have a plate in my right wrist. My Indian was totaled so I'm getting the triumph cause it's lighter and cheaper.

cruiserken, that's what my dealer told me, but thanks to info from Dinqua here, I knew otherwise. I told him he'd end up going with 132's, and sure enough, the gas analyzer proved us right. Depending on how things go with me moving to Colorado, I may rejet to 135's and up the Pilots to 42 (im at about 6-800 feet above sea level here in SC, and have no snorkels left in my bike). If I move out there, I may leave it be since the change in altitude may bring my mix a tad richer just where it needs to be.

Benny, just go to your local auto parts place, and they have primer that is specifically for painting over surface rust. It converts it to a protective layer, and they have a couple colors. It's Krylon Rust Tough Enamel, and they have a silver or chrome color. And since that part of the exhaust doesn't really get that hot, it doesn't need to be high temp paint like you'd use on your engine. OH, and it's only (unfortunately) available as a spraypaint, so what I did was get a small fine tipped painte brush, and a small bowl, spray some of the paint into the bowl and paint the welds by hand. I have also used it on some of the allen head fasteners, where rust has appeared inside the head.

Thanks Greg! I'll take a look!

Cruiser - the Bub website says you don't have to rejet. I haven't rejetted - I get better gas mileage and way better performance with the Bubs than with the stock pipes. Some guys, however, have rejetted and if I remember correctly, there was some reported improvement in performance...

Hey Freedom - you asked about the sound of your Epco's - I remember listening to them and thinking how great they sounded. While I went by

But folks, don't believe all Freedom's stories - Friar John and I really had our work cut out (at least I did) staying with him in the twisty bits!

Hey Freedom - looking forward to seeing you as soon as things warm up a bit. Ok, warm up a lot! Meanwhile, the weatherman says we got another winter storm on the way!

Long bub slash cuts on mine. I try to keep a lower RPM when near police cars. They is loud...

I have the Epcos in a straight cut and I LOVE them , sound look and Quality !

Took my Speedmaster in for the 500 mile service yesterday. The mechanic took all the California smog junk off, installed the AI kit and unifilter, and replaced stock exhaust with the Bub slachcuts. He took it for a ride and found no flat spots or popping. It runs perfect without re-jetting. It's a family owned dealership in San Bernadino Calif. Been there 44 years. They all race Triumphs, even the sales guy.Doug Douglas motorcycles really treated me right and I really like the way this bike feels. Fast and solid.

The Epcos have a nice snappy sound much like an old 650 with the magaphone pipes that were popular in the 50's. They are loud enough, but not so loud as to gain you a collection of tickets.
I put mine on the bike at about 150 miles, so I can't really comment on the amount of power gain over the factory stealth pipes because I followed the runin rules very carefully. I can say though, the Triumph is noticably quicker than a new HD Lowrider with Vance & Heins pipes and a high flow fuel injection intake.

Another nice thing is that the Epcos bolt to the original Triumph pipe hangers, so you get no rusty bits.

Never heard the Epcos. Got the Bub slash cuts. Never really heard em, something about faster than sound !