Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Exhaust Help a noob with pipes questions

Hello, well I have decided to get new pipes to get rid of the dreaded "sewing machine syndrome" My ride is pretty much stock right now.

I've narrowed it down to the Specialty Spares or the Bubs, however all of this re-jetting and ai removal makes me a bit nervous. This is my very first bike and I'm kinda weary of doing this by myself, I don't want to f it up.

I went over the Bub installation pdf and it seems like it is just "plug and play" ( bub install instructions ) no re-jetting mentioned at all, so my questions are:

Are the Bubs really plug and play? is re-jetting necessary for these pipes?

Is the re-jetting and ai removal on the Specialty Spares easy enough for a complete noob to install?

I saw the installation instructions for the Sceptre and it intimidated the heck out of me... a bit out of my current skills.

any thoughts are welcomed.

I would rejet and remove the AI with either set.

It's easy and you can do it. The Air Injection removal is just that, you take off some parts and replace them with bolts and caps and that's it. If you can turn a wrench and use a pliers you're good to go.

In most cases you wouldn't have to rejet if you just replace the silencers and don't change the air filter but the pipes manufacturer will have the right info. You must ask before you buy so they'll be reminded to tell you. Again, it isn't that difficult if you're handy; if you're not handy ask for help here lots of folks on this board can give you great guidance.

I say rejet with either set too, our bikes are lean to start with to get through emissions. Rejet is easy, I think it is a good idea to take the carbs off the bike the first time so you can turn them upside down and get familiar with where things are. Plus it will make it easier if you run into a stubborn bowl screw. Get some stainless allen head screws to replace the originals to make any future work easier. Probably don't need to change the pilot if your air box is still intact, just back the mixture screws out some. The main is easily seen without removing the carbs so if you don't want to go through that much hassle there is no real need to. The main you will only need to go to maybe a 130 give or take depending on your elevation above sea level.

I had the dealer install my Bubs at the 600 mile service, along with removing the AI (keep the bits & pieces) and Unifilter. I asked and was told that rejetting was not necessary. I have about 3,600 miles on her since last July and I have been pretty happy with her performance. And the Bubs sound awesome!!!

Once I have a garage of my own, I may tweak the carbs and play around with rejetting.
I have seen that the stock Allen head screws are easy to mess up, so if you decide to explore your carbs, definitely get the stainless screws. I think Brent sells them on newspeedmaster.com.

Dealer probably just didn't want to rejet your bike, you are probably lean now. Hardware store has the stainless screws much cheaper, thread is 4mm X 0.7.

Thanks for all the comments, I'm thinking of getting the SS since they come with the ai removal kit, I guess I'll see the level of difficulty on re-jetting when I get the kit. Hopefully I'll place the order in the next few weeks.

+1 on rejet, & if you do get into the carbs, then +1 on allen heads, but take it easy with 'em.
You may want to consider thumbscrew type pilot screws while you're at it.
Brent has those too.

To meet environmental requirements, these bikes run too lean from the factory. It will run OK with 'no rejetting required' pipes, but it will run great if you change the jets anyway. For that matter, it will probably run noticeably better with a size or two bigger jets and no other changes.

Interesting guys, I've got the same questions. My new '03 BA is arriving tomarrow! So I've been looking all over this site for carb and pipe info. Plenty of it here. But I have a noob question to ask. Where do I buy a jet anyway?

Still dunno about pipes. May get TORS to save a buck but I wonder if there loud enough for me. I ride a 1970 Sportster with mufflers and think its plenty loud.

Brent sells jets at NewBonneville.com.
I have about 22,000 miles on my Specialty Spares and they look like the day they were installed (sound great too).

Jets can be had many different places and are about $3 if you pay more you are paying too much. Honda shops are a good source but Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Hardley, and others use the same jets as we do. Hardley uses a couple different kinds so if you don't know what you are looking for go to the Honda shop.Also the HD jets tend to be too big since they run 1 carb for 2 cyl. and we run 1 carb for 1 cyl. Honda is cheaper than Triumph for the same jets too and there is no shipping charge.

Ill chime in here with my advice. I bought a 2007 black Speedmaster in May 2007 and it was my first bike and only been riding 1 year. With the great advice from the peoples here on this forum I have now put holes in my airbox, removed AI, changed jets in the carby, changed to allen head stainless screws on the carby and removed 3 baffles from each factory exhaust. I am not a mechanic and I have found if you give it a go you will learn so much more. The advice I have received from here has been spot on since I checked it with a dyno and did not need further adjustments.
I have had great service from Brent at Newspeedmaster.com and I am a few oceans away. Give it a go.
(Wife could not believe her eyes when she saw me with a drill with extension bits on it and drilling away at my bikes exhaust and it was only months old)

Great advice and suggestions guys! keep 'em coming.
I will get the SS pipes they come with a jet kit and ai removal kit so I get everything I need all at once.

If you havn't already, check out Pat's site. It has step by step (with pictures!) on rejetting, along with a bunch of other stuff

Click Me!

I also have a question....Dinqua's calculator says my bike's main jet should be 127.5 with the new pipes...but Brent only sells 125 or 130. Do I go with 130? and if I do do I leave the pilot at 42 still or do I have to change that also? Brent also has needles and shims on there for sale...what are those for? Do you need those when you re-jet?

maybe the 125 and 1 shim but can't say for sure, plus the jet calculator isn't 100% but rather a great place to start. It may turn out that a 130 is what you need or maybe the 125.Every bike is different and jetting has as much to do with where you live as it does the bike. With a stock air box chances are you don't need to change the pilot. Just adjust the mixture screws to make the idle circuit a little richer.

you could prob even do 2 shims and be alright with 125's, its all a guessing game unless you get it on a dyno with a sniffer

Frank

2007 speedmaster.

I have the bub pipes, no ai, no top snorkel.
I run it with 125's (130's was too rich) and 2 shims.

so far so good. when i dyno'd with the 130's the tech suggested to either cut the box or drop down a few needles.

I suggest you do the rejet and ai removal as well.

Hey guys, I've been researching on the ai removal and I'm thinking it has already been removed from my bike.

I bought it with 1300 miles on it so the job might have already been done. The thing is since I'm new to this I'm not 100% sure, is there an easy way to tell? what should I be looking for? There is a bolt next to the plugs, which I thought that was part of the job but I really do not know, I'll post some pics soon.

It's easy to see. Is there a small metal tube going into the cylinder outside of the plug or just a bolt filling the hole? If nothing is going into that outside hole - it's gone. There are a lot of other parts to the AI, but that's the easiest to spot.

yep, seems like the job was done, see the pics below.

Since the ai has been removed from my bike I think I'll go with the Bub instead of the SS. Pat's Jetting calc suggests 129.5 (I'm 1050 above sea level) with the snorkles in... what are the snorkles for? should I remove the top one? what will that help with? more air intake?

Seems like the middle picture shows a line running from the manifold instead of a vacuum cap. It's likely the AI components, while defeated, are still mounted to the frame and it would be worth checking the upper left corner of the air box to make certain it is plugged.

Hi oldroadie, I think you are right, there is only one vacuum cap on the left side manifold.

Here is another pic... I'm not sure if I'm taking the picture of the correct parts

He's talkin about the small rubber hoses that come off the vacuum ports right about the choke knob on the carbs.

That's a nice picture of the starter solenoid and the carb thermostat. It's fine, after all it's the only way to learn your bike.

I suspect you'll find a hose connecting the two carbs, one at the top of the carb right behind the choke knob and running to the same spot on the right hand carb near the throttle position sensor; it's okay, not to worry, some folks (including me) think it helps a wee bit. I meant the hose running off the right manifold near the top rear engine mount, normally that's capped off like it is on the left side and that makes me think the AI components are still on the frame under the tank.

bwahahaha! lol

I knew I wasn't looking on the right place. I guess its time for me to get one of those Hayes repair manuals to really get familiar with this machine. I'll leave the pics live just in case someone else run into the same thing.

Yes those components are still attached. As long as there is no real problem with those being there when I get the new pipes it is cool with me. I think I'll be ready to get the new pipes in a week or so. Can't wait to put some real sound in my bike

It almost looks like its running 2 hoses from carb to carb!

Never mind thats a cap.

But I would look and see where that other hose goes, or pull it and cap it

Phil, there is an edit button where you can change or add another thought to your previous post.

Well, finally placed my order, I was going to go for Bubs but apparently Bub is taking too long to restock so I went with the SS long slash cuts. I also ordered the Uni filter and oil.

I hope to get these in the next couple of weeks, can't wait to get rid of the sewing machine sound

Conwy, I have questions:

1. Where did you have your pipes installed and did you buy them there or somewhere else?
2. Is the AI that pipe that runs parallel to the spark plug? What is it's purpose and why did you remove it?
3. What is a Unifilter and why is it desirable? What is involved in the installation?
4. Have your pipes blued and if so, what if anything do you do to remedy that?

2 Yes it is outboard of the sparkplug it pumps air in the exhaust just after the exhaust valve to help with emissions. It also causes your exhaust to be hotter and makes pipes blue.

3 Uni filter is a replacement for stock that is a little better and washable so you can reuse it.

1. Pipes designed for the bike are easy to install, but as you open up the exhaust and air intake, you will need to re-jet and adjust the carbs.

2. (see above)

3. You can easily remove the snorkel sticking out of the top of the airbox and just drop in a better filter like the UNI allowing a less restricted air intake.

4. You can get the blueing off with Blue-Away, Semi-chrome, and some other similar products. The stock bikes are set up way too lean for emission control. Once AI is removed and the carbs are properly set and re-jetted, the pipes shouldn't blue.

Thought he was asking snows specific questions, thats why I didn't answer 1 and 4. For #4 You might try Blue Buster I think it is, that one comes with a drill attachment saving quite a bit of elbow grease. That being said I have used both Blue Away and Blue Job and both work just fine. Blue Away will leave very fine scratches but not enough to notice 2' away.

+1 on #1 and #3 above in Ramsounds post.

I read in one of the earlier posts that it's important to get the RIGHT jets to match the exhaust. This makes sense but is there a "rule of thumb" of some kind that will help with that decision?