nt700v Harley exhaust update - pics & sound

mp cycle design

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Here are some additional pictures of the Harley install:

#5 pic - midpipe w/out heat shield
#6 pic - close-up of where mid-pipe attaches to Honda mid-pipe
#2 pic - right side case clearance with new muffler
#7 pic - muffler bracket attached to rubber mounted frame hole (where the OEM muffler connected)
*3 pic - back of mounting bracket - notice cut-outs to clear swing arm pieces
 

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mp cycle design

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Additional pics:

#8 - center stand stopper - you will have to cut one arm off the stopper to get enough length on the OEM midpipe to mount the new midpipe extension

#9 - different angle of the midpipe extension attached to the OEM midpipe
#10, 11, 12 - different angle pics
 

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mp cycle design

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Sound pic: I have a couple sound pics in photobucket but I haven't figured out how to attach them - any suggestions?
 

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Yeah, Youtube works well as you can walk around the bike and give folks a sense of the sound from different angles.

When I first saw the title I was thinking 'yeah, okay'.. but that looks very clean.
 
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mp cycle design

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Here is another sound bite - not sure this a good representation compared to the NT - probably would have been better if I did before and after. Anyway - at highway speed - there is no noticable difference in decible noise. Accelerating - the harley pipe is a little throatier - but I can't say its any louder. At idle - to me - the harley pipe sounds much better. Just for grins - I took it out the other day to see how it impacted top speed - my GPS read 110 and revs were around 82 - 83K. I was only there for a few moments and it did seem like it had some left. So I don't think this changed performance a whole lot - mid-range still seems very strong. The only way to know for sure was to dyno a before and after. Anyway - the more I ride - the better I like:

http://s1191.photobucket.com/albums/z477/mpcycledesign/?action=view&current=000_0002.mp4
 
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mp cycle design

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Speaking of exhaust alterations and how it affects performance - long range engine durability - I don't have much experience with the NT - but I have a ton of experience with the Vstrom. As you know - the Vstrom engine is a knock off of Suzuki's racing TL engine. In order to adapt the TL engine to the Vstrom (more mid-range - less top end), the Vstrom had a restrictor, smaller throttle bodies, smaller valves - in other words it was tuned down. Rightly so - the Vstrom was not a stable motorcycle over 100 mph.

I've never been a huge fan of aftermarket systems. To me - they just don't have the durability factor of an OEM pipe. I've owned an RC51 and a ducati ST - for the life of me - I can't understand why anyone would change those pipes. In the RC case - they were titanium and already pretty light weight and the sound was intoxicating. I still think the RC has the best engine ever designed.

To get back to the Vstrom - the exhaust was another engineering nightmare. They were extremely heavy - and mounting them high in the back of the bike was the worse possible place for weight. My fix was finding a set of R1 pipes - again - they were almost free as that's the first stupid thing R1 riders do. The OEM R1 pipes were all titanium and extremely light weight - they were almost a perfect fit for the Vstrom. With a PC - I was able to get an additional 9 HP and almost 4 foot pounds which made a huge difference in Vstroms performace. It could do throttle wheelies like it was made that way. Anyway - I'm not interested in doing that to the NT - much difference purpose for this bike. In the NT's case - the designer won out over the engineer. An engineer would have never put that muffler on an NT. I can hear the conversations between the designer and the engineer - "I don't care that you won't be able to open the right side bag all the way and that you'll need to remove it to take the rear wheel off - I want it anyway - where's my mommy..."
 

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RedLdr1

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The idle sounds a lot better in my opinion, less like a Kubota lawn tractor, more like a motorcycle... Nice job!
 

tawilke46

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Great sound. Can't argue with that. Lower frequency? Makes the NT sound like it has a larger engine.
Good job!
Now can you do mine??????
 
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mp cycle design

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Great sound. Can't argue with that. Lower frequency? Makes the NT sound like it has a larger engine.
Good job!
Now can you do mine??????
Sure can - learned lots of lessons from the first go around...
 
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mp cycle design

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Well - anything can be designed - its just a matter of how much you want to spend. I can understand the esthetics/performance of having the balanced 2 muffler look - but you would be adding weight/complexity. The other issue is that the left side of the bike was not designed to hold a muffler at all. There's a tradeoff for everything...
 

elizilla

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To get back to the Vstrom - the exhaust was another engineering nightmare. They were extremely heavy - and mounting them high in the back of the bike was the worse possible place for weight. My fix was finding a set of R1 pipes - again - they were almost free as that's the first stupid thing R1 riders do. The OEM R1 pipes were all titanium and extremely light weight - they were almost a perfect fit for the Vstrom. With a PC - I was able to get an additional 9 HP and almost 4 foot pounds which made a huge difference in Vstroms performace. It could do throttle wheelies like it was made that way. Anyway - I'm not interested in doing that to the NT - much difference purpose for this bike. In the NT's case - the designer won out over the engineer. An engineer would have never put that muffler on an NT. I can hear the conversations between the designer and the engineer - "I don't care that you won't be able to open the right side bag all the way and that you'll need to remove it to take the rear wheel off - I want it anyway - where's my mommy..."
That is extremely cool. I hated the stock exhaust on my DL1000. Now I wish I still had it so I could try this R1 thing. With pipes like that I could have probably brought the Givis in, two inches closer on each side. I've never changed the pipes on any bike I have owned, but I'm starting to see the temptation. The OEM pipe on the Super10 is like the V-Strom - too big and too high, which forces the bags out too far. I wonder if I could find a lighter, narrower pipe that is OEM on some other bike, that would fit the Super10, and then I could tuck the side cases in closer without getting extra noise? Hmmm...

The NT muffler choice is definitely a triumph of form over function.
 

tawilke46

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I like it enough I am going hunting for a muffler! :)
Appears some folks are starting to get the itch to change the muffler.
Have to agree, the sound and appearance sure make it tempting to do a switch out.
When I first laid eyes on the NT OEM muffler, I wondered why it was so big in relation to the bike and engine.
And why the big triangular shape, whassup with that????:shrug2:
 
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mp cycle design

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For those of you that are going to try and take this on - a couple suggestions - the mounting point for the OEM muffler is towards the front of the bike - its rubber mounted. Any muffler system will require some sort of bracket - for the muffler to be in an ideal location - middle of the right side bag and close enough to the rear tire - the bracket could get in the way of the rear swing arm. You need to view the bracket as an extension of the frame - but at the same time - you don't want it so rigid that the muffler doesn't have a little play. Ideally - you will have material that is rigid - but you can bend/shape it to keep it out of the way of the swingarm. I would also suggest drilling/tapping and inserting a screw at all mounting strap points. Lastly - I would safety wire all the muffler screws. Obviously - the OEM system has rubber mounting points to ensure the muffler has a little play but at the same time holds everything in place. You will not have the advantage of this design efficiency with your modification. The last thing you want to do is blow your nice - newly installed muffler off on the highway - talk about embarrassing... Anyway - best to be safe than to be 100 miles from home without a muffler. Once you get it in place - it will not be likely that you will ever have to mess with it again as you won't need to remove it for back tire removal. This is a little more complicated than most muffler fabs and I doubt that there will be an aftermarket company taking it on any time soon - but once done - well worth the effort. As I said - the more I ride it the more I'm liking it...
 
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