Finally bought a V-max and got rid of my crotch rockets!

[Pittnathan]

Hi all! I'm new to the forum and cruiser/muscle bikes. After a couple of years of wondering if 1000cc superbikes (as pictured) are still for me (few/lots of near death experiances!), I got a handsome blokes bike.

It's a 99 model with 8000 miles in carbon with cobra slip-ons, stainless manifold, straight bars and 190 section modded rear wheel.

It rides amzingly well and is as comfy as my sofa. It's also pretty bl##dy fast! I fitted a t-boost system yesterday and thats absolutley great in my opinion. Can really feel the difference.

My question is: Will I be losing a noticable amount of power with my cobras? I hope not cause this bikes sounds like it releasing hell! and is it neccessary to re-jet the carbs as it's a wallet killer? Any suggested performance mods?

 

[KJShover]

Welcome to the forum!
As far as the cobras, They look great, sound great, perform not so great. But if you swap your main out to a 147.5 you'll probably get some performance back.

If you want a pipe that will give back some HP, score a Kerker, Dale Walker, Mark's pipes, or UFO (can be way loud) along with a Jet kit, (Dynojet Stage 7 or Morley Muscle Kit).

With the cobra's, as with other slip-on's you shouldn't have to rejet. But, like was mentioned, a 147.5 main swap out will crispen things up. A carb sync and a few tweaks of the a/f screws will liven things up too. You can read all about it in the carb section of the forum.

Again, welcome and enjoy your ride. unk:

 

[06VMAXIMUS]

Welcome to the VMF! The Cobras will steal HP from your bike, but to each his own- if you like them, keep them. Or check into a full system and jet kit for some serious fun!

 

[Pittnathan]

Thanks for the replies and welcome guys! I don't want to get rid of the cobras as i think they're the best looking pipes for the bike. I might down jet it and have the carbs balanced though, not sure i could do either myself! Would a different exhaust really make a noticable difference anyway? It didn't much on my gsxr 1000. Is any of this likely to be the reason it struggles to idle when hot?

 

[one2dmax]

You are losing 20% of your potential HP. So, yes. You will need clean underwear to replace the stained set you will have once you see what you're missing.

 

[Pittnathan]

20%!!! Holy sh#t! Really that much? I'm gutted now! A new, decent system will really make a massive difference then. Is there anything similar looking with decent power?

 

[ninjaneer]

Thanks for the replies and welcome guys! I don't want to get rid of the cobras as i think they're the best looking pipes for the bike. I might down jet it and have the carbs balanced though, not sure i could do either myself! Would a different exhaust really make a noticable difference anyway? It didn't much on my gsxr 1000. Is any of this likely to be the reason it struggles to idle when hot?

welcome to the forum pittnathan. you've joined a forum filled with enthusiasts who are squeezing out the last couple of ponies that they can from their maxes, so their advice tends to lean in that direction. with any of the slip-ons you will lose several hps, just like the previous guys mentioned. imho, i think you will notice a difference and this is why i think so. most folks mod/upgrade the exhaust for at least one of the following three reasons, looks, volume, and/or performance. I modded my stock exhaust for volume. just by punching in a few holes in the end baffle of each muffler, i noticed by the seat of my pants a noticeable loss of "kick" from the throttle--don't get me wrong it's still strong, but "you can feel it" kinda like the "princess and the pea" syndrome. even after adjusting the a/f mixture, not all of the original oomph was regained. so if opening up the end of the exhaust ever so slightly with 10 holes can noticeably affect the oomph, then i can only imagine widening up the flow as much as the cobras do would make that princess feel like she was sleeping on a boulder. don't get me wrong, i can see why you like the look of the cobras--i did too when i first ran across them, but b/c my priorities are performance and sound quality first before looks, i've dismissed the cobras and supertrapps.

{EDIT} Sean snuck in his post while I was rambling. As one of the leading experts here, he knows what he's talking about. So take his post for what it's worth. He's got decades of experience over me and probably has the dyno runs to prove his point, where as all I've got is a "feel".

You're not gonna find a full up system that has that slash-cut look of the cobras with the same performance of the kerker, marks, holeshot, ufo, etc...at least after 8 months of looking i haven't found any.

 

[Pittnathan]

welcome to the forum pittnathan. you've joined a forum filled with enthusiasts who are squeezing out the last couple of ponies that they can from their maxes, so their advice tends to lean in that direction. with any of the slip-ons you will lose several hps, just like the previous guys mentioned. imho, i think you will notice a difference and this is why i think so. most folks mod/upgrade the exhaust for at least one of the following three reasons, looks, volume, and/or performance. I modded my stock exhaust for volume. just by punching in a few holes in the end baffle of each muffler, i noticed by the seat of my pants a noticeable loss of "kick" from the throttle--don't get me wrong it's still strong, but "you can feel it" kinda like the "princess and the pea" syndrome. even after adjusting the a/f mixture, not all of the original oomph was regained. so if opening up the end of the exhaust ever so slightly with a 10 holes can noticeably affect the oomph, then i can only imagine widening up the flow as much as the cobras do would make that princess feel like she was sleeping on a boulder. don't get me wrong, i can see why you like the look of the cobras--i did too when i first ran across them, but b/c my priorities are performance and sound quality first before looks, i've dismissed the cobras and supertrapps.

{EDIT} Sean snuck in his post while I was rambling. As one of the leading experts here, he knows what he's talking about. So take his post for what it's worth. He's got decades of experience over me and probably has the dyno runs to prove his point, where as all I've got is a "feel".

You're not gonna find a full up system that resembles that slash-cut look of the cobras and has the same performance of the kerker, marks, holeshot, ufo, etc...at least after 8 months of looking i haven't found any.

Thanks for your knowledge and detailed replies. I might have a shop around and see what i can come across. I have got a bit of a thing for power!

 

[ninjaneer]

Actually I was very wrong about the lack of high-performing, slash-cut-looking pipes. Look up UFO's Quadzilla. Dang I forgot about these. They were on my short list a while back. Anyways, other than the vendor having a bad reputation with some of the forum members here, I'm not sure why these aren't a more popular choice. Perhaps it's the cost-to-benefit ratio. I think, they're most expensive set.

 

[Pittnathan]

Brilliant. I'll give them a look and see if they're in my limited price range. I'll sell a kidney if need be!

 

[one2dmax]

Again I have not seen big numbers from the UFO systems. Not that they are all bad and maybe not enough to justify not buying them. They will be a huge improvement over stock.

I have some used systems (kerkers) and sell Kerkers and Hindles new.

Just got to email me directly for pricing!

Sean
[email protected]

 

[95spfldmax]

Welcome to The Forum......as a completely unrelated comment......I always get a kick out of how large those license plates are "over there"....there's no tucking them in under the rear fender!

 

[DakRatFink]

Welcome to The Forum......as a completely unrelated comment......I always get a kick out of how large those license plates are "over there"....there's no tucking them in under the rear fender!

I have always been a fan of the big plates of the front of vintage brit bikes and cafe racers.

Welcome to the forum! lots of great people and advice here. I love the look of the black grab rail and backrest on your bike. Looks way better than the clearcoat one on my "01.

 

[vbmax]

I use a UFO 4 into 1 DragStar Slash Cut exhaust on my 06. Couldn't be happier. By far my best purchase to date. The sound is phenomenal. The increased ponies are an added bonus but truth be told, I would have bought them just for listening pleasure. Sounds like a pissed off V-8. Check out this link for a video of the same. Good luck on whatever you choose, but if you want my input, sell the kidney.
http://planetvmax.com/85-07vmax/exhaust/ufo-dragstar

 

[SpecOps13]

Pittnathan: Welcome to a whole new world..........And, this VMax Forum....

 

[Pittnathan]

Brit numberplates are rubbish! Might see how long i can go with a black and silver smaller one before i get pulled! I'll contact onedmax when i have some spare money. Thanks all

 

[GREEN light BLITZ]

Im a full believer in full systems now. We had Cobras on one of our other bikes and we may as well have filled the rear tire with lead because thats how it felt riding it.

I managed to get a used Hindle system for really cheap and couldnt be happier.The difference is night and day over stock so from Cobras to a system...you might wanna take a tissue with you because the tears of joy!

You can hear mine for an idea on my lil Youtube video here:
-> -> -> http://youtu.be/WwoQKXU4rek

It might strike your fancy even more than the Cobra sound.

 

[grimmie]

Brit numberplates are rubbish! Might see how long i can go with a black and silver smaller one before i get pulled! I'll contact onedmax when i have some spare money. Thanks all

You won't be sorry. Sean is awesome!

 

[Barry barker]

Great bike, "Welcome to the Club" From the pic's it looks as though you have headers and the Cobra mufflers, a full system. is this correct?

 

[Pittnathan]

Yeah. It's got a headers/full system. Is that a good thing?! I've got it booked for a carb sync and dyno run next saturday. What sort of bhp do you think I should be expecting? Also what would a standard max make compared to one with say a kerker/ufo full system? Thanks