Called into local dealer (Hunts) today and the parts team showed these two parts - really different. Makes you realise the 2014 bikes really are quite different to the previous ones Downpipe section has the join too which earlier ones dont have The downpipes looked narrower, yet the post CAT outlet larger Nerd alert post over - but explains why so few cans / pipes /systems available for the SP and 2014 bikes
Great post alblade. I've got a trophy arrow can for my sp so having a link pipe made off a pal who's a fabricator. Everyone's been a bit slow off the blocks to get there ases in gear and make the link pipes
I'm gutting one very soon, IMO the new system is down to cost, many of the cats are pre fab so my money would say Honda have a cheaper way of producing the systems, I.e pre fab cat and easy to place in the headers, also maybe cleaner more efficient in the headers. The link pipe will be down to tuning, exhaust system tech is highly complex.
With the cat now in the headers do you think it will have a big impact on fuelling if I fit a slipon ?
Less impact for sure, no matter what the euro3 gang say the cats restrict flow, if they remain they will govern the flow no matter what slipon you fit.
Removing the Cat from any system will give better performance. As Arthur says they all sap power. Going from what I am seeing here, the best way to see any real benefit, would be to fit a full system on the 2014 bikes. Maybe another option would be to fit headers from a 08-13 bike (if they fit) and then add a slip on.
Exactly the reason I had my ZX10R's downpipes cut open by a local engineering shop and the CAT dug out. There should be no reason at all why the MY12+ downpipes wouldn't fit unless the SP has a diff fairing which I doubt looking at it. The join in the top part of the headers on Pots 2 & 3 is just for strength I'd say.
That pipe is know as a balance pipe, exhaust system tech is highly complex, it could serve many purposes depending on what they have set out to achieve, my money would be on to improve efficiency, I'd like to think its to improve low end grunt and no reason why it's not, all the little tweaks they do to systems is a trade off, what they gain in one place they may loose in another, anyway some of the factors are about flow, shock waves, power pulses, part burn gasses, and many more factors of exhaust system design. Think the perfect exhaust is one that lets burn fuel and air out of the system while retaining enough part burn fuel in the cylinder to help the next stoke of the engine to burn efficiently as well as letting any shock waves from the first stoke exit the exhaust with out any reflection disrupting the next firing of the cylinder, take into account this has to deal with all four pots, sometimes like here manufactures will try and scavenge gasses etc from another cylinder to improve elsewhere...and so on..
Balance pipes have been used for decades for tuning bottom end, looking forward to seeing some dyno comparisons. Under all the marketing material Honda is printing though the only thing I can put down to where the cat is now is for regulatory compliance. Some things don't get easier...
The stock pipes on my previous bike (CBR600F) had 2 balance pipes, and when I replaced with 3rd party SS headers without the balance pipes it ran rough as feck! Had to get a Power Commander to sort the problem out...
