There
are 7 companies that I know of that make pipes for the RT:
[If
you know of others or have experience with any of these
exhaust systems please let
me know!]
Steve
Burford <burf@iquest.net
> wanted a new exhaust and his pals Steve and Archey
both suggested the D&D exhaust system. "…with
the "euro spec" silencer on it if I wanted the
bike to sound like a motorcycle. Steve noted that his impression
of the muffler was from what he had put on his twin. We
both liked the sound of an older twin with a two into one
exhaust system on it, and this D&D was similar sounding.
OK, I’m hooked. Archey got one of the aluminum units
for us out of the D&D shop in Texas in short order.
Archey mentioned he had heard of some problems with their
carbon fiber units failing at the rivets and suggested we
not get that model, thus the reason for the aluminum (plus
I think the aluminum looks neat). "
"Installation
was difficult only in the removal of the very heavy old
system. While the bike only had 1500 miles on it at that
time, the old system had a number of supports and do dads
that had to be removed before it could be cleared from the
bike. The most important thing to remove (and on the RT’s,
it is a real chore ‘cause you have to virtually strip
the bike to get to it) is the oxygen sensor. The cabling
for the sensor runs up the right side, behind the injector.
I wound up removing all the wire ties from the clips holding
the lead wire in order to get the cable long enough to remove
the sensor. There is no swivel on the sensor, so you have
to rotate the whole sensor and cable (or the exhaust system
that would be almost impossible) to unscrew the unit. This
has to be repeated when the new header pipe is installed.
The new unit has a new header pipe and a separate muffler.
The header extension is about 3 feet long and less than
5 pounds vs. the considerably longer and heavier one piece
stock unit. The muffler is equally light weight and has
a style that goes with the overall style of the motorcycle.
"
"Bolt
up is a piece of cake, although there are no written instructions
on what goes where with the new exhaust system. Rough align
all the "stuff" and get it all on before you go
back and tighten. I gotta tell you, sound, and feeling is
GREAT!!!!! The sound is a bit louder than what I was expecting,
but not window rattling, squid rider loud. Just a deeper
and more authoritative sound. Steve H. noted that his bike
sounded good at speed, and would let those around you know
when you tickled the throttle a bit. Yet at a smooth speed,
the sound is just a slight, healthy tone."
"Biggest
difference I have noticed so far is in the midrange of the
rpm’s, where I used to get some of the now big twins
famous stumbling. While the stumbling it still there slightly,
most of it is gone (helped also by plug changes, noted below).
I guess lowering the back pressure the engine was fighting
has reduced the amount of work the engine has to do, so
the engine is not working as hard and the power delivery
is smoother. At a price of around $700, this is not an inexpensive
change, but it was well worth it for me. I guess the silencer
is rigged for several different models and is supposed to
exit on the right side of a number of these models, but
this pipe exits on the left side, so the D&D logo is
pop riveted to the INSIDE of the muffler. Kinda fits the
not totally conforming mode I seem to be in most of the
time."
Troy
Torrison <ttorrison@mnh.com>
Says that he "met a guy who had a CC Spytech Exhaust
on his R1100RS and I asked him about it. He got it from
a BMW specialist in Northern California and was very happy
with it. Claimed it was holding up well after much use and
abuse (he complained of often hitting the rev limiter--something
I've almost never done) and the muffler looked nice (though
not as clean a design as the more expensive Sta-in-tune)
except for the rather awkward empty space that exists where
the catalytic converter once was. Since the unit was lighter
the guy claimed better performance but hadn't dyno-ed the
thing. Anyway, the bike sounded fantastic to my ears. It
sounded about as loud as a stock Ducati (without the Desmo
rattle of course) but with that unique BMW boxer note. It's
music if you ask me. And it's why I want a new muffler..
.but I think I'm going to go with Sta-in-tune regardless.
Looks better."
My dad
put a StainTune on his '98 RT, and turned out to be way
too loud for his comfort on the highway, and backfired all
the time when decelerating. After some investigation, we
found out that StainTune makes two different pipes for the
R1100 series. One has a "sport" baffle and the
other a "touring" baffle. Turns out that Steve
had the sport baffle. The sport baffle did create a noticeable
increase in Horsepower, but according to the guy we spoke
with from StainTune, the tour baffle does not enhance performance.
As of
September 2000, CBT Imports reports that the touring version
of the StainTune has been discontinued for the sport version
with removable baffles. Its your choice to be loud or quiet(er)
- the baffles come in and out very easily.
James
Meyers <bently19@earthlink.net>
Went with a system is built by Two
Brothers Racing. "The system I have has an aluminum
canister with a thin walled stainless steel connector pipe.
It was an absolute piece of cake to install an leaves plenty
of room for the stock luggage. I didn't weigh the system,
but the whole thing can't weigh more than ten pounds. There
are no baffles anywhere in the system. The muffler is totally
straight through. There is a stainless steel vortex tube
running the full length of the muffler. Surrounding the
tube is stainless steel wool, this being surrounded by fiberglass
pads. A kit is available from Two Brothers for rebuilding
the interior of the muffler, should the fiberglass need
replacing. The stock system (including the catalytic converter)
is removed totally at the junction of the stock pipe and
the header system connected to the engine. The Two Brothers
thin wall stainless connector pipe is then connected to
this junction with a clamp supplied with the kit. There
is a bung for the oxygen sensor in this connector pipe which
accepts the stock sensor. There is no need for re-chipping
the fuel injection with this system."
"The
muffler itself a slip-on, retained by two springs and a
large clamp surrounding the muffler. This clamp connects
to a very short aluminum bar bracket with a 8mm bolt. The
other end of this bracket connects to the original 10mm
muffler mounting bolt located in the stock position. The
slip-on area is coated lightly with high heat silicon to
prevent metal to metal contact at this joint. The original
mounting area in the center stand area, for the catalytic
converter is not used. I am not positive on this, but I
think the change has resulted in an 18 pound loss of weight."
"The
bike has a very deep sound that can now be heard. The bonus
is that the bike performs much better, especially at the
point where the torque really kicks in, about 4300rpm. I
rode the bike to Sturgess this year and it performed without
a glitch. You must maintain a very clean air filter as the
engine is pumping quite a bit more air. Another plus is
the cost. The system, with alum. canister cost 419.98, considerably
less than many other systems. The quality of the construction
is A+.
G. Mayes
<gmayes@sprintmail.com>
opted for the Laser
Exhaust System with Chip after doing considerable research
on the various exhaust systems. "After going through
the list of available systems, it came down to Remus and
Laser. Staintune, D&D, Two Brothers etc... could
not substantiate their claims or had no claims to substantiate.
The Remus system cost the same as the Laser and could /
would not guarantee any horsepower or torque gain. So I
opted for the Laser, and got it within 5 days of ordering.
I was very satisfied with the quality and the looks."
"Installing
the exhaust was simple; one advantage of the Laser is the
weight - about 11 pounds. The old system came off easy -
weighed a whopping 31 pounds. I did not to make any changes
to the fairing, frame or anything, it fit perfect. Installing
the chip was a little more time consuming and takes more
mechanical knowledge and skill. You have to remove the gas
tank to get to the Motronic box and install the new chip
and re-seal the box with a good Silicone Sealant. To do
the whole job, a person with good mechanical skills should
be able to do the job in a half-day."
There
has been a lot of discussion about buying the Laser exhaust
and not the chip or vice versa. If you get the chip only,
and do not change the exhaust, you will cause permanent
damage to the Catalytic Converter on your bike and possibly
damage the valves on your RT. If you get the exhaust only,
you also will need to purchase a BMW Potentiometer and other
parts - see the Surging FAQ for
more info on this. There is no bung for the Air (lamda)
sensor on the Laser or the Remus systems. Also, I should
note that opening the Motronic Box and installing the chip
will void your warrantee.
G. Mayes
had his motorcycle dyno-tested prior to changing the exhaust
and noted a measurable improvement in performance with the
Laser system: "The stock rear wheel HP was 76.5hp @
7500rpm. This is approximately 15% of BMW's stated 90hp
at crankshaft. BMW says this difference is about the correct
percentage of gear and differential loss that should
be expected. After the Laser system was installed, I had
it dyno'd again at the same place on the same machine, and
it showed 84.4hp at 8000rpm for about a 10% gain. The torque
did not exceed 70 lb/ft, but was a very smooth curve/ Also
the Horsepower curve was very linear, with no dips or flat
spots as in the stock dyno-test."
"Noise
was a big concern for me as well, but I am pleased with
the sound. Its definitely louder, but not by much. Its a
lot quieter than a stock Harley, which doesn't say very
much! I ride with a guy that has a Honda VTR 1000 and has
punched out baffles, and it sounds a lot like his bike.
I don't think anyone will be disappointed in the sound or
think its too loud.
