Believe me, Bob, if you buy yourself an XS650 you'll have something to say.
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I've been pretty satisfied with the stock pipes on my '82 Special which I use to cruise the Catskill Mountains, especially because it's rather quiet; the small town locals smile and wave to me when I come through, but not so much as the raucous Harleys invade their space.
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However, lately I've been yearning for a bit more sound and performance, so I sprung for the 1.5 headers and Commando Megaphone mufflers at XS650.com. Nice price.
The removal and fitting of the new system was straight-forward. Before installing the headers I sprayed 2000 degree ceramic coating inside, 2 coats, dried quickly with a hairdryer.
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Once installed, I did the obligatory heat-cool-heat-cool-heat-cool cycles (to fully cure the ceramic) which took 140 minutes.
Then went out for an hour ride in the sunny, lower 60's afternoon.
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I had already bumped up the mains one step when I got the bike. It ran perfectly with the new system, and now I've got a slightly louder and throaty exhaust note which I like. The performance bump is most noticeable to me in the latter half of the performance curve; it doesn't feel as "held back".
After an hour of assertive riding, the headers have turned only a faint golden color in the first 10".
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Then it was time for what might be my last-of-the-season mint chip ice cream cone at the Byrne Dairy in Lafayette.
Yum.
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This pic looks like a big nose bloke with nice green hair.
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Believe me, Bob, if you buy yourself an XS650 you'll have something to say.
I have heard of the N2 bit. Also He...it's lossy as can be, but it transfers heat really well...racing stuff, formula cars and a cat I knew in the 70's.I bought a set of tires from a friends son who just bought a tire shop being told I would get a discount
I think I got a discount for the tires but "Mike you really should have us put nitrogen instead of air in your tires they'll hold pressure longer and if you need to bump up the pressure when your out of town you can use just regular air and it won't be problem"
With the upcharge for the nitrogen I didn't get a discount instead it was quite a bit more
"Hey Mike better change out that summer air it's getting cold out"
I worked for an IMSA and Grand-Am race team for decades. I was their paint and body guy at home, and the tire guy on the road. Nitrogen is great on the race track as it contains no moisture and the tires do not "grow" as much which allows for a more consistent tire from hot to cold. On a street vehicle you will never get the tires hot enough for it to be of any benefit. You can put air, nitrogen helium anything you want in a tire, if there's a place for it to leak, it will find it. BTW, the race team I worked for was also owned by a M-B, Porsche, Lexus dealership, and they made a nice chunk of money "preloading " every new car with nitrogen.I bought a set of tires from a friends son who just bought a tire shop being told I would get a discount
I think I got a discount for the tires but "Mike you really should have us put nitrogen instead of air in your tires they'll hold pressure longer and if you need to bump up the pressure when your out of town you can use just regular air and it won't be problem"
With the upcharge for the nitrogen I didn't get a discount instead it was quite a bit more
"Hey Mike better change out that summer air it's getting cold out"
If so, I hear that they have meds for that.I,ve been running my tires with 78% nitrogen for years. Not racing, so I don't know if my performance has suffered.
You are absolutely correct, IMHO. I'm not really all that frugal, I just haven't been convinced that it matters in a street vehicle.I don't buy into the nitrogen for my tires. Another way for them to squeeze a few more nickels out of my cheap ass. Good 'ol O2 been working just fine for many years.
That's because the laws of physics are different "down under".I don't ride but the tyres on my car never lose air.
I,ve been running my tires with 78% nitrogen for years. Not racing, so I don't know if my performance has suffered.
Now that's amazing, 78 percent nitrogen, and yet if we make that 100 percent we die, I read sometime ago it was suggested that the states with capital punishment use nitrogen as they were having problems procuring the stuff they normally use. It's supposed to be more 'humane', according to exit international.