For anyone who remembers the "Frankentrapp" muffler, this is the next
part in the quest for a lightweight, durable, fairly quiet exhaust pipe
that makes decent power and is USFS approved.
This is not the new Jardine exhaust (that looks just like a Big Gun or
any other oval aluminum earsplitting "muffler"), it's the black steel
unit they used to make, that sort of looks like the stock pipe from the
back. It DOES NOT have a spark arrestor, so I had to fit a Cobra
"sparky" slip-on spark arrestor. The other option would be fitting a
supertrap disc stack, which would reduce the length a bit.
I got my cheap, discontinued Jardine pipe from Mashonline a couple weeks
ago. I actually didn't know I was buying it from them, especially since
I spent so much time ragging on them for ripping off Tim Bernards'
product line. They answered the phone "K&S engineering" when I called
after seeing the listing on Ebay. The invoice in the box said Mashonline
though. Oh well, the stuff was packed well, and shipped on time, and
they were patient on the phone. They originally shipped me the wrong
size spark arrestor (3" instead of 3.5", they cheerfully offered me a
full refund upon return), along with the pipe and the dynojet kit I ordered.
The pipe uses the stock "graphite" exhaust gasket, and bolts up to BOTH
stock muffler mounts. The baffle and shell are all steel, and the
welding looks pretty decent. The guy I spoke to swore the pipe works
perfectly well with stock jetting, and he's actually fitted them to four
different KLR's and used them on long trips. He reported no clearance
problems with the rear wheel.
The first time I fitted it, it sounded like it was barely packed-
rattley and nasty. I removed the core, and it was in fact barely packed.
Less than 1/2 of the core had fiberglass around it, and it was all just
loose fibers floating around. $6.00 for Moose muffler packing fixed
this, and now the pipe seems a bit quieter than a supertrapp IDS2 with 8
discs in it. I used 3/16" pop rivets to secure the core at the forward
end, and also to secure the arrestor AND the core at the back.
I bought some Nomex fabric, and wrapped the spark arrestor with about 3"
of fabric overhanging the end. I used a hoseclamp to secure it. I think
this helps quiet things down, or at least confines the noise to whoever
is directly behind me. The Nomex smelled funny at stoplights, but held
together. Depending on how long it lasts, I might have to get some
ceramic fabric to layer between the nomex and the spark arrestor. Looks
funny, and the fabric overhangs the rear fender a few inches as well.
With 15-45 gearing and a kenda K760 tire, the pipe comes ALARMINGLY
close to the tire. I used a press to dimple the pipe in the approximate
correct spots (yes I know this will affect performance), and now it
looks OK.
To sum it up-
The Jardine is louder than stock, but not horrible. Quieter than an IDS2
with 8 discs or so. The stock pipe (my 2nd) has resisted my efforts to
kill tweety.
The Jardine appears to make a little more power at low RPM. I have the
mixture screw turned out to 3 turns, .4mm washer under the stock needle,
and a 150 main jet. This is only a bit richer than stock, the next setup
will be Dynojet stage-1 jetting, which would actually be a little leaner
on top (but have a richer midrange due to the Dynojet needle).
The Jardine weighs 6lbs with the spark arrestor. The stock pipe weighs
15lbs. 9lbs off a high point on the bike. If you can't feel it riding,
you can feel it picking the bike up off the ground.
The stock pipe is tucked in well and mounted securely, nearly
indestructible. The Jardine is all steel, has the same welded-on dual
mount points, but isn't tucked in as well- it's as long as the Laser
pro-duro, with the spark arrestor protruding even with the rear fender.
Still, the Jardine appears to have the most durable mounting scheme
compared to anything BUT the stock exhaust.
So far so good, I'll put a few thousand miles on it and see what happens.
Devon