Remus Muffler with modified stock header question - Long

[cloudy]

Whilst looking over the R12 the other day (it was raining and I was bored) I noticed the paint on the Remus can I got from Bobby had some of the paint chipped off from stones - I guess it may have happened before I put the hugger on and never noticed?

Once I realized the Remus was all SS and the paint was only lightly adhered anyway, I decided to glass bead the paint off and polish the can to a satin finish. For what it's worth, the Remus Logo is not only riveted on, but glued on with some kind of miracle high temp glue. I left the logo in place and taped it off before I glass beaded the muffler.

Here's where I may have gone a little off the track:
I decided to remove the cat from the stock header while I had the header off, which was possible after a few hours of work with a large HS drill and a star chisel.

Now I'm wondering if the stock computer and O2 sensors can adequately compensate for the reduced back pressure, or if I'll need to put a Rapid Box or some such on, or maybe add some resistors to the O2 circuit like is done with some of the Suburu WRX's after removal of the pre-turbo cat. I've reviewed most of the exhaust threads, and understand that some of the after market headers do away with the O2 sensors, but hope they can still be used successfully with the setup I ended up with. I figured someone here may know if I need computer mods now, but initially assumed it shouldn't hurt to remove the cat restriction, keep the stock header with the balance tube, and save several hundred dollars.

At any rate I do like the look of the Remus Muffler w/o paint. I haven't even started the bike yet to see how it sounds now, but will tomorrow. Please ignore my dirty shop.

[shreddr]

close-ups of the muffler please, I have the same unit and may do the same thing. as far as the O2 sensors go, it is my understanding, they are there to protect the cat converter from fouling by keeping the A/F ratio at stoichiometric or greater. I have the Remus headers with the O2 sensors in and my bike is a rocket, there are no other mods, although I do have a Techlusion from one of Ivans race bikes to try out at some point.

[cloudy]

Two closeups as requested. For what it's worth I initially started using an industrial buffer with the intent of going high luster, but was afraid I'd trash the Logo and spend a serious amount of time to get the finish right at any rate. Decided to use the old coarse scotch-bright and Advance Autoparts Brand X polish approach to go Satin, which I like better for the industrial look/ease of maintenance anyway. Could have spent more time and gotten a little better results, but there's still riding to do before the snow flies.

Bill

[cloudy]

Obviously I can't count.
Bill

[shreddr]

i thought you said you glass beaded it? I like the look alot though, I'm gonna do mine!

[cloudy]

Did glass bead it to remove the paint, then scotch-brite and liquid polish.

[Deans BMW]

The stock bike computer with the O2 sensors will happily compensate.

[cloudy]

Scotch-Bright and polish worked on the header to remove the mottled, colored look too. Ignore the crud otherwise - it'll get washed eventually.

[cloudy]

Thanks Dean O. I guess I can run it now with some level of confidence it won't do a lean meltdown when I'm not looking, eh?

Bill

[wswartzwel]

Originally Posted by cloudy

Is that a Yamaha FZ750 on the right?

[cloudy]

It an RZ-350 I put a small fortune into a few years back - welded crank, porting, big carbs, etc., etc., etc. Holed a piston top end racing a Honda car on the interstate and haven't gotten around to fixing it yet. Let off WFO for a split second, and when I went back to WFO it dropped a cylinder.



Do have another Yamaha that's still going tho, pictured below.





Bill

Less than 2 months later:


Its amazing what you can get out of $14.00 worth of Krylon rattle paint if you take your time. Had this one since 1979, in several iterations.

[wswartzwel]

all I could make out was the guages...

That turbo XS ought to be fun.

I had an RD350 Daytona special for a few weeks... crank had been welded before I got it.. snapped in the middle.... I gave it to the neighbor kid.... wish I had it back...

Here is another one I wish I still had.. sold it in 88

[dlong]

How about a pic of the Goose? Nice stable.

[BMW Atlanta]

I like the treatment on the Muffler, very nice.

As for the hollowing out of the stock Cat,............The bike may run on the lean side at wide open throttle, but not dangerously lean per our testing with Full Remus headers. So what that means is if you're riding the bike on the track at 90% alot or racing the bike, it would need proper mapping to keep conditions in check. However if you are sport riding and not used to pulling 3-4 gears in a row at full throttle over and over again, you should be fine. You will gain RWHP though if you wish to add a RapidBike. I wouldn't add a RapidBike unless you can find a competant tuner to do so for you with that situation as you will have a very unique "set-up" with the hollowed out stock header/cat.

[cloudy]

Appreciate the nice comments regarding the nice: stable thing. All have something different to offer depending on the mood. I generally alternate between the R12 and a 2000 XX that has about 60K on it. The Goose is for special days to try and keep mileage down.

Picture below, though the quality is off some..

[cloudy]

Bobby,
Thanks for the info regarding mixture issues I might face with this setup. I don't do track days or race, although it's not too unusual to run two or three gears WFO during our Sunday Sport Rides in the mountains around here. Seldom hit the rev limiter or red line for what it's worth.

I did ride the bike today for the first time since gutting the cat, and must say that the powerband seems much more linear and free of flat spots as compared to begore, and the bike pulls better than before from even 3000 rpm.

Assuming you sell the RapidBike module and have the capability to properly dyno map the thing, maybe you could PM me some estimated cost info. I'll probably be due for a trip down your way next spring for some R&R anyway, and might be able to slay a few birds at the same time.

Thanks,
Bill

[dlong]

Thanks Cloudy...reminds me of the V7 Sport I garaged in my living room. Wish I had it back. Sport-touring 70's style...

[cloudy]

dlong - You might appreciate this V7 Sport. My buddy that's a machinist has had the one pictured below for a really long time. I painted it back in about 1983 or so with blue Lacquer top coated with clear Imron (supposed to be a no-no mix at the time, but has held up rather well I think). He and I traded bikes even up back in 2001 after I bought a 2000 CBR11XX, which resulted in my getting the Daytona Guzzi in exchange for my T-595 Triumph.

If you really look at the photo's you can see that he custom fabricated a lot of parts - swing arm, triple tree, custom valve cover windows, etc. I refer to that time of his life as his "angular phase", since most of the parts he made from scratch back then have a lot of sharp direction changes incorporated.

Definitely not a Sport Tourer tho'

[dlong]

Sweet. Disc brakes...must have been a '74. With the drum brakes and triangular Dunlops, stopping mine was always an adventure. Sold it for and R90S.

[Tacodog]

Cloudy,
Do you have pictures of what you did to the cat?