Two Brothers Racing C4 Round Titanium Slip On

[KC-10 FE]

***Disclaimer: If you like your TBR anything, that's great & I'm happy for you. My TBR can was a POS & here's my honest review of it. :Disclaimer***

I bought the TBR can the same week I bought my bike in May 2000. I ordered it from WWW.STARCYCLE.COM They are a good place to look for pipes & would definitely recommend them. Starcycle drop ships (they are basically a middle man that gets you a discount) directly from the source so the pipe was never actually in Starcycle's hands.

1. Receiving the product: When the pipe arrived the box was damaged pretty good. That's UPS's fault, not TBR or Starcycle. The entire hardware bag was missing. Since there was a large hole in the box, I pretty sure that's where the hardware went. There was a large blemish on the titanium can. Most likely from the damage to the box as well.

2. Installation: TBR refused to sell me the required hardware to properly mount the can so I had to scrounge at a motorcycle dealer to get the required springs. The bolt for the footpeg was sourced at local hardware store. The SS clamps were aquired at a marine hardware center. If you have the mechanical ability of a chimp, you can mount a slip on to a 5th Gen VFR. The clamp that goes around the can was not the correct size but it was the only one I could find at the boat place so I had to make do. The can actually would not fit because it contacted the footpeg. It eventually took 2 hours of carefully filing the peg until I was able to get .040' clearance measured on my spark plug gauge.

3. After the install: The TBR sounded OK I guess. A little raspy on the top of the rev range. Micron, Staintune, DD & Scorpion all sound better IMO. It made no NOTICEABE increase in power. It's main benefit was the weight loss after ditching the boat anchor Honda put on the bike.

4. A few years later: The end caps started corroding less than 1 year after the install. The rubber on the springs rotted off in less than 2. It kept getting louder & louder but that's what you get when you buy a pipe that needs to be repacked.

5. Dealing with TBR: Every single time I contacted them, they were extremely rude & actually hung up on me a few times which is my biggest gripe with TBR. It started with the hardware. Why on earth they would refuse to sell me replacement hardware is beyond me. Then there's the fact the pipe simply did not fit. I asked for a replacement under warranty & they said to contact Starcycle. Starcycle said warranty claims are handled by the manufacturer. When the endcaps corroded, I again asked for a new pipe or at least new end caps. Again they refused. Why is a warranty even offered here? WTF is warrantied?

In the end, I would not recommend TBR products to anyone. I can't stand when any company will not stand behind their products. As a customer service comparison, I wear Vasque hiking boots exclusively. I've owned probably 10 pairs of their boots over the years. One of the pairs I bought just didn't feel right. I tried to break them in for 2 months but they just didn't work. Compared to their other boots, this one pair was simply off. I contacted them & even after wearing them for two months, Vasque gave me a brand new pair for free & even paid for shipping. That's customer service. TBR blows.

KC-10 FE out...

[reg71]

Good write-up. I hope more people follow suit and write up reviews so any of us looking for accessories can have an idea of what to expect. I have a 2bros on my bike. I like it so far and haven't had problems, but I did not buy it new and would feel exactly the same as you if I had been dealt with similarly. Hopefully, someone in their sales dept will take note. If not, maybe you at least save another rider or two from going through what you went through with them.

[gogator]

That answers that. Leo Vince, here I come.

[KC-10 FE]

I just checked a few places & Two Bros Racing is cancelling production on all their "old style" round & oval canisters to exclusively make the M2 & M5 V.A.L.E canisters. That means there will be some C4 & C5 cans available cheap in the next few months.

KC-10 FE out...

[Keager]

I had a TBR pipe on my 95, never had it repacked, never any issues. Pipe was put on just after break in, and was sold on the bike in 06. Sounded great, and had more go than a 97 with a D&D pipe with the same mods. The jets on the bike were set to run a little rich, so upon deceleration there was plenty of popping & crackling, along with the occasional 2' flame out the can - especially when very cold out and running that rich. looked cool, but I'm sure it burned out more of the packing. The pipe was even broken, when a car backed into my bike (pipe side) and I used duck tape to get it back home again. Pop riveted the bracket to the pipe, and it is still on there, somewhere, that way. Sounded great.

Must be a new manufacturer of TBR pipes then. Sounds like they have gone down hill, but I still like the deep, throaty sound that they make.