EXHAUST FOR 87 VFR700F2

In case anybody wants to know, I recently ordered a laser carbon fibre slip on for my 87 Viffer. It took me about 4 months of research to find it but I got it from a place called Fosterrad - www.fosterrad.com. Seems everyone else discontinued any kind of exaust slip on for this type of bike. Robert Foster is the guy who owns the company and not to put in a shameless plug, but he was great to deal with and I got the exhaust two weeks after I ordered it (which is excellent, considering the manufacturer is based out of the UK). The product is only listed as supporting an 86 VFR 750, but the 86 and 87 750/700 VFR's are the same bike. Now, on to the installation:

It took me awhile to get the old stock exhaust off, after 17 years of rust, grime and road crap I had to beat the hell out of it with a mallet until I finally got it to come off the downpipes. After that, the install was pretty straightforward - line up the new collector pipe with the downpipes - word of caution though, the fit is tight, and you will not be able to fit a gasket when you make the connection. I recommend taking some high temp grease and greasing the downpipes so it will slide on easier. Once I got that part on, I clamped all 4 pipes and then it was on to the muffler can. Another word of caution - There is no gasket in the packaging so when you slip the can over the pipe, there will be some play and air will definitely leak out, regardless of how tight you clamp it. I took some high temp gasket maker and applied it to the end of the pipe and also to the inside of the end of the muffler can, clamped it down tight and let it sit for 24 hours before I fired it back up. Worked like a champ.

The carbon fibre pipe is a SWEET looking pipe and the sound is definitely different. It growls and even at highway speeds, I could still hear the exhaust - with the stock pipes, at higher speeds (anything over 35 actually), the whine of the gear driven cams would be all that I could hear - not anymore. I am definitely happy with this pipe and it is about the only alternative for us older model Viffer owners.

The price was 520.00 bucks delivered. Might seem steep, but extremely well worth it. Anybody wants to see a pic of the exhaust on the bike, email me at johnlewis4@cox.net.

oh, one more "by the way" - the muffler can has a small hole that is designed to be there. This is to drain out any condensation that forms so it doesn't stay in your pipes and rot em out. I didn't know this until Robert Foster educated me when I called to tell him I got a bogus can with a hole in it. ;D

 

Nice find and thanks for sharing the information. Greatly appreciated.

Tiffany

 

congrats on the new exhaust. yup took me forever to find the laser(too bad the price was just a tad steep for me). laser is actually a company from the netherlands. glad you're enjoyin it. but  there's another company called Motad that makes the same system, but not as loud. comes from the UK. revsperformance in the states sells em for under 400 US I think.

 

Outstanding news dude...thanks for the info. Those of us that own the 'classic' Viffer's definitely share the pain in locating hard to find aftermarket parts.

Please post some pics when you get some.

-Mike-

 

I bought the Motad. The pros:
-Installation was a snap. I had recently replaced the head gasket, so the old pipes came off pretty easy. Could have literally installed it in 20 minutes if I had let all the air out of the rear tire before my attempt. That's the trick.....Let out that air, and it gives just enough clearance to mount without removing any parts.
-It looks better than stock
-Price was about $330 delivered from Rev's

The cons:
-No increase in performance or sound

I suppose I was expecting too much. I would buy this pipe if I needed to replace the stock pipes. My bike has a K&N, modified air box, and a stage 2 jet kit. It works fairly well, but hesitates at about 5-6000rpm. Worked better at stage 1. Another positive, now I have a 4/2/1 mid that, with minor modification will accept the D&D pipe that just came in the mail. If anyone is interested in how that went(hasn't happened yet), let me know.
kziegler@tenforward.com

 

Daelan,

I had a flat spot around 5-6k also until I turned the mixture screws on the carbs out about a half-3/4 turn. Installing the aftermarket 4-2-1 exhausts on our bikes makes an already lean bike run even leaner. turning out the screws helps and also gets rid of any popping sounds that you may or may not experience with an other than stock exhaust.

 

daelan,

do you have a 4-2-1 from motad or just a slip on from them?
if not, what header do you have?
my dad and i have a red/white/blu '86 700 that is in very good shape. been looking (like everyone else) for a full yosh system to no avail.
i've been thinking about having a custom exhaust shop make a mid pipe, esentially using the stock header to go 4-2-1. i'm afraid that after all of that there won't be much of a power gain however.
any help would be greatly appreciated.

kmc

p.s. does anyone know why honda used two different instrument clusters on the '86's? my friend has a pearl white '86 with the navy square guages and my guages are black and round...

 

The Motad system came with the mid section-the part that converts the 4 header pipes into two. And, the section with the pipe is flared to accept the "two". Make sense? Basically, you use your old header pipes, and that's it. The rest comes in the box.

What I plan to do is make a custom section from the two mids(which are 1 1/4", from the best of my recollection) to a 2" which will accept a D & D pipe.

It will be a bit more of an experiment because the pipe I bought has been cut down from 16" to 8". So, it will be loud......

I would love to have a Yosh, good luck. I've been looking on Ebay for 18 months. There have been a few, but they went for an astronomical amount of money. My thoughts are, if the D&D is too loud, I will be able to use a Yosh slip on. Which are a dime a dozen on ebay.

 

I, for one, would like to know why you guys are getting rid of your stock pipes. Sure they're a little dated and don't come all covered in carbon fibre, but has anyone seen significant gains by using aftermarket parts? Other than a full yosh system or a virtually nonexistent HRC full-race system, i've never heard anyone getting gains worth the $350-400. My 86 750FG is running the stock cans with all the disc-silencers removed. The previous owner found some race-only plates to cover the end (apparrently the stock cans are supertrapp and the supertrapp discs will do nicely) and now i'm rollin deep. I've never ridden with it any other way, but the sound is incredible. You can hear the bike for miles on a clear day and it's not all whiney like oh-so-many gixxers or sixxers with $300 slip-ons. even my buddy's 919 with cored stock cans doesn't hold a candle to the manly roar that the viffer exudes. If anyone has some pristine stock cans they want to part with, baffles or none, let me know. Mine are scratched from some garage scuffles, but i'm keepin it stock. Ride loud and proud, V4 for life ;D

 

I'm not getting rid of my stock exhaust! In fact, I have two sets of cans. The guy I got the bike from gave me two stock cans that are mint! Those are on the bike right now. The set that I pulled off are a little banged up, but not bad.
Mozilla snob:
Did you cut out the silencers yourself, or did the previous ownver do it? I've been thinking of cutting my #2 set, but wanted to hear from someone that has done it already. To answer your question, my reasons for an aftermarket exhaust would be:
Performance gain
Weight loss (Have you ever pulled your stock system off???)
Clearance
Appearance
I've been riding my buddy's '86 VFR 700 since '96. If you ride hard, there are two things that scrape: The center stand (gotta go) and the cans. I personally don't mind the look of the stock cans if they're shiny, but the positioning of them sucks. Any help with regards to removing the silencer(s) would be greatly appreciated.

KMC

 

KMC . . .Glad to hear you're keepin it loud. Well, kinda loud. The cans on my bike don't have fixed baffles and, as far as I know, never have. The baffles that came from the factory were metal discs that could be stacked on top of each other in varying numbers to increase or decrease the amount of noise transmission (supertrapp style, if you know what that is). The original owner said that there were several discs and a closed but removeable bolt-on end-cap when he bought the bike in '86. Since that time, the discs were removed and the end-cap replaced with a special "race only" cap that is open in the center. I can post some pics if you really care. There was no drilling or cutting needed, he just removed the allen-screws and took the end-cap and baffles out. It's loud. As far as the clearance issues, the pegs have been ground on both sides and there was not a mark on the cans or sidestand until I tipped over at a standstill. If the cans are rubbing, your rear tyre size might be wrong. On the other hand, My bike has an Ohlins adjustable rear shock (circa 1989 or so) that is dialed up a bit to support my cornering. I don't know if the stock setup rides lower or not but that could make a difference. I agree that the pipes can't help but be heavy, but haven't seen anyone post significant and consistent gains by using a slip-on or "custom" system. How bad are the cans you took off? Somthing paint will cover or is metal work needed? Anyway, ride loud and when you find a cache of yosh full-systems or real HRC exhausts from back in the day, don't forget to holler.

 

mozilla snob, (btw-i use mozilla too. hate explorer)
i do know about supertrapp exhaust systems. i had a full system on my '85 ninja 900 and loved it. i used to add/remove discs all the time just to see the difference.
i think that you have supertrapp slip ons on your bike, not the stock cans. first of all, the stock cans didn't have allen bolts on them. everything was spot welded or riveted. in order to get inside of the can, you have to drill the spot welds out and pull it all apart. i think that you're wrong about supertrapp making the stock cans. i would be very happy if you are correct, but i don't think you are.
if you could send me some pictures, i'd greatly appreciate it. i'm thinking about drilling out the welds, removing all of the packing, cutting 2-3 inches of the end and running them wide open.
please send pics to kayemcee@ameritech.net
thanks for the info!

kevin

 

KMC, I wonder if the difference could be the size of the bike or a half-year increment. I'm an early '86 750FG (the designator on my VIN tag says "RC24&quot. I guess the 750 was not nearly as popular in 86-87 due to a newly imposed import tax on bikes larger than 700CCs. Maybe the extra $800, or so, not only bought 50 more Cubes of go-power but a race-tunable exhaust system as well?? I know Mr. Crites from Cobalt Racing rides a 750 from the same year and there was a big snafu when a popular racer bought one from the showroom and took it to the track to win(sorry, i don't remember the gory details of that story, guess i'm getting old). Here's a bit of history about the VFR that suggests that the '86 750 was limited production and unique http://dot.com.ph/uncle/vfrhist.html . My cans are printed with "Honda Motor Company" all over them so i know they're not slip-ons. They're exact fit so I don't think they were swapped from another bike. The original owner (whom I purchased the bike from) was VERY anal about keeping it stock. He replaced the tank 3 times due to light scratches in the paint. He also took a lot of time explaining how he removed all the supertrapp-style baffles and found these special endplates back in the 80's when parts were everywhere (the endplates say "closed circuit use only&quot. I will get some up-close pics of the printed text on the cans and endplates, and I'll take the allen screws out and get some shots of the innards. Maybe it's worth looking around for a stock 750 exhaust to add some tunability without butchering your good cans. Thanks for showing some interests, look for pics today(sadly i have to work for a living and can't go snap the shots just yet). Keep it loud ;D

 

I have been following along, and have a sincere interest also in your exhaust. If you do take the pics, could you e-mail them in my direction. Would appreciate it. Thanks.
kziegler@tenforward.com

 

OK guys, sorry for the wait. My wife went out of town at the last minute for a funeral, so my exhaust pic plans slipped through the cracks. Finally got the pics taken and out on the web. The pipes are definitely not slipons. The honda part number is HM-ML7-A and there are specifications for the VFR750 and VFR700 in the printed text on the cans. The pics are only of the Right side because the bike is stored for winter <sob><no riding in winter><sob> but both sides are identical. I'll try to attach one good one to this post, and I'll e-mail a weblink to my VFR site to those interested in more pics and hi-res versions. Let me know if this helps or not. Keep it loud ;D

 

I have been longing for the right sound-at the right price, for my bike and have found it. I bought a D&D slip on(ebay $60) that had been cut down to 8 inches. I already had the Motad, so I used the 4/2 pipes from that system and only had to make the section between the pipes and the exhaust. What a beast! The sound is incredible. Somewhere between a superbike and a big block v8. I have a small machine shop and moderate talent, so it actually looks pretty good. Looks a little funny with that tiny exhaust, but the sound makes up for it. My knowledge in exhausts is limited, so I attribute my success to luck. Seems to run better, and noticed an increase in power. Still have a hesitation between 5-6000rpm, but slight, with an occasional pop on deceleration(spell check?) Nothing I think cannot be eliminated with a carb adjustment. Now, I just have to build a new one in stainless. Oh, got the parts for nothing at a local exhaust shop.

Thought I would throw that out there and see if anyone else has tried something similar......

 

pics?????pics?????pics?????
can't wait to see it!
why didn't you like the motad canister?

kmc

 

i know this thread's been dormant for a while but wanted to ask:
anyone with an aftermarket exhaust (slip on or full) ALSO have the center stand on (for 86/87 VFR 750)?  i think i might be on to a yosh slip on from the collector back and was wondering if i can still keep the centerstand if i install it. i'd hate to loose it.

 

The Motad looks pretty, and you will keep your center stand. But no increase in performance or sound. That's why I didn't like it. Also, very easy to install.

 

cool, i hope the same goes for my yoshimura slip on. i'll find out after this weekend.