To Pipe or Not to Pipe?

Hi all, I put a Big Al pipe on my Chetak with a K+N filter and I polished my intake manifold with a dremel. I love the sound it makes. Kind of like a Ducati. I haven't maxed out my top speed yet till I get more miles on it but, I've had it going 60mph so far. I sent the pipe to Jet-Hot coatings and had the sterling coating done to it $150.00 and it looks great almost like a dull chrome and it is guarenteed not to rust out ever. Smile

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Tim M.

tmille53 wrote:

Hi all, I put a Big Al pipe on my Chetak with a K+N filter and I polished my intake manifold with a dremel. I love the sound it makes. Kind of like a Ducati. I haven't maxed out my top speed yet till I get more miles on it but, I've had it going 60mph so far. I sent the pipe to Jet-Hot coatings and had the sterling coating done to it $150.00 and it looks great almost like a dull chrome and it is guarenteed not to rust out ever. Smile

Put some pictures online! Very Happy

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Monica

I'm not sure how to do it but, I have a friend that knows how and when I can get him over to show me how, then I will. Embarassed

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Tim M.

These are my pics of the HRS pipe with Jet-Hot sterling coating and K+N air filter

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Tim M.

So with this pipe what is required to change the rear tire?

Ummm, yeah...that looks pretty bad ass.

I also installed the K&N this week with a POC I pipe and replaced the stock 120 jet in the carb. Initial results were encouraging, but there's still some kinks to be worked out.

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Mad Toto Scooter Club
www.madtoto.com

I also run this pipe. To change the rear tire you only need to remove the one bolt on the muffler itself. You can see it in the photo, toward the front. The muffler then slides off of the header. It is easy and fast to do. Always use a locknut and always keep a spare bolt & nut in your spares onboard, just in case.

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Groucho Marxist S.C.

I went from a 120 jet to a 115 but I need to ream out the 115 to make it a little bigger but not as big as a 120. It is amazing what a little difference in jet size makes. I also had to adjust my air screw and that made a huge difference. This pipe sounds awsome. Not to loud and not to quiet, just right. When you back off the throttle as when coming to a stop it has a nice rumbling sound and no popping.

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Tim M.

I just got my POC installed...and I love it. Sounds great, and DOES give a performance gain. I went from a solid 55mph top (with max of 60) to a solid 60mph (although I cant get it to go much past that). Acceleration is better too. Snicking through the gears is more fun now Wink

Anyone who says the POC does nothing, either doesnt have it setup right, or has another problem with their Chetak (or they expect it to run like a Buell XB12 with the addition of just a pipe). The performance gain is about what I expected given the rest of the engines inherent weak spots (small intake, low compression, etc...). Most 4t scooters in the 125-150cc range experience about a 1hp gain with the addition of a pipe...this is about what the POC gives (10+% gain).

As for noise. I measured my stock pipe with a sound meter (at 3' from the Left side of the scooter) and got 75dB at idle and 108dB revved up. POC was 85dB at idle and over 120dB revved up (the meter I had only goes to 120). For comparison I measured my lawnmower (Lawnboy 2t) and it was 100dB. Most iPODs put out 115dB on a high volume setting. Average rock concert is 120dB.

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-Paul O.

75 Vespa Primavera "Parmakit 130", P200E,

	monza wrote:
	POC was 85dB at idle and over 120dB revved up (the meter I had only goes to 120). Average rock concert is 120dB.

So this means that a POC pipe brings the chetak to rock concert status. NICE!

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It was just an innocent gas pump fight...who would know it could be dangerous?

I am about to order Hotrod Al's pipe, they told me that I would not need a rejet with this pipe. Is that true? If I do, where can I get the jets for it?

It is true that you should not have to rejet. I have that pipe on my chetak and last evening I was able to hit 63mph indicated in a tucked position with no cutting out. It runs excellent with out the K+N filter on it. Smile

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Tim M.

	tmille53 wrote:
	It is true that you should not have to rejet. I have that pipe on my chetak and last evening I was able to hit 63mph indicated in a tucked position with no cutting out. It runs excellent with out the K+N filter on it.

Awesome. Do you feel any better power at all from it low end? How does it sound?

So, you did not rejet then? Cool, I'll order it up.

I forgot to add that you can purchase jets for that carb (model PB20) at www.motorcyclecarbs.com

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Tim M.

monza wrote:

Anyone who says the POC does nothing, either doesnt have it setup right, or has another problem with their Chetak (or they expect it to run like a Buell XB12 with the addition of just a pipe). The performance gain is about what I expected given the rest of the engines inherent weak spots (small intake, low compression, etc...). Most 4t scooters in the 125-150cc range experience about a 1hp gain with the addition of a pipe...this is about what the POC gives (10+% gain.

Your statement is pretty insulting since there have been many posts pro and con on how well the POC pipe works. All of these posts weren't made by idiots. Some people have had good results, but many others have not. To say that everyone who didn't get your results isn't setting it up right is a bit arrogent. There isn't a hell of a lot of setup., dropping the stock 120 jet to the 115 jet supplied, and adjusting the mix screw untill it runs well isn't very complicated. Mine was installed and set up by Brandon at San Francisco Scooter Centre. He has probably worked on more Chetaks than anyone in the country, since Barry sells more Chetaks than any other Bajaj dealer. I have 2 Chetaks, one with a POC, and one without. The Chetak with the POC feels more sporty...but in reality isn't any faster than the one without the POC. It could be that their is enough variability in the production runs of Chetaks that some engines are just different than others. I do know that the POC pipe with the supplied jetting sucks at high altitude I couldn't find smaller jets at any of the shops I went through in Utah or Colorado. The two Bajaj dealers in Colorado said they didn't do any jetting changes for the high altitudes of the Rockies. My Chetak fouled out its plug trying to climb Mount Evans (14,000 ft), My wifes stock Chetak climbed right on to the top...without a lot of power, but still climbing. Obviously both bikes needed a leaner jet for that thin air, but the POC ran way too rich in those conditions and would not function over 12000ft. My Suzuki VL1500 had to drop 4 jet sizes, from 120's down to 110's for the same ride through the Rockies. My BMW has not problems, the fuel injection computer adjusts itself.

glhboy wrote:

	tmille53 wrote:
	It is true that you should not have to rejet. I have that pipe on my chetak and last evening I was able to hit 63mph indicated in a tucked position with no cutting out. It runs excellent with out the K+N filter on it.

Awesome. Do you feel any better power at all from it low end? How does it sound?

So, you did not rejet then? Cool, I'll order it up.

I'm not sure that there is anymore low end power, if there is ,it is negligable. It sounds great. It is not painted though. You either need to paint with high temp paint or do what I did and have it ceramic coated.

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Tim M.

	Bespa wrote:
	Peeps only really hear a loud pipe as it passes and goes away. "Save(ing) lives" requires Soccer Mom hearing you WAY before you get to the bumper of that SUV.

I just had a thought along these lines when I was riding home this evening...

Watch the first video on this page:
http://madtoto.com/br_06_pics.htm

This is our club riding to StL last year. Video from in the car (on the dash), windows up. Scoots all out front traveling 55mph. The one you can hear is Angry J's POC'ed Chetak (4th from the back).

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-Paul O.

75 Vespa Primavera "Parmakit 130", P200E,

Sweet videos Paul. I like the sound. Must be fun to ride in a pack of scoots. Me, I'm the lone scooterist. The only club that I know of around My part of town is the Detroit Rovers and they are a vintage scooter only club mainly. I also really like what you did with your Malaguti scoot. Looks pretty kick-ass.

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Tim M.

Ok, I own a 2006 Bajaj Chetak (I really like it) I have to disagree with the loud pipe theory, and here is why:

Those of you who own a cage, how close is an ambulance when you hear it? How about with the windows rolled up or the stereo on? The sound of an ambulance is WAY louder than the loudest pipes, and most people can only hear them less than a block away, considering those factors.

I work for a towing company, and we picked up a car about a month ago that hit a motorcycle. The bike had megaphones, and was terribly loud. He was running the speed limit or slightly more. The driver did not see him, hear him, and ran right in front of him. We picked up the car, and some of his brains were stuck on the side. Needless to say, he had no helmet either (South Carolina).

What will save your life- riding the left hand side of the lane, expecting people to run in front of you, and making your bike noticeable do help. Loud pipes may help a little bit, but from my many bikes, it doesn't make much difference. One especially good thing is a helmet, my own life has been saved by one (albeit on a bicycle).

There is another factor: Loud pipes are intrusive to other people. Do we want to be the "Bad Guys" like the outlaw-type bikers? People don't like noise, except for people that make it themselves. I believe in doing your own thing, as long as it does not interfere with another's "own thing"

Thought I had to chime in!

Jim!

Hi,all. After seeing Tim's pictures of his HRS pipes I decided to look into Jet Hot coatings. It seems way cool so I sent mine off yesterday.

To put my $.02 in about the volume... the HRS pipe isn't that loud, however it is much louder than the stock exhaust. I can live with it, but would like even more if it were quieter. That being said, I can totally relate to dragon64leo's statement that loud pipes can only help so much. Years ago I actually had a collision with a firetruck that blew a red light without slowing. He assumed that I saw and heard him. I was in a new Dodge neon at the time, with the windows rolled up. People asked me if the stereo was blasting and my answer was, "I was listening to the news."! The sirens sounded off in the distance and very muted. I was very lucky.

On the other side of the coin... I put my HRS pipe on the other day, to test it and see what the sound was like. My wife and I were riding and this SUV was backing out onto the road. My wife strongly believes that he noticed us because of my louder pipe. Fortunately, his windows were down.

That said, I still would like the volume to be a little lower, though I hear it is quite a difference from the POC pipe.

Anyway, my $.02

So i bought a 2002 chetak with 74 miles on it and have been looking at all the back and forth .. it is very loud and pros and cons have been discussed.. was wondering if i as a total novice can check if it is jetted correctly or should i bring it to my local scooter shop.. It smells of gas often when i park and fumey at traffic lights as well . Is that it running too rich? m first scooter so pardon my cluelessness..

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2002 buttah yellow Chetak

if it smells like gas at idle, then it is running rich, but maybe only at idle. There is an adjustment for the idle mixture (screw on the side of the carb) and then there is the main jet, which controls the mix from 1/4 throttle to wide open.

If it has a POC and the 115 jet was installed, then you would be ok from the standpoint of being where POC intended the mixture to be. You can check the jet size by first removing the two screws that hold the carb on the manifold, then removing the screws that hold the bowl on. Be sure to turn your fuel tap off. Some gas will spill out when you take the bowl off. The jet is in the center and looks like a screw. the number 115 should be stamped on it. If it says 120, then you have the stock jet, and it would be definitely running rich.

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-Paul O.

75 Vespa Primavera "Parmakit 130", P200E,

I just wanted to bring this poll back to life....now that we have way more people on this site......if you have not voted yet. please vote..I really want a good sample for this poll...Thanks!!

Buddy of mine at the local scooter shop and I have been talking about piping my Chetak. We've just about decided to build a custom pipe. Will let you all know how that goes and of course pics! I still need to get past the 500 mark (at about 360 now) so will probably not be till Feb/Mar time frame (unless global warming keeps on being nice with these warmer temps)...

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Rick

'05 Bajaj Chetak (New 11/07)
'05 TNG Venice LX (wife's)
'05 TNG Venice (Sold)
'89 Harley Super Glide (FXR)

Okay, so once again... Where do you go to buy the POC or the Big Al pipe? How much $$ for them?