BBR Pipes

[vern#19]

We just tried out BBr's new pipes for the 250F they are amazing !! We tried the SX header which has a lot more pull off the bottom and mid and a little better on top .
My son tried the Mx header and found more bottom , mid and way more on top with more over rev. he loves it.

 

[ACS]

I'm pretty happy with the BBR pipe on Yamaha TTR 125. Power is up and much more responsive on stock engine. On modified engine its really good. Fit is 8 out of 10.

 

[TGilliam]

I have a BBR pipe on my TTR-125 as well. Could tell a little difference in power, but not alot. A BIG increase in noise. I think it is the most obnoxiously loud pipe I've ever heard. Trying to sell mine.

I hear FMF has a really neat, super-trapp like pipe that is quieter and gives more power than the BBR. Just my opinion.

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Originally posted by TGilliam
I hear FMF has a really neat, super-trapp like pipe that is quieter and gives more power than the BBR. Just my opinion.

The BBR pipe is designed as a closed course pipe which MAY make too loud for sound restricted areas just like the rest of the aftermarket pipes.
In it's intended environment it's a lot less noticeable. I'm afraid you'll be disappointed with the FMF pipe if you are looking for power without sound. The power on that pipe is directly proportional to the sound output, i.e. when you make it quiet it clips the power (and acceleration) in a fairly linear fashion. It's a bit less noticeable on an intake restricted engine like the TTR125, but the effect is still VERY pronounced. Sorry :(

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Keep in mind that db numbers are only really relative when compared to numbers tested in a like fashion. Isolating the source of sound output on a running engine isn't the easiest thing in the world to test or compare, which may account in part for the wild claims from some of the aftermarket companies . The airbox ultimately has a profound effect on the final sound output measured.

 

[Vic]

I'm still waiting for someone to post my end cap mod drawing.:)

 

[Magoo]

I put the Big Gun pipe on the wife's TTR. It's spark arrested, so it'll be OK for trail riding, and it's not excessively loud. That was a big concern; since she's constantly complaining about my Harley:D ...
She thinks it sounds good (a little "meatier" than stock), it doesn't get on her nerves, and the bike is "peppier".

 

[DualSportr]

Powroll also has a nice stainless system that runs a supertrapp muffler.

The BBR pipe is loud because it's designed for closed course racing. It also isn't spark arrested, so nobody should be buying it for trail use anyway, right??

What we've found after testing a gazillion exhaust systems at Poker Runs over the last few years is that the disk system mufflers tend to be quieter on the four strokes than the two-stroke style silencers.

The quietest new systems we've tested (on lots of different bikes and quads) are the Supertrapp IDS 2 and the White Brothers (thier new one, I can't remember the name right now, sorry!).

BTW, after dyno testing and track testing, we found the TTR 125 does better with the stock headpipe and just a muffler modification (either Powroll's thrust chamber, or homemade) if the engine is stock.

Once you install a bore kit and camshaft, then the pipe is needed.

 

[TGilliam]

Agreed, the BBR pipe is loud, but mine does have a spark arrestor. It can be ordered with or without spark arrestor.

 

[DualSportr]

Ahhh, I didn't know they offered it with the SA. Sorry about that. You're right then, they should mention something about the sound when they're selling it.

 

[ACS]

Hmmmmmm. I'm suprised with those noise numbers.

We race with a late model round BBR TTR 125 pipe along with Powroll cam, 26mm carb air box opened up etc and I find the bike a lot quieter than a lot of bikes.

It is used for MX and in amongst CR 80/KX 85/YZ80 it is hard to even hear it. Around YZ250F and 426 plus others with other pipes its well below their noise levels. It is also quieter than the ProCircuit equiped hot XR80 that we raced.

 

[DualSportr]

It always depends on how the sound test is done. And without a tach, there's absolutely no way to know if you're getting a correct reading or not.

I did test a BBR piped TTR at our last Poker Run. It was below the 99 dB sound limit, tested at 3,425 rpm. I don't remember what the exact number was, so I'm not going to say, but I believe it ran in the 97 dB range.

The only other TTR with an aftermarket system was one running the Big Gun. It tested at 95/96. Very close.

 

[cahillmd]

BBR Pipe for the 01 YZF 426

I was reading about everyone talking about the 250F and the BBR pipes. Has anyone tried a BBR pipe on the 426 and used it for motocross? I just bought the bike and I am looking down the road for a pipe. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Mark

 

[DualSportr]

Cahillmd - you might want to post your question as a new thread. I'm sure someone out there has used the BBR YZF 426 pipe.

 

[Okiewan]

Rich..
Are we talking about the pipe on Scooter's TTR here? If so, someone is exaggerating big time… then the BBR pipe on Jen’s is even less noisy. Neither of those pipes are "loud". Compared to the plugged-up stock unit maybe…

Maybe I’m just confused?<--- like that never happens :confused:

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Same pipe, and I completely agree it's not loud when judged against the standard aftermarket pipes, and it's much less irritating than most of the modified/uncorked stock pipes. If somone is looking for a great pipe for the TTR125 it's fit, finish, performance, and price are tough to beat.

The mods people do to their airboxes, and engines are in large part responsible for the type of noise coming from their bikes. Blaming a pipe or silencer without taking everything into account just shows a lack of knowledge of the subject matter. Not that I expect that to stop anyone from floating up half-baked theories out here. The DELETE button will have to do that :confused:

 

[bulldog71169]

I have to say after hearing all the reviews here I expected the BBR pipe to be much louder. but was surprized to hear it when I put it on the bike.

I had the opportunity to ride with another TTR125 that had the old version of BBR's pipe (mild steel pipe) (new one is stainless). The steel has a lower tone and is quite a bit louder. I prefer the lower tone of the older pipe, but the DB level of the new one.

After coming of a VERY loud street bike this is a nice break with any pipe. ;)

 

[firecracker22]

I've ridden a couple BBR 150s--with cam, porting, big bore, and pipe. They are loud--but not as loud as the 426s are! Someone mentioned that how the test is conducted has a huge impact on results--this is true. How far away and from what angle, the RPMs, and airbox will greatly affect db readings. I read a manual "How to ride the ISDE" and there was a whole section offering tricks to get a quasi-legal bike through sound checks! There a a few guys with XR400s who have removed the baffle from their mufflers and that sound is far, far more annoying than a piped TTR. You want horsepower? You're gonna get some noise.

Rich mentioned half-baked theories. I know the boys at BBR used to post here quite a bit. But there was so much incorrect information being tossed around, and when they tried to offer a solution or idea they were argued with and contradicted. Now this happens everywhere especially on the internet but they got sick of arguing with clueless people. Some of the information was not only false but dangerous--Pete said something about heating their swingarms.

 

[firecracker22]

The biggest problem is that let’s say this is how it’s done—in a fabrication shop with all the correct tools and instruments required. The average guy couldn’t and shouldn’t take his swingarm home, fire up his oxy-acetylene torch, and go to town on it. THAT is how people get hurt—what should be one of the strongest links in a bike’s frame/suspension now has a weak spot. That is the danger of accepting ANYONE, especially an average rider’s advice without further investigation and research. Someone told me I could straighten my subframe with either a prybar, a big press, or by laying it down and standing/jumping on it. Sure, any one of these solutions might work if performed correctly, but I wasn’t going to run out there with a prybar and start shoving things around with it. There’s a right way and a wrong way to do anything.

I worked at a car parts store for 2 years and experienced this firsthand. Guy borrows a battery to jump his car—runs it dead trying, and also fries his hot wire/fuseblock by HOLDING THE KEY ON. Guy asks for "clutch fluid"—so I hand him DOT 4, which the manual recommended for his model—and he comes back and tries to get us to pay for his new tranny because he meant to say "tranny fluid." Guy asks for carb cleaner spray—we sell him a can of $1.99 Gumout—he goes outside, pops his hood, holds his throttle open and sprays the stuff down the throat of the carb until his engine revs to the moon and blows up. Our fault? NO. But all the little tricks I learned at the shop—like dribbling a bit of water down your carb before going to emissions test (it works) or using a different plug than recommended or spraying starting fluid on your tire and lighting it to re-seat the bead on the trail—these are all valid techniques that work, but I’m not gonna tell somebody who has never done it and doesn’t know WHY it works, to give it a try.

Does that make sense? You can incorrectly pass along or mis-use good information so easily, especially on the Internet where no one is responsible for their actions and most are unwilling to retract incorrect statements "because they might look bad." BBR simply didn’t want someone to get hurt by trying something that they heard "BBR said it would work." Makes sense to me.

 

[DualSportr]

an aluminum pipe and aluminum header

Kali, the pipe isn't aluminum. It's aluminzed steel. Aluminum in that thin a material would be almost to the melting point when the exhaust hit it at the head.

Regarding "heating and stretching" aluminum.

You can't really "stretch" aluminum. You can bend it and form it, but only a small amount. This can only be done by professionals.

Heat treating aluminum must done after any other process involving heat to small areas -- like welding. If you weld a piece of aluminum, and don't heat treat it, it will break right next to the weld.

Heat treating isn't something that's easy to do. Most of the time the only place you'll find a shop that does heat treating is someone who works in the aircraft industry. Fortunately for BBR, Boeing and all that is right up the road from them.

For anyone else messing with aluminum, play at your own risk.

Kali, BBR told you the YZ80 rear end wouldn't work because they didn't feel it worked as well as theirs. I can't tell you how many times I have people call me back about a problem and say "You said it wouldn't work, but after spending lots of money and getting a bike to work half as well as it should, I made it work!". I guess that sometimes it's easier to tell someone a conversion won't work, rather than tell them all the reasons it won't work AS WELL as other options.

The setup used by Yamaha for their project may be made up of parts from the YZ80, but there's no way to know how they made it work. The chassis may be completely different.

I can really understand why BBR doesn't participate in the forums any longer, when we hear things like this:

that information came straight from the BBR tent at the Glen Helen races! From a source there who told me that he had to have the swingarm heated/stretched and re-fit for the disc brake he was running on his TTR.

Without knowing who said this to you, all I can say is that with your short time in this field, you misunderstood what they said.

Don't take this wrong, Kali, but if Chris or Duane Brown describes a process to you, you may not have the basic knowledge of the subject that's required to understand their explanation. This isn't a slam on your intelligence, only saying that it's like Triginomitry, you have to know Algebra first before you understand it!

Here's what they meant by heating/stretching. People refer to "stretched swingarms", they don't mean two people pulling on either end, like taffy! They mean the swingarm is cut, put in a jig (to keep it aligned) and a piece of material is welded on to make the swingarm longer. Heat treating is then used to un-stress the metal after the welding.

Without understanding the basics of this process, you got a mental picture about metal being "stretched". That is the information you passed on. Not intentionally incorrect, but incorrect nonetheless.