Brief Ride Report FMF Gnarly/Shorty 04 250r

[tyesai]

What a difference the pipe/silencer can make. Alot of people say porting is the only way to go and there has been alot of posts discussing this but from what I found out last nite was that the pipe/silencer can make a huge difference. It only took me about 20 minutes to swap out the parts. I replaced the stock equipment with an FMF Gnarly and the Power Core2 Shorty silencer. It bolted up easily the only thing I noticed was that the bracket that hooked up to the bottom of the stock pipe fit on the outboard side and when I installed the Gnarly pipe it hooked up to the inboard side of it, no big deal. Other than that it fit perfectly. I only got to ride it around the neighborhood and it was starting to get dark so I only made about three trips around the block. Wow, what a difference. The bottom hit was a huge difference from the stock. There was now no delay in getting on the pipe and waiting for that big hit, there is no more over rev, but I never get past third gear anywhere we ride anyway. At first I was some what surprised it kind of caught me off guard. I am a bit fat, 240lbs, and with my testicles up on the gas tank it pulled a beautiful power wheelie in third gear, I never got it in any higher gear than that due to the dark and not wanting to piss of people anymore than necessary. I can't wait to get to ride this weekend if the weather holds out for me. It hasn't rained in two weeks so the dirt should be nice if the weather holds, 30 percent chance of rain Friday-Sunday. The stock jetting is close, except that FMF recomends going down from a 420 main to a 410 and going up from a 32.5 slow jet to a 35, anyway it should be close enough to get a good baseline and tweak from there. If anyone wants more info I will hopefully posts a better report after a day of riding instead 5 minutes.

 

[steve125]

I am a bit fat, 240lbs, and with my testicles up on the gas tank it pulled a beautiful power wheelie in third gear, I never got it in any higher gear than that due to the dark and not wanting to piss of people anymore than necessary.

Now this is some classic street testing data :rotfl:

 

[Studboy]

Definately a full evaluation.

 

[tyesai]

That is just how I roll people. Plain and to the point, Maybe after this weekend I can give a little less technical ride report for all the lesser minded peeps in the place. LOL :) But you definetly get the idea.

 

[mtk]

One thing to keep in mind:

Your new-found performance may have as much to do with your stock jetting being closer to what works with the Gnarly pipe than do to the effects of the Gnarly pipe itself. If you jetting was WAY off before with the stocker and now only slightly off with the FMF, you're going to think the Gnarly pipe is the shizzle. Reverse that scenario and you'll be wondering what you got for your money.

You really need to dial in both set-ups correctly to have a valid comparison.

 

[tyesai]

One thing to keep in mind:

Your new-found performance may have as much to do with your stock jetting being closer to what works with the Gnarly pipe than do to the effects of the Gnarly pipe itself. If you jetting was WAY off before with the stocker and now only slightly off with the FMF, you're going to think the Gnarly pipe is the shizzle. Reverse that scenario and you'll be wondering what you got for your money.

You really need to dial in both set-ups correctly to have a valid comparison.

I don't understand, the bike was good before, it only loaded up when it was being putted around for good amount of time, had lots of power, and never fouled out a plug, it just was a different type of power. This comes on fast and stays for a little bit then signs off. The stock stuff came on slow, hit hard, then pulled some more. I guess it is kind of hard to tell though by just ridinig around the street for 5-10 minutes though. I will know more hopefully this weekend. It does feel way stronger on the bottom with less top end, just as advertised. Besides aftermarket pipes are cheap for two strokes, I got less than 300 bucks into this and there is no bike down time for playing with pipes and gearing changes. Besides the stock settings aren't that much different from what FMF recomended, and we all know that it is just a starting point, the biggest difference is that they recommend putting in a smaller main jet than the stock one.

 

[pace]

Just bear in mind, that a good porting job can broaden your power band without significantly sacrificing overrev the way that gnarly will. What you've done is a nice easy fix if you just want to shift peak output down the RPM band, but it's not really 'gaining' you anything the way a port job can.

Porting isn't expensive, but as you noted you would have a little downtime. My cylinder was gone for a total of two weeks IIRC, but that was over the xmas holiday.

 

[500guy]

Maybe the traction on your neiborhood pavement is better than your local dirt riding area and you are just feeling more of a pull. Or, maybe we should starting racing motocross on the pavement. :nener:

 

[tyesai]

Maybe the traction on your neiborhood pavement is better than your local dirt riding area and you are just feeling more of a pull. Or, maybe we should starting racing motocross on the pavement. :nener:

Haha, got me good. :rotfl: No you didn't, I ride it around for a little bit everytime I wash it to help dry it off. I understand that it moves the power around, jeeze guys I am not saying porting sucks and a pipe is the answer. Just saying that it does make a difference. Actually when I started this I was just giving out a little info. Why do I feel like I am on the defensive? :eek: LOL!!! Porting is on the to do list, just not till I need to rebuild.

 

[tyesai]

oops

 

[pace]

No need to feel defensive - your feedback is appreciated. There just seems to be a common misconception that porting is expensive, when in reality it's about the same cost as an aftermarket pipe that will yield more modest results.