Exhaust question

[LarryHaskell]

I have a 2003 Bullet 500 military and it has an aftermarket exhaust, not sure which one though, would it be a bad idea to take off the "megaphone" style and just run a straight pipe? Pros and Cons please?

[ace.cafe]

It's okay if you know how to properly re-jet the carb for it.
Otherwise, it's a very bad idea to just run a straight pipe without re-jetting.

It will be quite loud, and you may end up with no real power improvement, and it might even be worse.
A straight pipe gives a very narrow rpm band of results, with the rest of the rpms being poorer. If you don't know how to set the length of the straight pipe for the specific rpm band you are tuning for, you may lose power everywhere, and gain nothing anywhere.
Except it will be real loud.

An unbaffled megaphone generally gives better tuning results, and will also be very loud. You can add a removable reverse-cone to damp down the noise a bit.

[geichal]

I run a long header pipe only.  I added a Chrome Werks baffle as it was WAY to loud w/out it and would not tune well no matter how I had it jetted.  Now, with the baffle it is very well tuned and still Loud!  Seems the Iron Heads need a bit of back pressure to tune well.
Good Luck!
Geichal

[LarryHaskell]

Thank you for your help, this is my RE. I put this exhaust on my self, it has the baffles removed, original carb (not rejetted) and a K&N airfilter. It runs fine the way it is, but would it be better if I rejetted it? Or should I leave it the way it is?

[LarsBloodbeard]

Do some plug chops and post pics of the plug.

[ace.cafe]

Thank you for your help, this is my RE. I put this exhaust on my self, it has the baffles removed, original carb (not rejetted) and a K&N airfilter. It runs fine the way it is, but would it be better if I rejetted it? Or should I leave it the way it is?

What jets are in the carb now, and what is your elevation above sea level, and average temps at this time of year?

Personally I'd leave that Goldstar system on there. It's a real good one. It will be a lot better than a straight pipe.

[LarsBloodbeard]

You've got the same bike as I do, down to the poor quality engine paint job, which chips off like a hard boiled egg shell.  I can even see the brush guard mounts poking out behind the exhaust header.  The only thing I'd do to that exhaust setup is spray it with some black hi-temp silicone coating.  Helps keep your wrap nice, and colors the whole thing flat black like a military exhaust should be.

Oh, except mine is RH-shift.

[LarryHaskell]

around 250ft above sealevel and avg temps around mid to upper 60s. I'm not sure which jets are currently in it, all I know is that they are the stock jets.

[ace.cafe]

around 250ft above sealevel and avg temps around mid to upper 60s. I'm not sure which jets are currently in it, all I know is that they are the stock jets.

Well, if they really are the stock jets, and you have a K&N on there with an unbaffled Goldstar exhaust, then you're running dangerously lean.

Good jetting for you in  cool weather would be a 30 pilot, P2 needle jet, needle in richest position, 130 main jet.

[LarryHaskell]

Thank you for your help, another question for you. It has a bad starter solenoid, is there a generic solenoid I can use or do I need to replace it with the same solenoid?

[ace.cafe]

Thank you for your help, another question for you. It has a bad starter solenoid, is there a generic solenoid I can use or do I need to replace it with the same solenoid?

I don't know.
Everyone that I know takes their electric starter off the bike.

[LarsBloodbeard]

Thank you for your help, another question for you. It has a bad starter solenoid, is there a generic solenoid I can use or do I need to replace it with the same solenoid?

A relay is a relay.  Anything rated to do a similar job would work.  That's a bonus of not having it built into the starter motor.

[edthetermite]

I don't know.
Everyone that I know takes their electric starter off the bike.

Well, a lot of us wait for the infamous sprag clutch implosion before opting to go e-startless....