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How to get the most power with stock exhaust?

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Jul 10, 2016
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Emailed Holeshot, they said flashing is a waste of time with the stock pipe. I'd like to remove the secondaries and have no problem buying a PC and dyno tune. What say you?
 
Leave it alone and ride. After 80 plus thousand miles, all is good.
 
I have a Holeshot exhaust on mine and the sound is half of the enjoyment of riding my Bandit.
 
Emailed Holeshot, they said flashing is a waste of time with the stock pipe. I'd like to remove the secondaries and have no problem buying a PC and dyno tune. What say you?

Not true.Holeshot wants to sell you a pipe.
Stock exhausts rock because they are quiet.
I had my Stock FZ-09 reflashed and had the fueling remapped.
Big difference: 7-8 HP.
 
It may be all psychological, I could not notice an extra 5% gain in power as some can... And who is riding these machines to their power limit?
 
It may be all psychological, I could not notice an extra 5% gain in power as some can... And who is riding these machines to their power limit?

What I did notice was the lost in bottom end torque when I had to put a Yosh can due to dropping a piece of iron on my stock can. So, built a 1" restrictor for the Yosh can and all was back. I'm a touring rider and 99% of my running time is 2500 to 4500 rpm. Only things I've done to my bike in the past 80K miles is one injector body sync at 10K miles, sparkplugs 3 times, coolant change 2 times, brake fluid 4 times, speedohealer and corbin seat right away, 3 in rox risers, a few different windshields, lots of tires , a few brake parts and ride that puppy from coast to coast and border to border.
When you cross that 70 yr old border and several 100K miles under the belt, you tend treat the bike as your buddy and not a toy.
 
I'm certainly going to buy the stage 1 kit, the stock bandit is very lean and not what Suzuki intended for the bike, but they had no choice because of the EPA. There's no earthy reason to put 80K on a bike running it so lean that it cause throttle surging and inconsistencies, however minor they might be.

I'll start with a stock pipe because I think loud pipes are annoying and let you guys now how it goes. If I'm not feeling like it's running like a 1250cc bike I'll consider the stage 2 kit. I too am only concerned with the 2000-5000 rpm range, which is why I bought a bandit and not a Hayabusa.
 
IThere's no earthy reason to put 80K on a bike running it so lean that it cause throttle surging and inconsistencies, however minor they might be..

Never had a surging problem. Now the BMW R11**'s I put 124,000 miles on had one fine surging problem that I mapped out a bit.
As of yesterday, 81K miles on the clock and No Plans to do nothing but ride and normal maintenance. Ditto with my 48K KLR 650, 86K mile truck and probably gonna acquire a '94 Corvette today. Gotta keep my retired self entertained.
 
My 07 surged a little when I bought it used. I adjusted the TPS, couldn't get the - centered just moving the sensor but moved as far as I could and it stopped the surging and improved off idle throttle response. This winter I'll pull the TB bank and adjust it properly.
 
Dyno dont lie.

No but they don't tell the real story either. Chasing horsepower is often far nore expensive than just buying the bike you really want, something with more power.

Holeshot has some nice stuff but add it up, the slope is slippery and by the time you're done, no matter how cheap the bike was, you have an expensive bike that cost more than another that came with the power out of the crate.

Remapping the ecu does reap rewards, with the stock exhaust. It's cheap and reliable.

Can you really use or even feel the extra power of the stage 2 stuff day to day? If you can, then that other rider who bought the 140 HP bike from the get go has it all over you because once they do what you did, they are still way ahead. They start out with more and you play catch up.

My Bandit came with stuff, would I buy it if had to out it on myself? No way. For that money far better and easier just to buy higher HP bike.

A real good tune is where it's at.
 
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No but they don't tell the real story either. Chasing horsepower is often far nore expensive than just buying the bike you really want, something with more power.

Holeshot has some nice stuff but add it up, the slope is slippery and by the time you're done, no matter how cheap the bike was, you have an expensive bike that cost more than another that came with the power out of the crate.

Remapping the ecu does reap rewards, with the stock exhaust. It's cheap and reliable.

Can you really use or even feel the extra power of the stage 2 stuff day to day? If you can, then that other rider who bought the 140 HP bike from the get go has it all over you because once they do what you did, they are still way ahead. They start out with more and you play catch up.

My Bandit came with stuff, would I buy it if had to out it on myself? No way. For that money far better and easier just to buy higher HP bike.

A real good tune is where it's at.

http://www.cycletrader.com/dealers/.../listing/2016-Suzuki-GSX-S1000F-ABS-118810032

Here's a perfect example of what your saying, for $9k you get better forks,shock,brakes,handling,looks and 140hp out of the crate and it's a k5 gxsr based motor, one of, if not the best 1000 engines Suzuki ever made.
 
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Not true.Holeshot wants to sell you a pipe.
Stock exhausts rock because they are quiet.
I had my Stock FZ-09 reflashed and had the fueling remapped.
Big difference: 7-8 HP.

Not all bikes make the same gains via the ECU. I also had a FZ-09.
 
That slippery slope. Follow the stages and you could have a 130-140 hp Bandit. You are just getting started and have spent a lot of money.

That 140 HP Bandit now needs a suspension and brakes to ha dle that power unless you did that first, regardless, add another couple grand. Now what do you have? An expensive Bandit and exactly the opposite of what it is supposed to be. Better seat, handlebar change and the list gets long .

I'm all for farkles and comfort items but once you start remaking the bike you never catch up to newer or different bikes built from design with all those things. As a hobby, sure, why not. As for being competitive with other bikes that are in that HP range? No way. You mihht have the HP and other goodies but the frame is still a tube Bandit frame, decent but never meant to do what you're trying to get out of it.
 
There is nothing wrong with customizing a Bandit into something he enjoys. I didn't read anything that says he was trying to get 140hp and compete with sportbikes. He asked about getting more power without changing the pipe. Putting some cash into your Bandit is fine, just realize it is not going to add much value to a budget bike, but can add enjoyment. Sure you can get a new bike that is already set up, but most won't leave that alone either....flashes, power commanders, pipes, etc, etc.

I just bought a 0 mile bike yesterday. My beloved money pit Bandit is still in the garage also
 
Too your question though. Ofcourse Holeshot wants to sell you a pipe. Not just greed, all of his dyno work is done based on at least a slip on. So his settings might not be dead on with a stock pipe. I just noticed you are in Colorado. I'm in Lakewood. I have a Delkevic can I would give you for dirt cheap. Try it out, it is not loud at all. You could even ride my full stage 2 bike and compare. It is a big difference.
 
Thanks Bronco I appreciate that! All I really want is my bike to run like it would have if the EPA didn't have so much influence. Dale can do that with is supertuner. Once I get that I'll decide if I want to get a pipe, since Dale tells me the touring pipe is super quiet.

Once thing I'd like is for the bike to run cooler, seems awfully lean and plugged up. i bet a pipe would help with that too.
 
Personally I believe there is more of a gain in losing the secondaries than the pipe anyways. Ask Dale what his opinion on that is. I'm here to help if you need it.
 
You could drill through the baffles in the stock exhaust to make it the exhaust path "easier".
 
Dale said removing the secondaries is only beneficial to the top end and upper mid-range. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense but who am I to argue?

Did you buy that 1250 down at Lincoln auto? If not where did you get it?
 
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When I was a kid (under thirty) I had a friend who put a 427 in his two door post '56 Ford. It was a sleeper. I guess some people could just want their "budget bike" to be a sleeper. Now, at 69, my Bandit has all the horsepower I can handle without a visit to the hospital or a graveyard. But, I love to hear the Holeshot exhaust when I open it up.

Good luck with your project. Right now, modifications aren't forbidden. Have fun.
 
Unless you've ridden a stage 2 bandit that's assuming a lot.

+100, Bought mine bone stock 2400 miles. Stage 1 was noticeable.
Stage 2 feels like I added 100cc's and made me glad I upgraded the suspension.

http://new.holeshot.com/images/suzuki/bandit/650-1250/dynocharts/1250_dynochart02.jpg

Some Motorcycles don't benefit much from intake and exhaust mods, proven by many magazine articles and confirmed by Dyno runs.

The Bandit 1200 & 1250 both benefit greatly from said mods.
Dale Walker has taken both these models to the pinnacle of their capabilities.
I have followed his advice and used his products over the years and never have been disappointed.
 
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