Thumper Club Forum
Technical => Bike Problems/Questions => Topic started by: manxie on July 02, 2016, 11:06:27 AM
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Anyone ever heard of one of these? A bespoke system made by a fella called John Batson, fully stainless and IMHO look and sound great. I`ve contacted him and prices are good providing the £ to $ exchange rate is good, and the whole system weights only 7lb :o 8) 8) ;D
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Sounds nice and looks the part! Fruity but not too loud.
You may have to change it back to the original once a year for the MOT as I bet it's not going to have the EU approval stamp on it and some MOT stations are really hot on that. That said, it's probably not a bad idea as you will keep the original exhaust in tip top condition should you ever sell it and it'll protect the collector box under the frame which is mild steel and rots in bad weather.
You may have to play around with the jetting a little - a dyno session would be good if you have access.
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Yes I agree with Steve, it certainly looks the part and sounds nice enough. What's it made from? I'm guessing thin wall stainless??....if so almost as light as titanium and much better as less chance of cracking. Not that you'd probably riding it hard enough to crack it ;) ;) (track conditions usually) I had a quote for a similar system on my cafe racer :'( :'( :'(.....it was from a guy darn sarf in London somewhere. I looked at the one they'd done on their Harris 750 4 racer, gorgeous thing, both bike and zorst, they quoted me £1500 at the time which I just couldn't quite justify that amount of money, not that I didn't think it was worth the money as I know the amount of work that would go in to making one...anyway if you want the guys number Steve I still av it (I think) I even have a photo somewhere of the 750 4 system which I'll try n find.
Cheers, Michael
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Yes Steve I've found the photo so if you'd like me to email it over to you give me a shout.
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Thanks fella`s.
Steve .... we don`t have an mot over here but when a vehicle comes to the island (to live) that is over three years old, it is tested which is a more strict test than a UK mot. So now it`s been tested, and passed, I`m sorted ... no more testing ;D
Jack Batson, who makes the pipes suggested / recommended re-jetting. The full stainless system, jetting kit and delivery ..... $671-35 ..... = £505 at the moment 8) I`m very very tempted but I will ask the grade of the stainless before I commit to anything.
Hang onto that photo Michael, I may need it ;)
Cheers.
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Aye Steves and Mike,
Whoah! Afore the gallop; have you been and viewed this gentleman's website?
German_GB600TT (http://lovik.tripod.com/Clubman.html)
There are various links on the website, including a site that supplied him with thin-walled stainless pipes from Italy!
Is this of interest and use?
Regards, Bill
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Steve,
I've been thumbing through my extensive collection of XBR/GB magazine back issues and found an article from Practical sportsbike Nov 2014 - the guy has restored a GB with a few additional tweeks. To quote " I ditched the original exhaust, It weighs a ton. The stainless steel system we've got on it now weighs a third of the original. It was made by Jack Batson, who's part of the American GB community. He makes pipes to order, and the quality of his work is excellent"
Sounds like a recommendation to me.
I'll try and scan the article and if I can I'll send it to you but don't blame me if your wallet starts screaming!!
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Thanks Bill, I had a look and sent an email looking for a price.
Steve, certainly does sound like a recommendation ;) Bloody moths flying all over the place, now I`ve opened my wallet to see if there was any money left ??? :)
THANK YOU.
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Bloody moths flying all over the place, now I`ve opened my wallet THANK YOU.
Hee hee :) :)
I thought that only happened to us Yorkshire folk Steve, (oh and maybe Scotsmen ;) ;)) and please keep us posted of any developments regarding the zorst system. The amount you mentioned earlier doesn't sound to bad to me and it certainly look the bizz
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Some pictures received.......
[attachment deleted by admin]
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Don't want to wee on anyones fireworks, but if you buy from the other side of the lake, there is an import duty to pay,cost me £72, on 2 bearings. I bought originally for £240 in California,which incidentally were made in France! >:( I would recommend"Black Widow Exhausts, made here in the UK.
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Don't want to wee on anyones fireworks, but if you buy from the other side of the lake, there is an import duty to pay,cost me £72, on 2 bearings. I bought originally for £240 in California,which incidentally were made in France! >:( I would recommend"Black Widow Exhausts, made here in the UK.
Over £16 you will pay an £8 'handling charge' to the Post office and VAT, over £40 you will also have to pay import duty :(. You can find a calculator on line to work it out, but as a rough rule of thumb whatever it costs in $ in the America it will cost you in £ by the time it arrives on your doorstep. :-\
Maybe Black widow downpipes with the Supertrapp silencer?
Also the Pound to Dollar exchange rate has taken a dive since Brexit ...yeah! >:(
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Just had another thought ( ...2 in a week!! Woohoo!!!)......
Although it would cost quite a bit to get it here, once you've fitted it and know you like it and if you're planning to keep the GB for some time and as you don't have to have another MOT test.....
......How much do you think completely original rivit counters would pay for a complete, manufactuers original, low mileage exhaust system for a GB500?.....pure unobtainium....no longer made....got to be worth at least £300..that would go a long way towards your new system...worth a thought.
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Hi Steve.
Apart from the fact that it`s a really quiet exhaust, the reason I`m thinking of changing it is the fact that they are not available anymore, if something ever happened to it, replacing it would be just pure luck if I found one ??? It would be wrapped up and stored to stay with the bike.
There are a pair of front pipes and collector box, in iffy condition on ebay @ £270 but I see where you are coming from and if I weren't keeping it, it would most definitely be a good way to get back some money for the new zorst ;)
Thanks :)
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That's fair enough Steve, I can fully appreciate your thinking mate, it was just a thought to reduce the financial pain of a new exhaust ;D
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Cheers Steve, it is a good idea coz it`s probably worth a few quid but knowing my luck if I sold it ... I`d end up looking for one :-\ ;D ;D
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It`s made of 304 stainless
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Morning Steve, I'm certainly no expert but 304 stainless is pretty much the most common stainless used for zorsts etc. it's wot was used to do the one on my cafe racer although not thin walled so defo not the lightest system. I'm sure given the fact that you'd lose the collector box from the original system and obviously the silencer the stainless one would almost defo save you some weight. Plus (IMVHO) it looks nicer too. Keep us posted and like I say if you want me to send on the photo of the thin walled jobbie give me a shout
Cheers, Michael
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Thanks Michael. I like the look of it too (and the sound :) ) Do you think there`s need for re-jetting? Jack Batson recommends it. I`d rather not start messing with the carb? :-\
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Thanks Michael. I like the look of it too (and the sound :) ) Do you think there`s need for re-jetting? Jack Batson recommends it. I`d rather not start messing with the carb? :-\
It will probably need rejetting as it will be freer flowing. Usually a bigger main jet maybe moving the needle. Is it a CV carb like the XBR? If you can get access to a Dyno it would be worth it. Can Jack Batson advise?
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Hi Steve. I must be honest, I`ve not asked JB if it IS necessary, but he did recommend it. Not sure if the carb is the same as the XBR, I`ll take a look at it later. Cheers ;)
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Steve, this is the guy who's bike was in the Practical sportbike article I was telling you about I think he's from Yorkshire(?). I know he rejetted his GB so if you message him through Youtube he can probably tell you which jets you need.
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Cheers Steve. I asked the question what would happen if I didn`t re-jet the carb, here`s the answer ........
The bikes are jetted very lean and I noticed that especially when riding at freeway speeds. I didn't want to pay the $80 for the jet kit so I tried installing a mainjet and I like jet and shimming the slide needle up. It was slightly better but I could eliminate the mid-range surge by pulling the choke on which wasn't acceptable so I went ahead and order the jet kit from Factory Pro just get the darn slide needle and all was better.
I`m not clued up with this sort of thing and don`t like messing about, all I`m looking for is to put a system on the bike, no hassle, something that looks nice and sounds nice to preserve the original??
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It will probably need rejetting as it will be freer flowing. Usually a bigger main jet maybe moving the needle. Is it a CV carb like the XBR? If you can get access to a Dyno it would be worth it. Can Jack Batson advise?
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Evening Steve, yes I'd probably agree steveC on this one, however I'd just check that the American GB was jetted to the same spec as the one you've bought. I know that generally the American spec bikes were jetted to run very lean to pass their emissions tests even back in the seventies they were generally different to what we got over in blighty. Best thing is to pop the system on and try it first, then take it from there. I'm sure even given the bit of hassle you'd have sorting out any rejetting it would be worth it in the end. You'd have a cracking looking and sounding system on your bike plus the original can be mothballed or sold on. Win. Win....best o luck and defo keep us all posted on it.
Cheers, Michael
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Cheers Michael, yeah mine`s a US bike, also confirmed by Tony C when he called round for a cuppa TT week. I`m still chasing these bloody moths around the living room at the moment so...we`ll see? ;)
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Gooo ooonn you know you want one ;) ;)......it's what ya work for!!!.... Well that n payin the mortgage, gas bill, lecci bill and any other bill you can think of.
Goo oonn...you can always show the wife this post and blame it all on me ::) ::)