Ask the internet why you shouldn’t run straight pipes, and you’ll get reasons like burn exhaust valves backfiring and other detriments to your engine.
If you remove the muffler, you are more likely to get backfiring due to a phenomenon called cold air reversion. While burn exhaust valves aren’t a concern, your valves are far more likely to suffer harm due to too tight clearances.
They are more likely to get torched if you start making major exhaust modifications like removing a foot or more lengths from the system.
Word on the street is you don’t need to spend $500 on a slip-on because your bike’s going to sound sick if you take the stock exhaust, and throw it in the trash.
But is running a straight pipe bad for your motor, or is it just bad for Humanity?
We’ve all seen and certainly heard that guy riding around with no muffler on his motorcycle.
If you’re like me, maybe you assume that a bolt was loose and his muffler fell off, or someone stole his sweet slip-on because who would willingly ride around with no muffler on their bike? As it turns out, a lot of people.
I searched GSXR no muffler on YouTube and got over one hundred thousand videos of guys revving muffler spikes.
This isn’t exactly a topic I was keen to cover, but you guys asked about it, So here we go.
I get it stock mufflers are usually too quiet for most people’s preferences.
They tend to be pretty ugly, and they are almost always heavy, but removing the muffler and running a straight pipe is not a good solution, even if it is free and easy to do.
What about engine performance? Does removing the muffler give it more flow and make more power?
Often, the bike will be louder without a muffler, which usually gives people the impression that it’s faster.
Impressions are all well and good, but we’re after hard data.
After running our bike on a dyno, we found that having the muffler off didn’t affect horsepower in any meaningful way.
I know I was surprised too, but the R3 is just one model, and different bikes respond differently.
Those dyno runs also revealed that there’s quite a bit of difference in volume between muffler versus no muffler.
And frankly, I think that’s what most people are going for when they kick the stock can.
I get it, you want to hear your bike rev, and a little extra noise means that motorists might notice you in traffic, which will keep you safer.
But while our R3 isn’t obnoxiously loud without its muffler, other bikes are going to be a lot louder.
And while the R3 here is still tame and reasonably quiet, it does sound kind of crappy without the muffler.
I think it sounds hollow and a little bit tinny, and you know what? It just doesn’t suit my taste.
In case you didn’t pick up on it, I’m not too keen on people riding around without a muffler.
For one, unless you’ve got a bike like the R3 or an FC09 or an RC390 or something else with one of those big under engine boxes removing the muffler is liable to make your motorcycle heinously loud.
That’s bad for our reputation as motorcyclists, and it’s adding more noise to an already noisy environment.
Plus, removing the muffler could leave you with melted bodywork or burnt boots, and it looks pretty terrible. It looks like an unfinished plumbing project.
You can try to clean it up with one of those little slip-on exhaust tip things, but your exhaust is still going to sound terrible.
Also, removing your muffler to make your bike louder is a total novice move, and doing so is broadcast into the world that you’re a noob.
Like arm rolling your tires or saying that your bike goes as fast as the biggest number on your speedometer, rolling around with no muffler is like wearing a sign in your back that says I’m new at this.
So what’s a responsible rider to do if you want a bit more sound, maybe a little less weight, and better looks than what the stock pipe offers?
Get a slip-on. I know this Yoshimura can cost about five hundred times more than just pulling off the stock muffler, but it is easy to install, and besides not being free, it checks all the right boxes.
A quality slip-on looks a lot better than an open pipe, offers more volume than stock, and nine times out of ten doesn’t require any fuelling adjustment.
And if it’s made by a reputable company that does dyno testing, it Might even make a little more power.
This Alpha Titan sounds good too, but it is not too loud, and that’s intentional.
As it turns out, the Yoshimura designs all of their exhausts to pass the sort of roadside sound test a cop might perform.
So you got better looks, you got better sound, and you’re doing it all without mutilating your stock pipe or your eardrums.
Alright, So there you have it. A lot of personal opinions on the subject of riding around without a muffler on your bike.
I know we often stick to the facts and hard data here, but this is a bit more subjective.