FMF exhaust

Hi.
I just noticed reading another post that FMF make a loud and a quiet pipe for the WR250R.
The powercore is the loud unit and the Q4 is the quiet one.
Unfortunately I bought the loud one.
They also mention a quiet insert for the powercore on their site but that is the only reference to it I can find.
Has anyone used one of these or know anything of them.

Regards Alan

Hey Alan,

It must be the week for it as I bought one from the states, sent it to Australia, had the O2 sensor bung welded it in and installed it before I really noticed that the powercore 4 is the really loud pipe. The missus used to not hear me after the first corner, now I can go around the whole suburb and she knows were I am!

Search E-bay for FMF insert and you will find them.

I am trying to find the dimensions of the insert so I can make my own. Post them up if you get one please.

Cheers,
Alec

The powercore is on ebay for a really good price over here in the UK. You could actually make one with 40cm of 38mm stainless steel tube - just cut off the can and weld on the new bit!

Only joking. Glad I held off getting one because I had also heard it was just too loud and I love a quiet bike.

well with that many deadshits on the road, loud pipes save lives... i love my powercore 4!!

More like loud pipes lose land. My Q4 is borderline too loud in the woods for my tastes, I prefer not to wake the whole damn mountain when I get out and ride nor when I get home late at night or leave early for a ride. Its a nice kind of loud at least, so I keep it for now.

Hi Skip.

If you manage to make one I would be interested in the noise/power difference.

Regards Alan Case

Alan Case wrote:

Hi Skip.

If you manage to make one I would be interested in the noise/power difference.

Regards Alan Case

I just went for my first big day ride with the power core 4 today and I am not going to quiet it down any. The power increase the exhaust has made is awesome. I have gained a gear I reckon and the amount of wildlife that was allready on the move as I came flying around the corner make the noise justified to me. I only ride in forests so noise isn't a problem. I saw a good sticker the other day "loud pipes save lives" and I agree as everyone and everything knows where you are.......

Skip wrote:

Alan Case wrote:

Hi Skip.

If you manage to make one I would be interested in the noise/power difference.

Regards Alan Case

I just went for my first big day ride with the power core 4 today and I am not going to quiet it down any. The power increase the exhaust has made is awesome. I have gained a gear I reckon and the amount of wildlife that was allready on the move as I came flying around the corner make the noise justified to me. I only ride in forests so noise isn't a problem. I saw a good sticker the other day "loud pipes save lives" and I agree as everyone and everything knows where you are.......

Yawn...

Just wondering if anyone has had issues with their FMF (or other nonstock pipe without the stock heat shield) heating up or melting their saddlebags.

I have not put any saddle bag down over my Q4 because I was concerned about the heat, but I will warn that if you go with the Megabomb header, you need to watch out for your pant leg getting melted on it. The Megabomb looks and sounds great, but it gets extremely hot and because of its size, sits closer to your leg. It is not close enough to be uncomfortable on your leg, but if you have over the boot type riding pants (ICON ARC textile for example) they will end up melted on the header. I now wear a strap around my cuff to make sure that I do not go up in flames.

ddvorak wrote:

I have not put any saddle bag down over my Q4 because I was concerned about the heat, but I will warn that if you go with the Megabomb header, you need to watch out for your pant leg getting melted on it. The Megabomb looks and sounds great, but it gets extremely hot and because of its size, sits closer to your leg. It is not close enough to be uncomfortable on your leg, but if you have over the boot type riding pants (ICON ARC textile for example) they will end up melted on the header. I now wear a strap around my cuff to make sure that I do not go up in flames.

I've melted a fair few pairs of black dress pants with my header.

g-train wrote:

well with that many deadshits on the road, loud pipes save lives... i love my powercore 4!!

Yeah, like they can hear you over the rap music pounding out of their gigawatt speakers, the cell phone stuck in their ear, and/or the adventure flic playing on the onboard DVD to babysit the kids while they drive...

Skip wrote:

I just went for my first big day ride with the power core 4 today and I am not going to quiet it down any. The power increase the exhaust has made is awesome. I have gained a gear I reckon and the amount of wildlife that was allready on the move as I came flying around the corner make the noise justified to me. I only ride in forests so noise isn't a problem. I saw a good sticker the other day "loud pipes save lives" and I agree as everyone and everything knows where you are.......

Assuming it does in fact know where you are, what if it doesn't care?

I've never ridden in Australia, so I don't know how it works there.

But I do know that, around here, if a 1200 lb moose or 600 lb elk isn't going to get out of the way of a locomotive pulling a mile long coal train, it ain't going to pay attention to the noise from your itty bitty power core. And if that same critter ain't going to get off the Trans Canada hwy for a tractor trailer pulling a B-train that's laying on the air horn, it ain't going to pay any attention to you and your itty bitty power core.

And then there's always the deer who might get off the road when they hear your power core - but you'll collect one of the following ones right in the face, as they race across the road trying to beat you so they don't get separated from the rest of the herd. Lots of the deer who get killed on the road here are the ones which were out of the way in the ditch but raced across the road in front of a vehicle to be with the rest.

The only thing that "saves lives" around here is driving defensively, and not overdriving your line of sight and headlights. Those who come flying around a corner around here - bike, 3/4 ton pickup, whatever - eventually have an encounter of the close and very personal kind with an elk, a moose - or on forest service roads, a logging truck. And their itty bitty power core isn't going to change the outcome one iota.

And around here unlike other places, yes, loud bikes do lead to access restrictions.

I do have a sneaking suspicion that if loud pipes offered less performance than quiet pipes, a lot of the "loud pipes save lives" advocates would suddenly find the safety advantage nonexistent and be running quiet pipes. But that's just me.

nice thing about a q-4 is i can pass tec.

g-train wrote:

well with that many deadshits on the road, loud pipes save lives... i love my powercore 4!!

I'm with you.

For anyone who installed the FMF header. Did you guys use the existing stock gasket, install a new one or not use a gasket ? I'm refering to #6 below. Thanks.

I don't remember using a gasket at all.... Hmmm.

You'll definitely want to keep a gasket in that spot.
Sometime, the gasket will stay put in the head and not fall out when you remove the head pipe.
The bike definitely comes stock with one.

I like to use a brand-new one, but have reused them in a pinch.

I changed out my stock header for the fmf one after about 10 miles and just re-used the original one.

sm171 wrote:

For anyone who installed the FMF header. Did you guys use the existing stock gasket, install a new one or not use a gasket ? I'm refering to #6 below. Thanks.

I reused the stock one.

Thanks guys. I picked up a new gasket and will use that when I swap out the header.

Skip wrote:

I reckon and the amount of wildlife that was allready on the move as I came flying around the corner make the noise justified to me. I only ride in forests so noise isn't a problem. I saw a good sticker the other day "loud pipes save lives" and I agree as everyone and everything knows where you are.......

You've heard of the doppler effect right? By the time someone or something ahead of you hears you flying along, it's probably too late. The only thing that saves lives is heads up defensive driving, and using that lump of grey jello between your ears. Relying on noise to be safe is a sure way to end up as road kill.

Don't get me wrong, on the street I love a good loud exhaust. Nothing beats it, I just won't rely on it to keep me safe.

In the woods though all it does (at least where I live) is give those with an agenda more ammunition. Never mind the fact that I do infinitely more to actually conserve and protect the environment I love, use and respect than they ever will.



Good grief it's been a long week. I'm cranky and need a beer.

Brunnie wrote:

Skip wrote:

I reckon and the amount of wildlife that was allready on the move as I came flying around the corner make the noise justified to me. I only ride in forests so noise isn't a problem. I saw a good sticker the other day "loud pipes save lives" and I agree as everyone and everything knows where you are.......

You've heard of the doppler effect right? By the time someone or something ahead of you hears you flying along, it's probably too late. The only thing that saves lives is heads up defensive driving, and using that lump of grey jello between your ears. Relying on noise to be safe is a sure way to end up as road kill.

Don't get me wrong, on the street I love a good loud exhaust. Nothing beats it, I just won't rely on it to keep me safe.

In the woods though all it does (at least where I live) is give those with an agenda more ammunition. Never mind the fact that I do infinitely more to actually conserve and protect the environment I love, use and respect than they ever will.



Good grief it's been a long week. I'm cranky and need a beer.

Hope you got that beer mate, you need it

Where I ride, there is no one to complain except the wildlife (no moose or other over size beasts either), biggest thing is probably a Wallaby (small roo) or a goanna. Dont go near the suburbs and dont ride on the road, except around the block to keep life in the bike between rides. There is only so much defensive driving you can do on single trail in the middle of no where.

Only commenting on what I noticed, and damn does the PC4 sound PHAT and the power increase in the little beast is well worth it

Anyone can take it as he whishes but loud pipe leads to nowhere to ride at the end.

Many places that are getting offbound for motorcycles are where no one is living. There are more and more people attracted to quiet and wild areas. They get there because it makes them forget about the city sounds and the like. So when someone drives in the area where they are appreciating the calmness it stays in their minds. Then they met someone that promotes basnishing the motorcycle from remote and wild areas. Since the guy on the motorcycle didn,t bother about their quietness, they don't bother to keep motorcycles out of their preferred area.

And what is the hard fact about it is that the guy with the motocycle might argue as much as he wants on the forums, the people that vote don't event go on these forums. And all of us that try not to make noise when we ride, we will also loose the privilege to drive where it is fun to do so.

Don't care about people and they won't care about you.

I have a place high up in the Western Colorado mountains. I adjoin the forest which adjoins a wilderness area. My main form of transport up there has always been a dual sport. It gives me a greater range then I can cover on foot, and a lot more fun then trying to get around in my 4x4 pickup. My nearest neighbor is seven miles away. I used to spend a lot of time in the woods on foot because it's a great way to be one with nature, and SEE things. Now I always did whatever I could to reduce my footprint on the bike. Keep it as quiet as possible; ride only on game trails or forest roads. When I walk through the woods with others I don't talk. I look and listen. When I come across an ass hole on a loud bike, blazing a new rut in a damp meadow, I want to shoot that somn of a bitch, and I will use my vote and do everything I can , to keep him and others like him out of the woods!

Dancamp wrote:

And what is the hard fact about it is that the guy with the motocycle might argue as much as he wants on the forums, the people that vote don't event go on these forums. And all of us that try not to make noise when we ride, we will also loose the privilege to drive where it is fun to do so.

Don't care about people and they won't care about you.

And that person that votes and doesn't read this forum will vote against your rights just as quickly if you have your not as loud as a Q4 stock exhaust as they would if you had the Q4. Because in the end your stock exhaust is still a hell of a lot louder than that little stream they moved next to to settle their nerves and still a hell of a lot louder than their prius.

You can argue that your're doing your share to reduce your noise or your fossil fuel footprints, but in the end the tree huggers don't give a crap and will be oblivious to the facts. Most are still going to hate you for no other reason than you disturbing their peace for the 10 seconds they can hear you while you ride past their property.