Alternative Exhaust for the 600

[stevezx7r]

Hi guys n gals, just been looking online for a full exhaust system for my newly arrived '92 diversion. It looks like the headers cost around the £100 mark and the full (4-1) system around the £250 mark with the 4-2 system being laughably expensive at £350.

Now, I've never been one to conform to the norms (especially if I can do the same job better/cheaper), so I've been thinking of either getting my own system made or using another bikes d/p and modifying those (plus link pipe) to fit a spare micron c/f can I have.

I had though of making an underseat system but I don't appear to have a great deal of room without major modification to the sub frame (anyone done it already?).

Anyway, does anyone have any thought on this approach - using say, an fzr600 d/p and modding those to fit?

Anyone?

[amorti]

Short and sweet: forget it, unless you have serious fabricating skills. When thinking about underseat exhausts, remember what this bike is. You won't make it notably faster, and you won't make it glamorous. Get an exhaust that works, then ride it, and if you want to keep it, get hagon fork springs and fresh 7.5w fork oil, then get a 1/2" master cylinder from a honda ntv650. Then ride it some more, then fit new BT45s (standard size although a 110/70-17 doesn't hurt on the front) and repeat.

[beeblemaster]

Hope you considered the cost of an exhaust when buying the bike, because you are typically looking at £300 - £400 for a new replacement.

I was lucky enough to get a full used Nexxus in nearly new condition from a member on here at a bargain price, so you might be lucky enough to find one second hand.

If you can get yourself replacement silencers at a reasonable price, I do have some original downpipes in good nick. If you're interested PM me.

[CD]

Amorti is right. The Divvie is a workhorse. Dress it up too much and it could look like Aunt Maud in a miniskirt.

The original downpipes are stainless steel, but the 2-1 collectors are mild steel. Guess where they rot.

If you have the equipment you could make stainless 2-1 collectors for the downpipes. Dont forget to disconnect the battery AND the generator before electric (even tack welding) on the bike.

The silencers are another issue. If you can bend suitable link pipes some "universal" cans might work but dont be surprised if they mess up the carburation and/or are loud enough to fail the MOT.

This might put you off:
www.rorty-design.com/content/exhaust.htm

OS Stainless - the custom exhaust maker at Hixon near Stafford recently quoted me £300 for a pair of D900 cans and link pipes though undoubtably they would be well made. I imagine the 600 would be much the same. Delkevic also make Divvie 900 exhausts I dont know if they do cans for the 600.

[General Gman]

What size is the inlet of the Micron can ? a lot of them were 65mm.
See if you can measure the diameter of a nexus system - the downpipes on these are good, with a fully tuned lenghth but the silencer lets them down.If the dia of the link pipe is the same as the inlet of the can, hey presto ! cut the nexxus can off and fit your can.I did the exact same thing with a gsxr750....

[HRHpenfold]

the divvie downpipes are stainless, its the mild steel collectors that rusts, get new stainless collectors made fitted to a link pipe and fit a silencer of another model

[stevezx7r]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm going to pop down to Ruffoth (sp?) Park on Saturday to have a look for some pipework which I should be able to use as the down pipes. Failing that I'll be looking at getting some standard (made for the bike) down pipes. Once I have these I'll look into fabricating a length of pipe to run along the bike and up under the seat. My main concern is not making the pipe work (I have most of the equipment) it's getting it past the rear shock without overheating it and under the seat without melting it's undertray - lots of heat reflecting shiney stuff me thinks. It's early days yet and although I would like to have the bike sorted for this summer it's possible it won't be ready 'till the end of the year (what with all the other things that need doing to it).

As for making the bike into something it's not - I'm not looking to make a zx10 beater, just something that looks different, sounds different and handles well. If I can get it jetted to whatever system I put on it I would expect several HP increase, prefferably throughout the rev range.

My previous bikes were all fairly mental, full on, sports bikes so this will be my first "street fighter" project.

Anyway, time to sort out the garage then the first job will be to strip and rebuild the front end, starting with the forks as the seals have gone. Think I'll grab some 15w oil to stiffen the front up.

Chow for now!

[amorti]

You can style it as you like, it is your bike after all. If you really want an underseat exhaust though, you will have to raise the back, and believe it or not the divvy 6 is already quite happy to tank slap without doing that. You might consider a 17" rear wheel to increase space between tyre and mudguard. Apparently that of an XJR400 fits with a few little spacer changes. Also, consider a carbon can, it insulates the heat in much better than a metal one.

However forget the thicker fork oil, just change the springs for hagon and put 7.5w in. Trust me, the forks are undersprung not underdamped and putting thicker oil in leaves them overdamped and undersprung, which is a pretty awful combination, especially if you are used to bikes that actually handle. Typically the forks will dive massively when you brake, then take ages to come back up, and you end up tying the bike in knots.

[amorti]

Here are hagon vs. OE springs, you can see how much thicker wound the new ones are, but you can't so much see that the metal is actually thicker, too. Also they are spring all the way up, without wasted space on a spacer.

[stevezx7r]

I was under the impression that the damping hole was quite large on the 600 which allowed the front to dive excessively when coupled with the thinner oil. I'll have a look into that. Tbh, if I do get new springs I would probably go for Ohlins, the one's I've used in the past have seen a remarkable change in the handling characteristics and at around £80 for a pair they're not bad value either

Right, time for a cuppa, a tab and a good look at the bike

[amorti]

I fitted those hagon springs at £65 the pair from wemoto, and the difference is amazing. I have old 10w in there and they are left slightly over damped so the recommended 7.5w is probably about right. Leaves me thinking that they tuned the damping about right, but fit parts bin springs from a 125 or other such lightweight bike.

I would suggest while looking at the bike you consider the value of it. Then spend £65 rather than £80 on a pair of fork springs. You could spend as much as you want, but they'll still be a skinny set of non adjustable RWU forks when you're finished.

[stevezx7r]

True, (although £15 difference isn't going to break the bank) I had thought about swapping the forks (entire front end) for a pair of fzr600 ones, the cost would be fairly expensive given that I would end up having to service them before use anyway...I think they fit straight on - top/bottom tripple clamps plus the rest...?

Well, the garage is clear and it's no surprise that the weather has turned crap. Typical, once I get a bike it Pi55es it down At least I'm not trying to ride it at the moment.

Thoughts on the rear shock please. The original owner deemed it neccesary to paint the spring and entire unit gold (must have been wanting Ohlins). Of course the paint has cracked and tbh, the spring looks knackered anyway although it does move fine still. Will have a look at that later. I hear the fazer shock bolts straight on (or was that for the 900?).

Time to feed the nippers and myself then it's back to work sorting the rest of the garage out before getting the bike back in and ripping the front end off.

Happy days

[amorti]

Fazer shock goes into the 900 not the 600 I'm afraid. I think the only options for the rear are the usual suspects eg Hagon. He probably painted it just for a freshen up, as they rust pretty badly. If it's working, consider just taking it out, stripping and having the spring powder coated (it's flexbile) and the body just in hammerite as best you can.

One German member has fit fzr600 forks on yes. Gives you a bit nicer front end and adjustable but if you stick with that front wheel and original back you have 120 on the front and 130 on the back, which surely can't work out great?

[stevezx7r]

120 front 130 rear I don't remember the last bike I rode which had such a narrow back tyre!

Onto the next question then....

Swapping the back wheel. It looks like it has a decent amount of room between the tyre wall and inside of the s/arm. Maybe get a 150 in it? You mentioned earlier about the xjr400 wheel fitting with spacers, any idea what max tyre size they take?

Anyway, clean the kids up (I knew boiled egg sarnies would be messy) then back to the garage.

[General Gman]

I've got a ZX9R shock in the garage if you can make it fit ......

[General Gman]

Although thinking about it, there's nowhere for the piggy back reservoir to go.

[stevezx7r]

I can make anything fit, although the 9r shock may be a tad oversprung

As for the r/res, I would find a way of fixing it to the s/frame no probs.

Did you get the shock as an "upgrade" for a diversion or is it a leftover from a 9r?

[amorti]

the zx9 shock might even be undersprung, given it is meant to work on a linkage. He says piggyback res, so means it's actually on the shock body, not on a hose.

I was also looking at a TRX850 rear wheel, the spokes look different though.

[stevezx7r]

Piggyback, of course, it'll clatter something no doubt.

Just got the front end off and had a bit of bad news.

First, one of the the brake master cylinder cap screws had been replaced by something which resembled swiss cheese so I had to drill it out. Next, the front forks are both pitted. This explaines the seals leaking. They're arent' too bad - an hour with some wet and dry plus some liquid metal may see them right but I'm starting to think more along the lines of the fzr6 front end.

I've seen a back wheel for an xjr4 on the bay for £50 plus p+p so thats an option, however, I'm not doing the back yet so it will end before I get round to it. At least the're not rocking horse poo.

Finished for the day, kids are playing up and i'm a bit fed up - If I'd collected the bike in person I would have noticed the leaking forks etc and possibly walked away.

Anyway, it's Friday, TF

[jestertoby]

Jun 5, 2009 11:47:01 GMT amorti said:

I was also looking at a TRX850 rear wheel, the spokes look different though.

Don't look further, the TRX rear wheel is to wide / large for the Dyvvy swingarm I had one as I bought the FZR frontend, it was on a TRX rolling chassis (frame, swingarm rearwheel and so on) ;D

The Monoshock of a Moto Guzzi V11 will work without much work, and it is allso direkt linked like the one of the Dyvvy

[biblebasher]

if you intend to swap front end off fzr600 you may need to get the later divvy yokes. my originals are, i think, 38mm. i now have yokes for 41mm forks which is the fzr size. back wheel? go for fzr600 as jestertobys bike. but TBO, my original plan was to modify my bike quite a lot, but its too slow, too heavy and can easily get tied up in knots on a rapid left/right. it is a good tourer but its got no real potential as a flickable sportsbike.

[stevezx7r]

If I do go down the fzr6 line I was thinking of getting the entire front end i.e top/bottom yokes, forks, wheels, disks and brakes.

I would probably get an r6 rear shock with the fzr wheel.

I need to have a look at the oe forks again as, looking back, I think they're not too bad and could be repaired - saving me time, effort and cash.

Just a silly thought, but, has anyone fitted the 900 motor in the 6 frame? ;D

[CD]

FZR forks at the right price would be good.

Dont bother with the 900 engine too heavy and too big. Also the swing arm too big for the 600. But an old XJ600 engine could be a nice idea - air cooled, 75bhp, but finding one in good condition...

But but - once a bitsa always a bitsa. If the D6 isnt up to your needs, better to sell it and get a bike that is.

[biblebasher]

i was in the process of fitting a tdm850 engine in my spare div frame which looked really good, but i was severely warned against fitting a top hung motor into a standard frame. it will put stresses where it shouldnt. so dont go there! buy a trx 850 instead. now theres a bike!!

[amorti]

Always fancied a TRX850 since a mate got one and let me pootle on it briefly. Nice bike and, eye of the beholder etc, absolutely gorgeous.

[jestertoby]

Jes the TRX ist just a beautiful one, with a nice engine and a sound for gods Probably my next bike (on the trx I would use my actual fzr600r frontend), another one would be a speed triple ;D

[General Gman]

Jun 5, 2009 11:47:01 GMT amorti said:

the zx9 shock might even be undersprung, given it is meant to work on a linkage. He says piggyback res, so means it's actually on the shock body, not on a hose.

I was also looking at a TRX850 rear wheel, the spokes look different though.

- there's no way it would be undersprung... if you've ridden a ZX9 (or any Kwak sports bike from the 90s) you'll know what I mean.Yes, it works on a linkage, but it is as stiff as a stiff thing that's gone all stiff thinking about Kylie in gold hotpants.
Mine regularly tries to kick my kidneys out of my body over the smallest bumps.

SteveZX7r - I haven't tried fitting it to a divvy - it's off my ZX9 which has a later shock on with a longer free length and more adjustment.

[CD]

Agreed about the soft fork springs. Mine use 100% of the travel and its not because of the rough roads I ride along. BTW, Hagon will make a shock to suit your needs.

[stevezx7r]

Jun 8, 2009 13:01:26 GMT General Gman said:

Jun 5, 2009 11:47:01 GMT amorti said:

the zx9 shock might even be undersprung, given it is meant to work on a linkage. He says piggyback res, so means it's actually on the shock body, not on a hose.

I was also looking at a TRX850 rear wheel, the spokes look different though.

- there's no way it would be undersprung... if you've ridden a ZX9 (or any Kwak sports bike from the 90s) you'll know what I mean.Yes, it works on a linkage, but it is as stiff as a stiff thing that's gone all stiff thinking about Kylie in gold hotpants.
Mine regularly tries to kick my kidneys out of my body over the smallest bumps.

SteveZX7r - I haven't tried fitting it to a divvy - it's off my ZX9 which has a later shock on with a longer free length and more adjustment.

Ah yes, I do love my Kawasaki's. I've had three 7r's throughout the years, each of varying capabilities - but they always had stiff rear springs. Fantastic front ends (it's true what they say) but the back end let them down (that plus the weight they carried). My final 7r (my race bike) was fully tricked with Ohlins front/rear and my god it was good ;D

So, back into bikes after a few years off and here I am sanding down forks from a diversion, oh how the mighty have fallen ;D

Ste.

[CD]

I asked a suspension builder about revalving my 900 forks. He can do the job but it will do nothing for the its diving on the brakes - he said there is no compression damping, which I guess is why the progressive spings are so effective.