Skyhawk Expansion Chamber
I ordered the Skyhawk Expansion Exhaust from Spooky Tooth Cycles, and got the bike up and running with it today. It's at least twice as loud, but I recently saw a guy wearing a t-shirt that said "loud pipes save lives", and after riding around on a motored bike with a fairly quiet pipe, I follow that logic.
This expansion exhaust was SUPER easy to put on - exactly the same as the standard pipe. There was no need for any supports or hangars. Just bolt it on and go.
The pipe is a substantially fatter and is shaped kind of like a banana with a teardrop profile, so if you have pedal clearance issues, it may not work for you. I installed this one on a beach cruiser frame with a single piece pedal crank, so I had plenty of room to work with. I still find myself hitting the toe of my shoe on it if I'm not careful, though, which makes me wonder if it would fit on a road bike or mountain bike. I suppose it all depends on the height at which your engine sits in relation to the pedals.
The quality of the workmanship looks a bit questionable, but doesn't seem to affect performance. There is a noticeable weld which runs on the top and bottom of the pipe, and there's a lot of weld material built up around the neck of the pipe where it is attached to the mounting flange. I considered grinding some of it off, but the nuts seem to hold it on straight enough.
As of now, I've got maybe 25 miles on the pipe, but I'm pretty impressed. Like I said, it's louder, but it definitely helps pull my "80cc" engine through the low to mid RPMs that it struggled with before. I'm running a 32T sprocket on a 26" wheel, and it's accelerating up hills better than it did before. Overall, I'd say it's $50 well spent.
Hit spookytoothcycles.com and grab one for yourself if you're interested.
Anybody got an inside scoop on the SBP exhaust?
