Charliemurphay
Well-known member
I bought them lol. So I’ll answer your questions…
Installation: it is involved. You need to remove the fuel tank to access the rear cylinder head pipe as that needs to be removed and replaced with the supplied one. To facilitate access you also need to unbolt and push out of the way the ABS pump/manifold assembly. It’s a pain but doable. Removing the heat shields (there are 3) from the stock rear header pipe was the most difficult part for me. All in all the installation took me a total of about 4 ish hours. If it’s tour first time removing the fuel tank it may take longer. This was my fifth or so time doing it so I’m getting pretty proficient at it lol.
Heat/Comfort: if you know what you’re expecting, in my “opinion” they are not a nightmare or awful. They do push your right leg out when riding a bit, but not a ton. But seeing as my right leg stays on the brake when I’m at a stop it does not bother me as I’m used to one footing it anyways. Now if you have to penguin walk it, yes they make it awkward and difficult. But how far are you penguin walking your bike? As far as heat, they are warm but not any worse than the cat when stopped. My right lower calf does contact the heat shield while riding. I feel nothing from it while moving but if I’m stopping, yea you will experience some discomfort. The heat shields are better than nothing but they are not completely burn proof. I’m having my heat shields cerkote coated right now in an effort to reduce heat transmission (and also because I wanted them black). Will report my results.
Noise: I have the 50 state ones with the integrated catalysts. They are louder than my S&S slip on was but I had the cat installed. If you’re running just a link pipe, the high pipes will be slightly quieter and less angry sounding. They are still loud and aggressive above half throttle but are reasonable in volume most of the time.
Power/Running: there is a slight mid range torque loss. But I don’t ride my bike hard enough to really notice. And it runs great still with the tune provided by Fuel Moto that I requested once I installed the pipes.
Overall I am very satisfied with them as I enjoy the tone and sound of them and like you I love the way they look. These are the best looking pipes for the FTR in my opinion. Really all of this is my opinion don’t take it as gospel. I also heard that these pipes were a nightmare with fitment and ride-ability. Expecting that, I found them to be much better than I was expecting and don’t regret them one bit.
Installation: it is involved. You need to remove the fuel tank to access the rear cylinder head pipe as that needs to be removed and replaced with the supplied one. To facilitate access you also need to unbolt and push out of the way the ABS pump/manifold assembly. It’s a pain but doable. Removing the heat shields (there are 3) from the stock rear header pipe was the most difficult part for me. All in all the installation took me a total of about 4 ish hours. If it’s tour first time removing the fuel tank it may take longer. This was my fifth or so time doing it so I’m getting pretty proficient at it lol.
Heat/Comfort: if you know what you’re expecting, in my “opinion” they are not a nightmare or awful. They do push your right leg out when riding a bit, but not a ton. But seeing as my right leg stays on the brake when I’m at a stop it does not bother me as I’m used to one footing it anyways. Now if you have to penguin walk it, yes they make it awkward and difficult. But how far are you penguin walking your bike? As far as heat, they are warm but not any worse than the cat when stopped. My right lower calf does contact the heat shield while riding. I feel nothing from it while moving but if I’m stopping, yea you will experience some discomfort. The heat shields are better than nothing but they are not completely burn proof. I’m having my heat shields cerkote coated right now in an effort to reduce heat transmission (and also because I wanted them black). Will report my results.
Noise: I have the 50 state ones with the integrated catalysts. They are louder than my S&S slip on was but I had the cat installed. If you’re running just a link pipe, the high pipes will be slightly quieter and less angry sounding. They are still loud and aggressive above half throttle but are reasonable in volume most of the time.
Power/Running: there is a slight mid range torque loss. But I don’t ride my bike hard enough to really notice. And it runs great still with the tune provided by Fuel Moto that I requested once I installed the pipes.
Overall I am very satisfied with them as I enjoy the tone and sound of them and like you I love the way they look. These are the best looking pipes for the FTR in my opinion. Really all of this is my opinion don’t take it as gospel. I also heard that these pipes were a nightmare with fitment and ride-ability. Expecting that, I found them to be much better than I was expecting and don’t regret them one bit.
