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The Dawn of Sound
Outcast Cycles Magazine has been working with GoFastLoudly to produce a quality aftermarket muffler for the Hyosung GT650 motorcycle. "Project Outcast" has been used for design, mock-up, and field testing several different muffler designs, in exchange for receiving this inside look at what it takes to design and produce a muffler to bring to our market. Outcast Cycles Magazine has been working with GoFastLoudly to produce a quality aftermarket muffler for the Hyosung GT650 motorcycle. "Project Outcast" has been used for design, mock-up, and field testing several different muffler designs, in exchange for receiving this inside look at what it takes to design and produce a muffler to bring to our market.GoFastLoudly ("GFL" as they are often referred to) has been designing mufflers for the Hyosung and UM bikes for years now. They hold patents on all of their muffler designs and are so determined to bring a quality product to their customers, that they dyno test their mufflers to determine which designs go into production. Nate Jourdan, one of the founders of GFL, says that GFL is one of the handful of muffler companies that currently dyno tests in order to bring the best possible product to their customers, and they are the only dyno testing brand that offers bolt-on mufflers for the Hyosung and UM brands. "Our motto is ‘It isn’t a performance part, if you can’t prove the performance part’ – we built our company around this motto and philosophy", says Jourdan. To truly understand what processes go into designing a muffler, our article follows the GFL team from concept to production. "There’s so much more to it than just slapping a pretty pipe on the bike", Jourdan explained. "The first step was to design the parts we’d need o make it a truly bolt-on muffler". So the stock muffler was removed from Project Outcast and the crush washer was traced and replicated into a steel flange. The next step
was to understand what the market wants. "The easiest way for us to know what the customers want, is to pay attention
on the owners forums," says Jourdan. For the sport bike crowd, GFL turned to Korider.com and read what modifications were being
done by owners and what designs they really liked. "Once we had an idea what they wanted to see, we were off to designing
and prototyping," Jourdan said. So on a beautiful June Saturday, the GFL team along with those interested eyes from Outcast Cycles Magazine, took Project Outcast and the muffler designs to spend the day at the dyno and hopefully walk away with the new GFL GT650 muffler design. The first order of business was to set a baseline to compare the new mufflers to. This means running Project Outcast’s stock muffler. The numbers were not shabby for a bone stock 650cc bike; peak recorded horsepower was 64 and torque was maxed out at 40. The next series of dyno runs eliminated mufflers easily. "If it doesn’t beat the stock numbers, it’s scraped," says Sumner. The Outcast crew even got to dyno test our own muffler we built (it’s a chopped down version of the stock muffler). Although our sound was better and our muffler looked the best, it maxed out horsepower at 60. "Losing horsepower is something we try to avoid," Jourdan joked with us. By the end of the day, GFL had 2 prospects for potential production models. Both of the designs displayed a similar increase in horsepower (between 66.9 and 66.7) and peak torque (41.25 and 42.5). But what really got the GFL guys excited was the huge torque gains in the low and mid RPM ranges. "The dyno showed nearly 5% gains in low end torque on one of the mufflers," Jourdan explained to us. "That means when you start off, or take off from the line, this bike will pull much harder and much quicker than stock." But what really got them excited was that the same muffler also showed an increase in horsepower. "Usually you have to sacrifice horsepower for torque," Jourdan said. "But we managed to come up with significant increases across the board and all the way across the powerband with horsepower and torque!" They gave us a copy of the dyno chart. The blue line indicates the stock setup. The red lines are the new GFL muffler. So what happens next? Well, after a celebratory dinner we were included in, the GFL crew went back to work. With their design proven and ready to go, the exterior appearance became the attention point. "GFL has a reputation for building exhausts that maintain cooler temperatures than most. This means the likelihood of burning shoe leather and skin on the muffler is far, far less than most mufflers," says Jourdan. "It also allows us to experiment with color options that other muffler companies can’t do". So the trick to the GFL mufflers is that they are a two-part exhaust system. They keep the outer pipe separate from the functioning part of the exhaust, which lowers the temperatures of the outer pipe. In reality, the outer pipe is a giant heat shield and the bike can function normally without the outer pipe installed. "The outer pipe is simply cosmetic," says Sumner. The next day the crew at GFL was B-U-S-Y! They located suppliers and modified their CAD drawings for the production guys. They want to do something new with this muffler - they want to permanantly attach the outer pipe to the muffler. "This will essentially mean, that all a customer has to do is unbolt their stock muffler and use the same hardware to bolt on the new muffler," says Jourdan. "Its a 1 piece installation as opposed to a 2 part install like our current GV650 and GT250 models." "The design we tested will also allow us to build shorty mufflers, which seems to be the majority’s want on the forums," says Sumner. "With the stock muffler being nearly 20 inches long - our production model is shooting for a length closer to 12 inches overall". So the final production muffler will have a 5" round body, covering a smaller internal muffler with proven performance gains of horsepower and torque. While we have been sworn to secrecy with the final images of the production mufflers, we have been granted these small "nuggets of information"… 1) The muffler will be a "shorty" style can. Sumner expects an overall design length of only 12". 2) The muffler will hopefully use stock hardware (i.e. clamps and bolts) and can be installed in less than 15 minutes by almost anyone. 3) Final price numbers are uncertain as of now, but Jourdan states that they are shooting for a retail price of less than $300! (That’s about $100 cheaper than most) 4) The GFL crew all agreed that we should be seeing these mufflers for sale before the end of the year. Thanks to the guys and gals of GoFastLoudly for allowing us to follow the progress of their efforts. They are a great bunch of guys who really love what they do. If you have a UM or Hyosung 650cc sportbike, these guys have the passion and knowledge that exceeds the manufacturers. Thanks GFL! (and if you want to use our chopped up stock muffler – I’m sure we can work something out…) |
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Helmet Comparison By Nate Pick up a catalog or open up a motorcycle gear vendor website and you’ll see literally hundreds of options of any given type of helmet. Prices vary anywhere from under $50 all the way up to nearly $1000. When looking at the options by price range the $50 helmet doesn’t always look that much different than the $1000 helmet. But you shouldn’t judge a book by its label, er cover. Once upon a time, good marketing plans led motorcyclists to believe that certain higher priced brands would protect your dome better than the inexpensive competition. An article published in Motorcyclist Magazine back in May of 2005 titled "Motorcycle Helmet Performance: Blowing the Lid off", debunked that myth with their own scientific testing to find that one of the least expensive helmets they sampled, performed better than their high dollar competition. If you’ve never read the article give it a read. http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/motorcycle_helmet_review/index.html So if price doesn’t necessarily indicate ability to keep your head safe in a fall, what do the extra dollars give you? We’re going to look at just that. I’ve rounded up my collection of helmets that range in price from $39.99 to $499.99(average retail prices found online). All of the helmets in this review are in size XXL, because I have an abnormally large head. First up is the Zeus 990. You may have never heard of this company but they’ve been popular in Europe for a few years now. They’ve had difficulty in establishing a clear distribution chain in the US. This helmet was purchased for $39.99 from an EBay seller. Next up is the Xpeed XF-507, purchased for around $49 dollars on closeout. Xpeed is another company that has made efforts to push into the US market with little success. Our middle of the road helmet is the HJC CL-14, originally purchased on sale for $119.99. The CL lineup from HJC is one of their best sellers primarily due to its affordable price tag and a wide variety of finishes. Last and certainly not least is my most recent acquisition, the Shoei X-Eleven with the best available deal on the internet being $499.99 for solid colors; patterns add another $30 to the price. The Shoei X-Eleven is the top of the full face totem pole in the Shoei lineup. All of the helmets are full faced helmets made of one form of plastic/fiberglass composite or another. Each one makes a case for why their own compound is superior to others. Each helmets visors offer good optics and don’t seem to obscure vision in any noticeable way. The finish of helmets varies greatly from one manufacturer to another although in this case not exactly in the order you’d think. The HJC and Zeus helmets are a close tie for last with the HJC barely edging out the Zeus. The Zeus gets the last place nod due to the logo decals not being under clear coat; otherwise they are pretty even in paint and clear-coat quality. Neither is bad, just not as nicely finished as the other helmets. The Shoei comes in soundly at 2nd place. It’s a beautifully finished helmet with a nice thick clear coat over all the decals. The Xpeed helmet has the nicest finish of them all. The silver is deep and rich with a clear coat as thick as what you’d find on a car. The one slip up on the Xpeed is the logo decals are above the clear coat, but the overall finish shines above this flaw. All of the visors are changeable to tinted or mirrored visors. Each one claims to be a "quick release", but they each go at it in a unique way. The Zeus has a side plate with two screws that hold the plate and visor on. A coin of any denomination will work for screw removal. I like this setup; it’s simple and works easily enough. The HJC has a quick release that is just about the worst example of "quick release" I have ever experienced. It’s finicky and usually takes a few tries. The Xpeed system is a bit better but still not a winner by any means. The Shoei works pretty well. Pops on and off with little effort or confusion. The helmet weights amongst the groups are pretty similar, but I was rather surprised when I read the scales with this group. Oddly enough the Zeus comes in as the lightweight at a dainty 1644 grams. I weighed it a couple more times to make sure but the same number kept coming up. The Shoei came in a close second at 1654 grams. Then the weights jump a bit with the HJC coming in at 1679 grams, and last up the portly Xpeed at 1694 grams. The difference in weight isn’t really noticeable when wearing the helmets, with only 50 grams separating the heaviest and lightest. If I had to have guessed I would have place the Zeus as the heaviest. I guess my head scale needs calibration. Each helmet comes with a liner that claims to be anti-bacterial and wick moisture away from the riders head. The differences start to show at the liners. While the Shoei does have the softest and most comfortable liner the ear cups seem to be rather shallow making it difficult to get helmet speakers seated comfortably in the helmet. It’s also a thinner material than any of the others. The HJC and Xpeed are pretty even in this regard. Both liners are soft and comfortable with deep ear pockets. The Zeus is a bit rougher than the others. After riding with the other helmets the Zeus feels uncomfortable for anything more than a quick hop around town. Good helmet ventilation will cover up other deficiencies in a helmet pretty quickly. All helmets have their own proprietary system with a catchy name. The order of superiority changes here with venting. The HJC has 5 total intake vents and 2 exhaust vents which have some level of adjustability with multiple opening positions. That adds up to a lot of area to push air through. Oddly enough though, there’s not a lot of air felt inside the helmet. It’s apparent that some air is moving since the humidity level stays acceptable once under way. The Zeus has the least amount of openings with 2 wide intake vents and no exhaust vents. Where the Zeus lacks in vents it makes up for it with a farther forward projected chin bar that lets plenty of fresh air in. I don’t think that’s what the designers were going for, but it works. The Xpeed offers pretty good flow from its 4 intake vents and 3 exhaust vents. This is definitely a step above the HJC and Zeus. Air flow is good without creating excess noise like the wind rushing up under the chin bar. The Shoei is pretty amazing in terms of ventilation, boasting 5 intake and 4 exhaust vents. The vents on the Shoei are smaller than the others but apparently designed with wind dynamics in mind. The airflow is felt pretty clearly on the top of my head when moving. This is a pretty impressive feat and the first helmet I’ve ever worn that allowed the rider to feel significant airflow over the top of the head. There’s another aspect of helmets that isn’t often discussed, stability in the air stream. Of the group we have here the Zeus with its rounder shell shape tends to "drag" when moving causing your neck to work a bit harder to keep your head straight. This sounds silly but when you go from the Zeus to the HJC you notice a decent improvement right away. The HJC doesn’t have as round a shell profile and seems to be more streamlined. From there the next best step would be the Xpeed. The Xpeed just seems to catch less air than the HJC and Zeus. The Shoei is once again leading the pack. Shoei boasts that the X-Eleven helmet was "wind tunnel designed". This is apparent when riding. When in the air stream the helmet doesn’t fuss any at all. Head checks can be made with almost no wind buffeting. The last part of the evaluation we’ll call "features". Features are the extra bits that make a helmet more useful and unique from the rest of the pack. We’ll start with the Zeus as it really doesn’t have much in the way of features. Actually it has none. The HJC doesn’t have much more to offer. If you call a bungee loop to tuck your excess chin strap down, I suppose that’s a feature. The Xpeed comes with a breath guard that is above your nose, a similar bungee loop and a chin curtain. The chin curtain should be standard on all helmets; it greatly cuts down on wind noise. The Shoei takes the lead in this category as well. The chin curtain is there, along with a breath guard and integrated "exhaust breath chamber", as well as a snap on the end of the chin strap to secure the excess strap. The breath chamber thing works pretty well keeping cool air in front of your mouth. The snap isn’t the typical button snap but a snap that clips to the d-ring. It takes a bit of practice but works pretty well. So there we have it. Let’s total things up and see how our helmets compared to one another. You may not like my primitive scoring system, but I do and I’m the one writing this. Each category will be rated with numbers 1-4 with 1 being the best of a particular category and 4 being the worst. Like golf, a low score wins here. Looking at all of the helmets in a somewhat objective form like I’ve done it really is a testament to manufacturing and design. How can it be possible for a company to put a helmet on the market with a price tag that’s one tenth of the price of its closest scoring competitor? I’m not sure how Xpeed does it. It’s a fine story of how the bar has been raised by competition. The inexpensive manufacturers are raising the level of quality to compete better with the established leaders in the market. At the end of the day this is good for all of us. So which one of these helmets is my primary helmet, you ask: The Shoei X-Eleven. One thing I didn’t mention in this comparison is helmet fit. Everyone’s head is a little different. For my particular gigantor noggin, the Shoei just fits better. The Xpeed would likely take the place of the much more expensive Shoei, if it fit my head properly. Fit is the single most important factor to consider when buying a helmet. If it doesn’t fit right you aren’t going to want to wear it. So when you decide to buy the flashy new helmet on sale at your local accessories store, take a second and make a list of the things you need the helmet for. Will it fit my head correctly so that in a crash it won’t pop off or make my head pop off in it in a strong wind. With the visor down, does the helmet become a head-sauna? How hard is it to change visors? And lastly, what is it about this helmet that makes me have to have it? It all boils down to personal choices and needs, but this should help you start your research. |
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"A to Z" riding By
Amish The general idea
is to plot a course that will let you ride to places where you can take pictures of places based on their alphabetic characteristics.
Such as riding to a town that’s name starts with the letter A. You park the bike in front of the town’s sign and
then ride to a town that starts with the letter B, and so on. You can do it alone, with friends, locally, globally, whatever
you feel like. No rules to this game - just having some fun in the warmer summer days without spending a fortune to travel. My particular "A to Z ride" is going to be restrained to sites within my local county (Mobile
County, Alabama). I pretty much have all day to goof off and do this, so I need to make a general plan to come across small
towns within my county to hit as many letters of the alphabet as possible in my time frame. I am going to keep the "official"
points limited to the first letter of each word in the town’s name. So towns with 2-word names can count for 2 alphabet
characters such as "Dauphin Island, Alabama" would allow me to scratch off the letters "D" and "I".
Most places dont have a lot of locations starting with "Q", "X", or "Z" so if you’re lucky
enough to be close to "Quitman, Mississippi", for example, thats a triple score. haha. Its
a simple ride that I can have some fun with. No pressure to succeed or record details. My friend took pictures of each place
she stopped and made an album to verify and help explain the concept to others. I prefer a more "old school" approach,
and I simply took a small pocket notebook and lettered "A" thru "Z" on it. I’ll just scratch thru
each letter as I find it. For the sake of the article, I figured I’d take a few pictures of the ride. Have
fun with the idea - you can change it up however you want - using street signs, police cars, Post Offices, etc. Just a way
to bring something fun to exploring. |
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"Rattlecan" PAINT Jobs
By Amish In the last issue, I went over in good detail how to prep for paint. Just to recap: 1) remove parts to be painted from the bike and set up a work space away from things not wanting overspray. 2) Lightly sand the parts to be painted. Mask off parts you dont want painted. 3) Once you’re done sanding, wipe everything off with a tack cloth - including your work space. The tack cloth will help eliminate dust and debris that can ruin your work. 4) Use a good etching primer to give a good uniform base coat for the color. Spray cans are made to be simple. I prefer to use one of those $1 trigger handles on spray cans because it allows me to use the proper motion when painting - a steady, slow, back-and-forth motion that extends beyond the edges of the part I am spraying. You don’t want to do a shaky or "wiggle" type of movement as this will unevenly distribute the paint on the part, increase the amount of overspray, and increase the chances for runs in the paint. It is important to have the right distance between the spray can and the part. Too close and the paint will drip and run; to far away and all you get is misting or overspray. A few practice passes on a scrap piece of wood or metal, will help you tune in to the right distance. Also remember to thouroughly shake the can before using. At least 2 minutes of just shaking the can will help tremendously when it comes time to spray. If the can isn’t shaken enough, it will splatter large drops of paint as you go. If you get this effect - the only thing you can do is wait for it to dry and sand it down again. If you continue and paint over it - it will cause bubbles in the paint and crackling later on. Once you have two or three coats of paint on the parts and no runs or imprefections, then its time to let the parts dry while yuou mix up the clearcoat. This is where the paint job starts to come to life. By using a real automotive paint grade clearcoat system, you provide all the protection that expensive paintjobs have, meanign no worries about gas spillage, sun fading, or easily made scratches. If you decide to just use a spray paint clearcoat, the first drop of gasoline that spatters out on the tank while you’re filling it up, will cause the entire paint job to crackle, split, and effectivelky ruin the look of your bike. If you quickly wipe the gas off - then you will likely smear the paint right off. Gasoline is actually used to remove spray paint and graffiti, so there is no way to prevent the damage to the paint without using the right clearcoat. Our mixture rate is 4 parts clearcoat to 1 part hardner. Using a mixing cup is worth it. When the clearcoat and hardner are mixed properly, lifting the stir-stick out of the cup and counting the drips can tell you if its mixed correctly. For clearcoats, I look for anywhere from 10 drips to 15 drips depending on the humidity levels in the area I am working. If it is too thick, ie. the drips are less than 10, a small amount of reducer can thin it out correctly. I like to run my air pressure between 30 and 40 psi. Then, using the same motions and technique to spray the paint, apply light coats of clear. Wait about 15 minutes between coats. The clearcoat usually requires 4 or 5 coats to get that deep shine. Be sure to let the final coat dry at least 24 hours before removing the masking material and handling the part. To help all the aspiring spray-paint guys and gals, we did a short demo video: (http://s375.photobucket.com/albums/oo200/AmishCrackDealer/Outcast%20Cycles%20Magazine/?action=view¤t=SNV30951.flv) |
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Outcast Cycles Magazine is solely controlled by Dave ("Amish"), Nate, and Sandy. No one else has any
authorization or ability to control content, advertising, or direction of the magazine. No one other than the three people
listed above have any authority to promise advertising, mention, or submission of content in the magazine or its website.
If you or your business has been contacted by anyone claiming to be an employee or staff writer with Outcast Cycles Magazine -
please contact us immediately via our website's CONTACT US page.
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