Ninja 500R

MrMojoRisin · 08-31-2004, 08:49 PM

I have a 2005 Ninja 500R. I'm considering buying an exhaust system and would prefer sound quality over performance. What would be the best exhaust (soundwise) and what would be the best (performance wise). Also how much horsepower would i gain after if I get an airfilter and proper jet kit to go with the exhaust?

Oni · 08-31-2004, 09:57 PM

I think it's something like 3-5 on average, maybe more. Go two teeth up on the rear sprocket while you're at it.

Stay away from pod filters and go with a drop in. Muzzy makes a nice exhaust. Has a nice tone and good performance. Might have to lose the centerstand though. Jardine has a good sound but I don't know about it's performance.

HalfLiterBeater · 08-31-2004, 10:01 PM

You asked a whoooollleeee lot of hard questions to answer, man. Might wanna try asking this on the Ninja 500 board also, there's a whole gang of us on there.... Well, not a GANG...but you know...a few.

As far as sound goes....The Sarachu slip-ons sound...well....MEAN. This guy Filip on the boards has them on his EX. And I've heard sound clips of them and it sounds great, I have to admit. Performance, well I'm not sure. It still uses the stock setup....so perfomance is probably very little.....just some extra air flow cause the stockers are baffled pretty badly.

I've got a Hindle full system. It's not as deep or as loud as the Sarachu slip-ons, but it still has a cool sound...people still look. The performance is good, but I haven't had it jetted/tuned properly yet so I don't know how much it will unleash. Honestly though, the full system made a HUGE difference in overall weight for the bike. The pipes on my system are super-thin stainless steel...the stock system is thick and heavy. So going from that to what I have now, I felt a HUGE difference in handling and willingness to turn. I'm guessing the new exhaust dropped...well.....a substantial amount, maybe 10 lbs! It's definitely a lighter bike now.

Performance...god, I don't know. I'm getting it on the dyno within the next few weeks when I get my sprocket installed, and theyre going to retune it also. So when I get dyno numbers, I'll let you know. I have the full exhaust and a drop-in also, as listed in my signature...but I'll tell you what I told the shop owner. I'm not expecting anything more than 5 hp...if that even.

Performance-wise, a full system is going to net you more PEAK power gain over slip ons, IF tuned right. BUT, a full system is generally going to hurt your low and lower-mid range powerband as well because it's going to flow a little bit more....and more airflow means the powerband is shifted upwards.

Hope that helped...now check out the 500 section! We're a friendly little group. ;)

EDIT: Oni beat me to it! And like he said, STAY AWAY from pod filters! They will net you PEAK horsepower gains, BUT these Keihin CVK carbs are notoriously difficult to tune, and you will NOT be able to tune the bike to run nicely with pod filters. You'll see flat spots, dips, and peaks all over the place...so basically, your bike will run like ASS and pick up maybe 1 horsepower at 9,000 rpms. Not worth it IMO! That's why I put my airbox back to stock, minus what I did to the airhorns. Anything else, and it got flat spots.