how does one buy aftermarket pipes?

 hey, not more than a second after concluding my last issue ... i have
a new one! =) isn't usenet great?


i want to get pipes for my bike, mostly for the reason that i want to
*know* the guy riding along side me knows i'm there ... i don't care
if it's loud to the point of annoying, i want to be heard

when i ride i can do a fair job of looking ahead, and looking to the
sides, and typically i keep a good envelope of space between me and
the things that can kill me

BUT

just in the last week or so, probably influenced by how i ride my
bicycle, i find when i'm on my motorcycle i really just do my best to
go with the flow ... i'm not going to shoot ahead or fall behind
because there's a car near me (which i would do on the highway), i
just have to sort of sit there

so ... that's me getting pipes

and yes, they're cool

but HOW do i buy pipes?

i can think of two ways:

1. listen to pipes attached to the same model bike and pick one that
sounds good (real life, youtube, etc)

or

2. find the magical statistics and numbers that let me objectively
compare exhaust systems, figure out what the numbers mean, and get the
pipes that are objectively best suited to my needs based on how much i
want to spend



i've been googling a little bit but i can't seem to find any
"data" (assuming there is such a thing) ... am i missing something, or
is a pipe from v&h different from a pipe from a cobra pipe simply
because they're differently shaped and sized and that produces a
different sound (obviously) but that the "data" that i'm assuming
exists regarding how they will affect performance is just ... hidden?
not worth mentioning?


i'm hoping to spend $350

a buddy told me v&h straight shots are "obnoxiously loud and lovely"
so ... /shrug

(yes, i'll keep my stock ones)

thanks,

-c

 On Mar 5, 8:35 pm, osamahornifu...@gmail.com wrote:

no, next to the driver's window, typically

yes, capable of being splattered like a bug ... that's just how it is,
you either ride with people or you don't ride ... streets are small,
there's traffic, that's how it is, it's a city .... i take all the
space i can get, and we move slowly enough that it isn't anywhere near
as harrowing as driving on the new jersey turnpike with cell-phone
soccermoms doing 90 in whatever lane suits them best at any moment

(seriously)



and being argumentative has lost its charm here


amidst the "don't buy pipes, you bastard" attitude, i lost whether or
not this was a real option ... i actually posted here asking about it
a long time ago and was lead to believe it would be a foolish thing to
do

thank you for pointing out that carb rejetting was required after
installing a new exhaust system, i didn't realize that

 
I did not really say that.


I may not be required. You got a grand or two for a dyno run to
find out where the flat spots are introduced by a new fart can?

 On Mar 6, 11:48 am, osamahornifu...@gmail.com wrote:

clearly, i was just conceding that my approach (in asking for advice
as i did) was flawed


i would post on a messageboard for people using my exact bike who got
the pipes i got and ask them what jet/setting/needle/whatever
adjustment they made to their carbs

(the reason i don't post there the way i post here is because those
people are too different)


^deliberately vague

 On Wed, 5 Mar 2008 17:16:31 -0800 (PST), c


What kind of bike?

Most dealers will order in aftermarket pipes.
--
Bob Mann

It may be that your sole purpose in life
is to serve as a warning to others.