We wanted to check out a set of Santee's 50 Caliber exhaust pipes. They feature fat 2-1/2-inch full-radius coverage heat shields for a huge look covering any discoloring that may occur. The 50 Calibers come with the mounting bracket and chrome billet end caps, and they also include integral baffles, if you want to try to lower the noise. Our Big Dog Ridgeback came stock with a factory setup 2-into-1 pipe, but we thought a 2-into-2 would look better. We stopped by V-Twin City, in Santa Ana, California, to get the pipes installed and do some dyno runs. We were surprised by the subsequent performance gains..
 Here is the Big Dog and the...  Here is the Big Dog and the stock pipes -- they look alright, but they're not very chopper-like. |
 Stroker started with a Dyno...  Stroker started with a Dyno run. With the stock pipes, the bike turned out 90 hp and 104 lb-ft of torque. |
 Stroker unbolted the old pipes....  Stroker unbolted the old pipes. The bracket on the rear of the pipe was removed by unbolting the two 1/2-inch bolts. |
 Next, the head bolts needed...  Next, the head bolts needed to be removed. |
 The stock pipe is a one-piece...  The stock pipe is a one-piece unit, so Stroker needed to work the pipes off the heads by pushing the front pipe forward as he pulled the pipe from the frame. |
 Here are the new Santee 50...  Here are the new Santee 50 Caliber pipes with the heat shields, baffles, end caps, and brackets. |
 Stroker removed the old head...  Stroker removed the old head flanges from the stock pipes so that he can use them on the new Santee pipes. |
 Before the new pipes were...  Before the new pipes were installed, Stroker slid the heat shields onto the header pipes. |
 The heat shields are secured...  The heat shields are secured to the exhaust pipe with clamp inserts. |
 Next, the billet end caps...  Next, the billet end caps were installed, the setscrew holes were lined up, then the caps were secured in place. |
 Any time you remove the pipes...  Any time you remove the pipes from the heads, you will need to also change the exhaust gaskets to ensure a good seal and no exhaust leaks. |
 As he bolted the new pipes...  As he bolted the new pipes to the heads, Stroker noticed the rear bracket did not line up. So, he had to fab a little bracket to line up with the stock bracket. This is often the case with 250-tire frames |
 With everything bolted in...  With everything bolted in place, Stroker ran the Big Dog's 107ci motor on the dyno one more time. The numbers told him that the carburetor needed to be adjusted. He then add the baffles. |
 After all the adjustments,...  After all the adjustments, Stroker made one more run on the dyno. The numbers were not any higher, but the power came on earlier, much earlier, at around 1,500 rpm until redline. That meant our solid-mount rigid could accelerate quicker with less vibration -- a major improvement in rideability. |
 Here is the Big Dog with the...  Here is the Big Dog with the new set of pipes, good looks, sound, and power. |