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Big Dog Pipe SwapSantee's 50-Caliber Duels From the February, 2009 issue of Street Chopper Illustrators: Greg Friend
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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.
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Toolboxes Rule
For most of us, the garage refrigerator is in less than great shape. For myself, and everyone I know, the garage fridge is simply what happens when the kitchen refrigerator gets replaced. Instead of...
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Operation: Texas Thunder
Our primary goal this month was to change over to an open beltdrive. Since BDL makes some of the best in the industry, it made sense that Lifestyle Hot Bike/Street Chopper of Anaheim, California,...
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Clean Up With Sixx Gunn
As we've said before, the key to a clean bike is in the details. Getting a bike to show-quality status takes time and careful planning, all the way down to the fasteners that hold your bike together....
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GP Designs Head Breather
Our job is to search out things that will improve the looks of your bike and add an increased level of performance or function. When we find one of these little gems that no one else has seen, we are...
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BDL 3-inch Open Belt Primary Install
There are dangerous moving parts with covers over certain areas to protect the ignorant. The open belt primary appears naked because of the exposed springs, rubber, and pulleys. The sound is...
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Foundation Custom Handlebars
Sometimes, making a small change can mean a lot of work. But, it's those subtleties that make parts more interesting and the process of that change usually leads to some sort of innovation. There are...
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Thread Repair
If you have ever spent any time wrenching on your bike, we can guarantee you have stripped a bolt or damaged some threads. Perhaps you were mounting a bracket in a new place or just tightened about...
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Shaping Sheetmetal
Finally, we are making some progress on our rigid chopper project. This time we're cutting and shaping the rear fender to create dimension and give the blank fender shape....
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Operation: Texas Thunder
With all of the handling changes done to our American Ironhorse Texas Chopper, we decided it was time to treat this baby to more power. The ignition, the pipes, the cam, the carb, and the air cleaner...
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Raiders of the Lost Arc Weld
A common misconception about welding is that it is better left to trained professionals that have been doing it for years. We here at Street Chopper want to dispel that myth, because every really...
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