[Beeza]

At the risk of swimming against the current, is there anything available that would be trim some bark off a 535? I’m running a Motad which is not far removed from a wide spot in an open pipe, and, while it is pretty civilized at small throttle openings, gets overwhelmed once you’re ‘in it’.

It seems to me that you’d need a lot of interior volume to absorb the pulse. The stock muffler is fine with me acoustically, but weighs a lot and the back pressure just isn’t a good thing for the exhaust valve, plus it runs rich with a Stage 1 setup. I’d try modifying it but I prefer to keep it available in case the authorities decide to get into testing for catalysts.

I’m not worried about what it looks like. Something like the old Brooklands fishtail would be not too far out of place. Any suggestions?

[ozpacman]

Hi Beeza.

I bought my '14 Conti Gt second hand, but it came with a RE accessory silencer already fitted. The seller bought the bike new and told me that he had this pipe fitted at the time of pre-delivery. He gave me the original standard silencer in a box with the sale. That standard pipe is HEAVY!!

Link to the silencer is here: https://accessories.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/33039?cont_page=information-and-services/Royal-Enfield-535-Continental-GT-Accessories&keyword=silencer&year=2014

Whilst the RE accessory silencer is not the sportiest pipe I've ever seen, it doesn't look out of place and has a nice note to it. Definitely not as muffled as stock, but a nice inoffensive note. I really like it.

I know where you're coming from when you say you want to rein in that bark a bit. I fitted an accessory silencer to my B5 Bullet a while back and whilst it was a bit of fun initially, I'm now playing around with baffle options. Maybe I'm just getting old...

[Beeza]

I think that may be the made in India accessory pipe which is no longer in stock. It’s probably a lot quieter than the - I think it’s the Motad stainless,which no longer exists, I think - which is a wonderful thing but gets pretty noisy at 4K going up a hill. It’s fine upto half throttle and then there just isn’t enough volume in the can to deal with the expansion. Maybe on a 250…..that’s one of the reasons for a 500 twin.

I’m working on a design for a ‘bark arrestor’ which would use some aspects of the old Brooklands fishtail mufflers of the ‘30s. I did some resto work on a 350 Velocette MAC recently and it had the Velo fishtail gloriously anachronistic muffler on it which worked quite well. Just hoping for input from those who know a lot more than I do.

[Farmer_John]

I also had the RE "sport" exhaust on my GT. Very much preferred the more muted tone it produced in comparison to the shorty reverse cone I installed with the "stage one" setup. It certainly didn't take anything away from the little bit of motive force provided from the PCV tune. Except I now run an uncorked Goldstar replica on my C5...Badass...

Checked with our good friends at Hitchcock's, they still show in stock: https://accessories.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/33039?cont_page=information-and-services/Royal-Enfield-535-Continental-GT-Accessories&page=2&cata=493246&catb=b&catc=c&catd=d

[Beeza]

I think they were unavailable for a while and now they are selling some with appearance flaws, in the description further down, for a big discount. Great deal if you aren’t fussy. Given that the 535 GT is now ‘over’, I expect depleting stocks of specific parts for them will not be replenished if the numbers aren’t there.

I put a cobbled diffuser in the ‘baffle’ in the Motad and it helped some without diminishing performance or affecting mixture so I may just augment that strategy and see how much I can civilize the thing before losses occur. It’s all just learning.

Next winter may involve making a prototype diamond shape Brooklands can with a removable back that allows internal mods. I’m just starting measuring and drawing; not much room to work with, but that’s the universal situation with bikes. It was easier back in the ‘30’s with skinny tires and no rear suspension.

I’m going for a ride later this week where I’ll be able to trade bikes and listen to what mine actually sounds like from behind. It may not be as catastrophic as it seems from the cockpit. Or…..

[KD5ITM]

I run the same Hitchcocks Motad stainless steel header and Silencer.  When I first got it I played around with the baffle that comes with it.  Seeing how it did as far as adding back presser compared to not using it. 

After about two weeks of playing with it, I removed it and havent used it in over 12,000 miles.  I do remember though that the baffle did quiet down the exhaust a bit.  Still louder then the stock crappy muffler but not as loud as an open Motad.