[THREESVTS]

I just finished reading about the 700xx that won Baja. All the pictures I've have seen of it previously, I noticed the exhaust as being a custom job. When I was reading the Dirt Wheels article it stated and pictured an HMF exhaust was used. WTF??? The exhaust in the earlier pictures obviously was not an HMF. What happened here?

 

[scuzz]

They went from a custom Honda Racing job to a sponsored muffler.

 

[THREESVTS]

I wonder why? The custom job I heard cost upwards of $7k. The HMF is like $220. I'm sure the custom made more power and sounded better. IMO anything sounds better than HMF. Just proves that just because you win, does not mean you have the best parts available. Money talks in all forms of racing.

 

[smo0oth1]

7K? Someone got shafted. I'm sure the .05 HP the custom one made over the HMF is hardly missed.

 

[scuzz]

Honda engineers make a lot of money. They probably put the whole cost of the project from beginning to end to the cost of the muffler. So yeah, $7k might have been a deal if it took two or three people a month to make it.

It surely wasn't that in materials.

 

[THREESVTS]

It was the total price for R&D and everything that goes with a one off piece. It's all about marketing on HMF's part. If people see a part on something that won a race they'll buy it because they think it's the best. But in most cases it's far from the best. Manufacturers know this fact and will pay a race team millions in some case because the profit from sale from that type of marketing is many, many, many times more than the initial investment.

 

[smo0oth1]

Race teams are rolling billboards, why wouldn't they accept the offer? If racing is there only job then this helps pay them to get from race to race. Business as usual

 

[THREESVTS]

I totally understand that. I just do not like all the ads you see claiming a brand is a xxx time winning this or that. The product had nothing to do with the win. 99% of the time it's the rider and just so happened that everything else was on there to cross the finish line first. If people would do research on what works best and buy that product, the manufacturers would have no choice but to continually improve their product.

 

[smo0oth1]

I absolutely agree, I started to type all that up in my previous post but was getting long winded so I chopped it. Any muffler would have got him the same position, Unless.... You have this one lol

http://www.twinturbo.net/net/viewmsg.aspx?forum=general&msg_id=1660373

 

[THREESVTS]

HAHA! Why on earth would you cap off your exhaust??? I guess some people have no clue about how an engine works and makes power.

 

[smo0oth1]

Dunno... Prolly seen it done on the internet lol

 

[scuzz]

Here's another ones of those sorts:

Some troll in a corvette forum made it to stir up the forum.

 

[THREESVTS]

That's a good one

 

[J Caster]

The HMF pipe was tested with the Honda engineers along side the custom exhaust and was found to make more power and work just as well.

It does not matter how much a sponsor is willing to pay if their product can not handle Baja. Finishing is everything in Baja and the HMF proved it can handle the abuse and give great power.

 

[THREESVTS]

What I do not understand is why all the pictures of the actual Baja race had the custom pipe on the 700xx. But in the new Dirt Wheels magazine it shows a HMF pipe on it in the article.

 

[smo0oth1]

I'm sure they used pics from another race and no the actual race they made the article from, happens all the time

 

[wayne matlock]

The pic's that you seen of the Honda pipe were from the Baja 500. After that race we did probably over 200 hours of testing before the Baja 1000 and came up with new fuel map's and ignition settings, we also had four different types of exhaust to try out including the pipe form Honda. And after we tested them all we felt that the HMF pipe made the best all around power, the Honda pipe was made for top end power only. And I will say that the HMF pipe held up allot better than the pipe on the other Honda team.

 

[THREESVTS]

This may sound stupid... but in a race where you are balls to the wall most of the time, why would you not want the exhaust that excelled at top end power? How much of the time is spent in the low/mid RPM range versus mid/high RPM range?

 

[wayne matlock]

The HMF pipe was alittle over 1 MPH faster on top end. And there is allot of the race where you are racing from turn to turn like a 100 mile long TT track. It is hard to believe but there is allot of the race up at 6000 feet elevation through the pine tree's. Unless you have been to Baja it is hard to understand it, it has to be the best place on earth to ride. I think that is why if you do it once you just can't stop thinking about doing it again.

 

[tomkat]

Share please

The pic's that you seen of the Honda pipe were from the Baja 500. After that race we did probably over 200 hours of testing before the Baja 1000 and came up with new fuel map's and ignition settings, we also had four different types of exhaust to try out including the pipe form Honda. And after we tested them all we felt that the HMF pipe made the best all around power, the Honda pipe was made for top end power only. And I will say that the HMF pipe held up allot better than the pipe on the other Honda team.

Wayne,

any chance of you guys sharing those maps with the rest of us "non-racing joes" out here. I would love to have a map that you rode with!!!! :yay:

Thanks for thinking about it!
Tommy (tomkat)