In an effort to reduce the noise coming out the back of the Kawasaki, I wanted to fit a muffler. Before I just throw $50-100 down for a commercial muffler, I wanted to try something simple. I extended the tailpipe about 8-inches, and fit a perforated inner pipe made out of copper and two fittings. This just slides down into the tailpipe, held on with a pair of rivets. I had just enough muffler packing material leftover from doing the trials bike, to fit around the perf pipe. So I essentially made a very small muffler insert.
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| muffler insert made from copper pipe |
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| Extended tailpipe houses muffler insert |
And then....I couldn't get the bike to run. It started up, popped and farted a bit, then just wouldn't run. It fouled the plug immediately after cleaning it. Then I realized I had mixed up my fuel way too rich. Normally I use a little 1oz volume Lucero olive oil bottle, full of 10-30 engine oil and marvel mystery oil, mixed into a 32oz jug of fuel. For some reason I used 2oz of oil, so I had a very oily 16:1 ratio. I drained the tank, put in proper mixed fuel. Then I also realized I was running a NGK B8HS plug, which is listed as the coldest plug for this engine. I had a brand new B6HS available, which is listed as suitable for hot rod versions of this engine, with a bigger carb and exhaust like my bike has.
So it fired up instantly, and runs great. And yes, it is quieter. Not massively so, but quite a bit of the bark has been taken away.
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