New 5th/6th/8th gen performance header now in production in USA

[JudgeanJury]

Sorry if I missed it and I know I have some reading to do but I’m definitely interested in a set. Do we know what the cost will be be (roughly) and if they’ll work with my two brothers slip ons? I’m assuming I’ll need to source a merge pipe so the slip ons are irrelevant?

 

im going to go back and read the thread as I’m new here but wanted to make make my interest known.

 

thanks!

[sfdownhill]

16 hours ago, JudgeanJury said:

Sorry if I missed it and I know I have some reading to do but I’m definitely interested in a set. Do we know what the cost will be be (roughly) and if they’ll work with my two brothers slip ons? I’m assuming I’ll need to source a merge pipe so the slip ons are irrelevant?

 

im going to go back and read the thread as I’m new here but wanted to make make my interest known.

 

thanks!

 

Hey Judge - thanks for your interest in a set of the headers. Two Brothers Racing [TBR] slipons work well with the headers - most of the TBR midpipes we've come across have a large inside diameter [id] receiver because they use the OEM 'donut' gasket between the headers and the midpipe. Having a midpipe made to fit perfectly between the muffler and headers is definitely an excellent way to go. As an alternative, a number of folks who have the headers and TBR slipons have used adhesive backed aluminium foil tape and wrapped it around the header's collector exit pipe, adding layer after layer of tape until it facilitates a very close fit with the midpipe. Then they clamp the TBR midpipe's receiver end down over the layers of aluminium foil tape to get a good seal.

[Ziffer]

Adding JudgeanJury to the list:

1. Ziffer

2. Skids

3. DivisibleRex

4. CornPoweredV4

5. JZH

6. vfrcapn

7. RC51Nick

8. jkboyd

9. MikeOConner

10. PearlBlueSoul

11. SEBSPEED

12. Oregonian

13. Blessingshawn

14. zinsern

15. Duste

16. Flya750

17. davidkohli

18. JudgeanJury

We're up to 18!

[Ziffer]

On 8/5/2022 at 12:11 PM, sfdownhill said:

 

Aloha everyone! It has been more than a minute since Duc2V4 and I have been present here. We apologize for our extended hiatus, but have both been absorbed by and focused on significant life changes, both to geographic location and professional situations, but are happy to be back on VFRD and the header project.

 

Lo and behold - Ziffer has taken up the cause and compiled a real world list of VFR folks who want headers. Thank you a metric ton Ziffer for going back more than a year and compiling this list!

 

When Duc2V4 pinged me to point out this level of interest, it seemed that service to the community was definitely warranted, so we checked with Wade to see if he is still up for building VFR headers. Here is where the real world runs headlong into our objective of beginning a new production run of headers: next week Wade is going in for surgery to his right hand because over the past year he has been suffering from increasing pain and numbness in both of his hands, to the degree that he hasn't been able to work the past couple months. We all hope the surgery is successful and will stay in touch with him to learn if and when he might be able to go back to work building exhaust systems.

Thanks for checking in on this for us. I'm pretty sure I can speak for everyone when I say , we wish Wade a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.

[JudgeanJury]

On 8/11/2022 at 11:45 AM, sfdownhill said:

 

Hey Judge - thanks for your interest in a set of the headers. Two Brothers Racing [TBR] slipons work well with the headers - most of the TBR midpipes we've come across have a large inside diameter [id] receiver because they use the OEM 'donut' gasket between the headers and the midpipe. Having a midpipe made to fit perfectly between the muffler and headers is definitely an excellent way to go. As an alternative, a number of folks who have the headers and TBR slipons have used adhesive backed aluminium foil tape and wrapped it around the header's collector exit pipe, adding layer after layer of tape until it facilitates a very close fit with the midpipe. Then they clamp the TBR midpipe's receiver end down over the layers of aluminium foil tape to get a good seal.

Thanks for the reply and that’s good to hear that I can make something work.

[Ziffer]

Ian contacted me via email. He wants on the list.

1. Ziffer

2. Skids

3. DivisibleRex

4. CornPoweredV4

5. JZH

6. vfrcapn

7. RC51Nick

8. jkboyd

9. MikeOConner

10. PearlBlueSoul

11. SEBSPEED

12. Oregonian

13. Blessingshawn

14. zinsern

15. Duste

16. Flya750

17. davidkohli

18. JudgeanJury

19. Ian Summers

That makes 19!

[Ziffer]

Btw admins, Ian tried to sign up for VFRD, but said Unable to sign up due to non-functioning verification emailer.

[bmart]

I have been getting errors on the unread posts link and have to refresh a few times to get it to load. Just started in the last day or three. 

[Wald]

Same problem here, need to refresh to get the site to work.

[ShipFixer]

On 8/22/2022 at 4:41 PM, Ziffer said:

Btw admins, Ian tried to sign up for VFRD, but said Unable to sign up due to non-functioning verification emailer.

What did he do to make them decide he shouldn’t have access to header buys, that’s the question… 😜

[Lotus]

I too am most definitely interested in buying a set for my 8th gen.  The results posted look incredible - definitely worth it for -10lbs +~8hp.  I'm still reading through the thread, are these headers compatible with the centerstand? 

 

Thanks!

[flya750]

4 minutes ago, Lotus said:

I too am most definitely interested in buying a set for my 8th gen.  The results posted look incredible - definitely worth it for -10lbs +~8hp.  I'm still reading through the thread, are these headers compatible with the centerstand? 

 

Thanks!

 

Yes, but you have to remove the center stand to do the install. The headers do make a big difference in combination with the tune. There is an issue with having to remove a part of the heat shielding and having to protect the rubber stock brake lines. The best solution is to upgrade the stock brake lines to steel braided vs adding heat shielding to the stock rubber lines.

[Lotus]

3 hours ago, flya750 said:

 

Yes, but you have to remove the center stand to do the install. The headers do make a big difference in combination with the tune. There is an issue with having to remove a part of the heat shielding and having to protect the rubber stock brake lines. The best solution is to upgrade the stock brake lines to steel braided vs adding heat shielding to the stock rubber lines.

Thanks, that's very helpful info.  I've had my VFR for a couple of years now, and just swapped to a lithium battery and a Delkevic muffler -- amazed at how much better the bike feels/sounds from that alone.   I will have to up my wrenching skills to do the headers, but it's worth it to get the parts just to be able to do the upgrade in the future.  How difficult of an install was it?

[ShipFixer]

The headers take a bit of patience.  You won't be slapping these on as quickly as a slip on.  It takes a combination of ratchet extensions on a torque wrench to get the rear exits seated correctly, and as you methodically tighten each lug down a bit at a time, all around the bike, to the final number, you also have to make sure the header is not contacting the frame (I used wood shims).

 

There is nothing particularly difficult about it, it's just a little fussy.  You will want a garage or spot where the bike can be worked on for at least several hours, maybe a few days depending on your pace.  And one or two universal joints and an extension set for those rear pipes.

 

Also...it's totally worth it 😁 The bike is waaaaaay more open above 7K RPM.

[Ughandi]

17 hours ago, flya750 said:

. The best solution is to upgrade the stock brake lines to steel braided vs adding heat shielding to the stock rubber lines.

Another option is to heat-wrap the headers if you *really* hate working with dot4... but then you miss out on the shiney bits.... 

 

14 hours ago, Lotus said:

just swapped to a lithium battery

I am an Li believer. Save a cool 7lbs without changing your diet? Yes please!

[flya750]

47 minutes ago, Ughandi said:

Another option is to heat-wrap the headers if you *really* hate working with dot4... but then you miss out on the shiney bits.... 

 

I am an Li believer. Save a cool 7lbs without changing your diet? Yes please!

Swapping the brake lines is not that big of a job? Heat wrapping the headers would be visible and would look tacky for sure. IMHO. Also, ceramic coating the headers will reduce heat from the header by ~40%.

 

If your plan is do a heat shield wrap,  then wrapping the stock rubber brakes lines in the better option and it won't be visible?

 

I've heard of a guy modifying the stock heat shield to make the clearance necessary and allow it to be reinstalled.

 

[flya750]

14 hours ago, Lotus said:

Thanks, that's very helpful info.  I've had my VFR for a couple of years now, and just swapped to a lithium battery and a Delkevic muffler -- amazed at how much better the bike feels/sounds from that alone.   I will have to up my wrenching skills to do the headers, but it's worth it to get the parts just to be able to do the upgrade in the future.  How difficult of an install was it?

It's not that particularly difficult, but can be tricky and patience is a must. (Four hands is best for when positioning the headers.)

 

First thing to remember, removing the center stand bolt is a left hand thread, so don't break a bolt. (LOL! I've heard of many that have broke center stand bolt.) I made my install a little more complicated by ceramic coating the headers, which made the install tricky because you don't want to scratch the ceramic coating. BTW, the ceramic coating will help with heat reduction on the stock brake lines. I'm still a fan of swapping the brake lines for SS braided lines, because it does improve braking.

 

Other things to think about, the exhaust gaskets are a copper crush gasket an they are tricky to install properly, so have a few extra gaskets on hand, during the install so you don't delay install.

 

[Ughandi]

52 minutes ago, flya750 said:

Swapping the brake lines is not that big of a job?

Oh I agree. Just adding another option to the convo.
Unlinked mine with custom length Hel. Only regret is not spec-ing the rear brake line long enough to run through the swingarm like the cool kids

[Tirso]

17 hours ago, Lotus said:

How difficult of an install was it?

 

You may have a different set of obstacles but this install on a 5th Gen should give you a general idea.

On my 5th Gen, I did not remove the center stand. 

[Ziffer]

Adding Lotus to the list.

1. Ziffer

2. Skids

3. DivisibleRex

4. CornPoweredV4

5. JZH

6. vfrcapn

7. RC51Nick

8. jkboyd

9. MikeOConner

10. PearlBlueSoul

11. SEBSPEED

12. Oregonian

13. Blessingshawn

14. zinsern

15. Duste

16. Flya750

17. davidkohli

18. JudgeanJury

19. Ian Summers

20. Lotus

We're up to 20!

[ShipFixer]

I did not remove my center stand to replace my 6th gen headers.  Bike stayed on the center stand the whole time.  I don't recall thinking it would make a difference, either.  The header comes in three pieces - the front exhaust exits and merges as one piece, and then the two rear exits are separate pieces, but they route around the center stand.   The post-collection exit to the up-pipe for whatever muffler system you have (Delkevic pipe shown here) routes through the middle of the center stand.  

 

You can see it in this photo of my bike right after I finished the install.  Note the springs fastening the two rear cylinder exhaust pipes to the main header assembly, and where the header connects to the up-pipe heading to the mufflers.  

 

 

If and when another group order comes together, if your bike has some miles on it, I would consider pre-ordering the studs and nuts for the exhaust flanges from Honda ahead of time.  At least a few of the nuts on mine were fused to the studs, which of course is better than fusing to the engine block I suppose.  And of course, they were backordered everywhere. This added a week or more of downtime to my install, and I ended up ordering from three different places and waiting to see which ones would get here first.  

 

There is someone on eBay in the UK who sells stainless VFR exhaust flange studs, but doesn't ship them to the US.

[Mohawk]

If anyone wants those flange nuts, get a group buy going & if you cover post the postage to USA I'll accept them in UK & post them for you. Best if sent to one US location & then sent USPS from their 👍

[Skids]

3 hours ago, Mohawk said:

If anyone wants those flange nuts, get a group buy going & if you cover post the postage to USA I'll accept them in UK & post them for you. Best if sent to one US location & then sent USPS from their 👍

Beat me to it (easy to say after the event 😉).

[Ughandi]

18 hours ago, ShipFixer said:

I would consider pre-ordering the studs and nuts for the exhaust flanges from Honda ahead of time.

Quality advice here!

Two of mine sheared off. Guess 20 years did a number on the metallurgy.

[CornPoweredV4]

I'm excited to see this thread active again, hopefully his surgery went well and he's healing/resting up OK! Loving all these installation tips too, I will definitely get the studs and bolts ahead of time.

 

I'm tempted to get a Delkevic SS 8" mini slip-on first for this theoretical header run. I tried debaffling my stock muffler by cutting the end caps off and pulling them out, but I was only able to get the right baffle out and not the left one which seems to be stuck/spot-welded in place. I never welded them back up and they sound cool in the low RPMS but high RPM/VTEC range sounds wayyyy too raspy, "tinny", and loud to me.

 

At this point I'm sick of wasting time on modifying the stock pipe to no avail and I just want to get a slip-on to start riding my Viffer again. The Delkevics to me sound and look really good (even though I already have one on my SV650, lol). Are there any others that I absolutely must consider?