With the spotty customer service and occasional quality control lapses being reported surrounding some of the Ron Woods kits can we hear from someone that is running the Big Gun exhaust if you're out there? Despite Ron Woods' experience with the Rotax powerplants Big Gun might be where I look to plunk down my hard earned ATV dollars.

 

I have a Big Gun exaust on my DS650 and am very pleased. Fit and finish are excellent and installation was straght forward as everything fit. I live in Northern California and opted for the quiet core with the spark arrestor. You loose the little yellow heat shield as there is no provision for its mounting on the new pipe. The pipe does tuck in better than the stock so you won't be needing it anyway. The new pipe is very attractive and with an interior coating which prevents discolouration of the sliver finish. So far I've had no "blue-ing" or discolouration as I did with the stock pipe.

Performance is outstanding. Big Gun's claim to fame is a tapered head pipe matched to the port size of our motors. Where exaust exits the port into an overly large headpipe turbulance is created which impeeds the smooth flow of gasses. On the tapered headpipe the smooh flow of gasses creates a "vacuum pull" effect which improves the effectiveness of exaust scavenging which increases horsepower, especially at lower RPM
It gives the DS real wake-up call.
The infamous "3500 RPM dip" is gone! Power is clean and smooth right off the bottom. Transition to mid and top and power is seamless. Where I used to keep it revved into the midrange I now find myself riding in a gear taller than before because I'm now able to use a wider spread of power to break the rear end loose right now when I need it even at low RPMs!

Sound with the quiet core and spark arrestor is slightly up from stock. The change is more in the way it sounds rather than decebels. More authoritive.

It's got to be easier on your bike to be reving and shifting less. it's certainly easier on and more fun for me. Big Gun increased the enjoyment of my favorite sport. I sent them a thank you letter..... and I haven't had ocasion to do that in a while.

Roger Medford
Bombardier DS650
Suzuki RMX250
Beta 260 Trials
KTM 620 Dual Sport
BMW GS1100

Life is good - enjoy it - RIDE!

 

Outstanding Roger, thanks for your forthright info. Where did you get your exhaust? Big Gun doesn't list it on their web site. Sounds like the Big Gun and a K&N might be a whole lot better option than a RW stage 1 until the bugs are out.

 

Cool. I agree with Arizona650. Thanks for the info.

So, this "fixes" the gap between 2nd and 3rd, where 2nd seems too high and 3rd bogs out for a bit? I find that I am constantly hitting the rev limiter in 1st and 2nd, though, now I don't really use first, since it starts out fine in 2nd for drags and hill climbs. About the only time I use first, is in the parking lot and slow technical situations.

I talked to a guy on a 400EX with the Big Gun and the medium core (spark arrestor on order). It didn't sound much louder, but you could definitely see a slight but noticeable improvement over stock. He was racing a buddy with a stock 400EX up a 100' dune. He would consistently beat the other guy by a couple of feet to a bike and a half-length, even though he usually didn't get the holeshot.

Like you say, there was no discoloration and it looks great, even after several weekends of riding.

Did they give you any kind of decibel range for the quiet core and spark arrestor? Oregon has strict sound requirements and I would hate to drive 500 miles, only to get a ticket for too much sound.

A price and ordering information would be great also!

Thanks,
CRT_Leech

 

You can get the big gun exhaust through moto joe on the home page of ATV Connection. You have the call moto joe to get the info because it isn't posted on there site. It is 400.00 which seams a little high but not to bad. They say that it adds 3-5 hp and a lot of throttle responce. I have a exhaust tip on my DS that I heard about through trinity racing that seems to do the same thing and only cost $79.

 

Well I no we are not sappose to put stuff for sale in the forums but since we are on this subject ill give it a shot.I am selling or trading in my ds and would love to sell my big gun exaust and my skid plates.I paid 400 for the exaust and 85.00 for the spark arrestor and quite core.I will take 350.00 Firm.If anyones interested please e mail me a.s.a.p Tim

 

Hi Keith and Leech,

You can reach Paul Big Gun @ 909.948.7029 A second run of DS650 pipes is in process. Spark arrestor kits are in stock. Prices are not inexpensive @ $410 and $89 respectively. The tapered headpipe technology is apparently costly. Paul referred me to Russ (Seattle) @ 360.253.7177 who is a dealer who inventoried some of the Big Gun DS650 systems.

I received an e-mail from Nathan Huges @ K&N this morning. He said that the DS650 filter and jet kit are still in development and won't be ready for 4 to 6 weeks yet.
Nathan said that he would e-mail me when they are ready. You might contact him and tell him you spoke with me and ask him if he'll be kind enough to notify you also. His e-mail address is: NathanH@knfilters.com


I ride in in Oregon too, mostly South Jetty just south of Florence. Wonderful riding but raining there this week. I'm headed back as soon as the weather clears. I don't know the actual db numbers of the Big Gun on my DS, but it's only slightly louder than stock but sounds much better. Not that "flat" sound like the stocker. With the quiet core and spark arrestor which I have I don't have the slightest concern that I'll not comply with the Oregon sound requirements.

As I told Michel from Quebec this morning, the Big Gun makes the bike everything I expected it to be; it's a great machine!

PS: You guys might get a kick out of this. Attached to the pipe was their slogan:
'Don't leave home without a BigGun' Sounds good to me.

Roger

 

CRTLeech, One possible solution to the bogging in 3rd is to make the gearing slightly taller with something like a 38 tooth rear sprocket, depending on your weight and other factors. This will make first more usable and second will give you slightly more speed so you woudn't have to shift into 3rd and bog. Also, I think there are other ways to get more throttle response than just a pipe. At the moment, I have a 45mm flatside carb w/accelerator pump on my DS with the stock pipe and airbox lid off. I can easily pull a power wheelie in first, second or third on surfaces where I get good traction, by nailing the throttle. I couldn't do this with the way my stock carb was running.

Can anyone running the Big Gun pipe tell me if the front end can easily come off the ground in first, second and third under hard acceleration and good traction?

 

Hehe, sounds great, I like that motto. I will have to contact the guy in Seattle.

Yea, the tapered head pipe in combination with the space age coatings will increase the price. Even if it doesn't cost that much more, it's new technology and they are the only ones doing it, so they can charge what they want. I have looked into similar coatings for engines, dry film lubricants and thermal dispersors before and they weren't cheap.

If it weren't for family, friends and work, I would move to the Florence/Coos Bay-North Bend area. As it is, Sand Lake is about a five-hour drive, so it's worth the extra hour to go there instead of Moses Lake. Though, Sand Lake is way too crowded. Beverly dunes in WA are only about three hours away and are great for a day trip. Sand Lake also has paved parking lots, which makes it easier to work on the bikes if there's any problems.

Thats good to know that it's quiet. I prefer to enjoy the ride, not trying to impress people with how loud my bike is.

Thanks for the info,
CRT_Leech