Thursday, September 13, 2012

Comparing Kerker Exhausts

I just received a "new old stock" Kerker exhaust that I found on eBay. In the eBay advertisement, it was reported to be for a KZ550 LTD. But I gambled that it might fit my GPz 550.
On receiving it I was thrilled to find this sticker inside the header!

So apparently this is exhaust IS for my bike!

Here is another cool sticker I found in the header.



The muffler has an "XJ" stamp on it, and the end of the header is stamped "191-101".



I called Supertrapp, who bought Kerker years ago and asked about these numbers. The helpful guy dug up an old paper catalog and called back. The numbers didn't match his caralog perfectly, but he said the system appeared to be for an 81-83 GPz 550 or an 80 - 83 KZ550. His catalog showed a "5" at the front of the header number: 5191-101.

Interestingly, this exhaust is shaped significantly differently from older the black one I bought earlier. Also the baffle on the new chrome one has a cast end on it and reaches all the way up into the header. These are definitely different exhausts.

 Note the chrome muffler has a significantly longer baffle. You can also see the stock factory fiberglass wrapping was simple done and held on for installation with masking tape.
 The black muffler has a shorter baffle and came with a mounting bracker. I'll have to fabricate one for the chrome pipe.

 Note the nice cast baffle end piece that came with the Chrome exhaust. 









But both have a small baffle tube down the center.

 Note the chrome pipe definitely bends to the left in this picture (to the right side of the bike when mounted).
Could it be that the Chrome exhaust is a "street version" with easy access for oil and filter changes. And the black one might need to be removed to access the oil and filter?
I guess I won't know until I try mounting them.
Not everything is perfect. The "new" chrome pipe has some rust in between the down pipes. It also has other minor corrosion.



















2 comments:

  1. Hi. I know this post is 6 years old but I've been doing a lot of research on baffles and mufflers and I was wondering if you could help me. I'm restoring an 81 Yamaha XJ550 Seca and I need a replacement baffle for my Kerker exhaust. I'm replacing the original exhaust I noticed yours is exactly like mine which I found off a parts bike. I thought the XJ was referring to the XJ Yamaha Series back in the 80's.In any case I noticed that you saw how the original baffle extends throughout the whole entire muffler but that your other baffle does not. I'm just wondering if that shorter straight through style baffle will work on the XJ muffler. Thanks.

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  2. Sorry Josh, I don't know anything about the Seca. Given that it is made by a different manufacturer, I doubt a Kawasaki baffle will fit without modification. Watch ebay, parts like this are often cheap and maybe you can find a similar Yamaha baffle and just try it...

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