There’s been a lot of talk about KA pipes lately, not sure if anyone noticed.
It got me to thinking, as I am new to 2 cycle racing after years of 206 racing, how important is the age of your pipe??
I have 2 used pipes with multiple years of use on each, as I always buy my stuff used. Is there a way to refurbish used pipes, or is it better to just buy new?
How much effect does the age of the pipe have on performance vs new, assuming they are both the same length?
Talk to Sieracki, he actually knows a way to clean the pipes to make them decent for most use. At the top level some teams will swear by running new pipes almost every weekend, but I wouldn’t worry about it that much.
I ran the same pipe from 2018 through last year, still use it when I do get on track, and don’t feel like I’m losing anything due to the age of my pipe.
It’s a small amount but I do have a practice pipe and a race pipe because an old pipe with lots of carbon build-up could be slower. Not a huge deal racing locally or even regionally.
Just take end cap off clean little holes with cleaner…
I spoke to my builder about this topic last year and his immediate answer to “do pipes get slower with age” was Yes, but when I drilled down and told him that I take the cap off regularly and clean it his answer changed to - It’s not likely a gain for you.
I got a new pipe when I bought a second engine 2 years ago and never used the thing, but I clean mine regularly to make sure it’s in good working order. I took them both to a test day last year and tested them back to back and saw no performance improvement. Being lazy I just left the new on on there cause it looked nice and wasn’t rusted to hell, but it wasn’t any faster than my 4 year old pipe that was cleaned regularly.
We did have an issue with a swift gumming up it’s pipe beyond our ability to get it clean and in quick order, so for the swift it might be more of a “thing” to have a race pipe and practice pipe and replacing them regularly.
Somewhere on here I think I posted some before and after photos of clearing my KA pipe with oven cleaner and some heat. Worked like a charm!
There are a few ways to clean a pipe. I have used a drain cleaner that was recommended by someone. It makes a mess and didn’t work that great. So I added small rocks and shook that around and that removed a fair amount of carbon. I think the most effective way is heat. I use the Webber gas grill and let it get as hot as it can. A torch will do the same thing but it takes a while.
Yes. MAP torch. Get it nice and red, tap lightly with small (really small) metal hammer, and you are good. If you have dings, get the specific kit. Torch the ding yellow, pressure up, get the ding out. Easy but somewhat dangerous
The factory-recommended method of doing this is to bake it in an industrial natural gas oven. Call a local heavy truck repair center or engine rebuilder and ask to throw your pipe in when they are cleaning an engine or transmission before overhaul.
Odd question, does anyone use sealant on the exhaust flange? ie. to help seal the exhaust to the manifold
When I ran Yamaha I would use RTV just to cut down on the mess. With the KA I don’t see any need to as there’s little to no blowby.
Baking them is the best and preferred way to clean the pipes. There is marginal at best performance benefit from it, and this entirely depends on the track(s) you’re running. It doesn’t hurt to have the pipe baked clean every year or 2 and always keep an eye on the pipe tolerances over time.
