Torque Hammer Review/ Impressions

[ccryder]

I finally have some s'miles (~600) on the Torque Hammer exhaust.
First impressions:
A) Solidly built exhaust
B) Finish was very good and consistent (I think a type of ceramic coating).
C) Welds all look solid and appear to have good penetration.
D) Nice functional design with eye-pleasing features. (Side shrouds make it look nicer while adding support to the mid-pipe).

Install:
A) A tight fit at the header pipes with no gasketing or clamps (no leaks that I can see/ feel/ hear )
B) Bracket holes needed some enlargement to align easily.
C) Supplied hardware (three nuts, one bolt and 6-8 SS washers) enabled easy fit up of the exhaust.
D) Washers were used under all bolt heads and as a spacer between the front tab and front mounting boss (three were required, I superglued them together to ease install).

Riding impressions:
Sound:
NIIIIIIICE! Mellow, deep, no bark or crackle without too much volume (It does a great job of scaring away dogs and deer, a very good thing). I can hear the exhaust note at 4,500- 5,500 rpm but it does not invade my environment (MP3's and Sat radio can still be readily heard w/o increasing volume). The general public does know I am around now, without being too obtrusive.

Throttle response (Stock ECM, latest flash for an 08’)
From idle through redline it is linear with no dips or gaps. From 4,500-6,000 it does feel like it needs some minor changes in the mapping. Around 5,800 rpm this pipe really takes off and pulls HARD!! It’s no slouch, by any means, below 5,800 but it pulls MUCH harder than stock!

Normal cruising/ Riding:
No hiccups, hesitations, burbling, pops, crackels anywhere accelerating, steady throttle, trailing throttle or under deceleration. The engine does feel smoother and has a real nice resonance point around 5,000 rpm where all is better with the world. Go WFO at that point and this 1125 springs to life.

I intend to swap out the ECM tonight or tomorrow. I am anxious to feel, see and, hear the difference. From my “conversations” with Dris and Martin, they feel that their mapping does a lot for drivability and performance (btw both are great right now). I did a 1st gear pass, to 10,000rpm, at Bumpus on Saturday. Ft_bstd made some real nice comments about how it sounded at “full song” that included….. well never mind it was all very complimentary ;+} .

Pictures and miles to follow.
Time2Work (darn)

[ccryder]

I installed the TH mapped ECM yesterday.

All I can say is....... WOW!!!!!!!!!!! Yep it really makes one heck of difference over stock ECM with the latest flash. Excellent power, great throttle response, and more power than with the stock ECM. No surging, great pull at rpm's from 2,000 rpm on up. Actually I could idle away from a stop w/o any throttle and then ease on more power. Noticeably smoother through out the rpm range and loads.

One complaint, at 55 deg and damp streets, in 2nd gear I get wheel spin instead of wheelies. Guess I'll have to wait for dryer roads tomorrow to really give it a power test.

Pictures to follow shortly

Neil S

[ccryder]

Unmounted picts:

[ccryder]

Dyno charts and more info can be found here: http://www.twinmotorcycles.nl/artikelen.asp?aid=56

Dris and Martin have spent many, many hours working on this project and over 1,000 dyno runs.




It pulls hard enough throughout the rev range that I now have to VERY careful about traction when I grab a handfull! Even at small changes in throttle it pulls very cleanly w/o any surge or hesistation. You can dial in just what you want and there is more than enough for me on the street.

BTW, my hat is off to Dave L. (XB9fog) for all his help in resolving the side stand switch issue. This ECM was a Euro spec ECM and it was looking for a Euro side stand switch which I did not have. Dave spent 3+ hours with me yesterday trying to decipher the Euro vs US ECM code. My way into work this morning had to be gentle since it was cold and almost raining. I'm hoping for dry roads going home so I can PLAY!!!


Mounted Picts:

[xtreme6669]

Awesome write up man! sounds like a nice system, Did you ever have a osb performance tuned ecm? if so how do you think the th ecu compares?

[ccryder]

The ECM was tuned by Dris and Martin at Twin Motorcycles. It made a BIG difference over the stock ECM.

From working with Dave, he really has been doing some great maps with his software, even for stock systems.

Later
Neil S.

[ccryder]

I just got back from a 100 mile ride at 45F. Gerbing wear is a life saver! Fortunately the roads were dry today so I could get traction. With ~150 rw Hp, you need all you can get! 1st, 2nd, and, 3rd gear power wheelies are just a twist of the grip away w/o any effort!

With the TH and Dris' mapping everything at the right wrist is extremely linear w/o ANY surge, cough, sneeze hesistation or burbble. Just dial in what ever you want/ need and the 1225 just rockets AWAY! It's even more fun than I remember from the last ride. I can't wait untill 55-60F comes around and I can totally enjoy the power.

Hmm, maybe I'll warm up a little and go for another ride................

Later
Neil S.

[cfromc]

Can you please tell me why the torque and horsepower curves don't intersect at 5252 RPM?

[ccryder]

IIRC it is a units conversion factor . He is not using ft-lb for torque.

[ccryder]

The question about the curves not crossing at 5252 is due to the "auto scaling" function turned off on their dyno software. No real majic.

Time2Ride
Neil S.