Link Pipe?

[Steve48]

I have noticed that some bikes have a link pipe between the exhausts and others haven't. Why is this?

[BlackEagleS]

Originally Posted by Steve48

I have noticed that some bikes have a link pipe between the exhausts and others haven't. Why is this?

if you mean the sportsters then the link pipe now runs along the back of the pipes and balances the exhaust gases.

[lee67]

as above ( balance pipe)..some remove em tho and weld up the holes..just for looks i think..

[Urrell]

I think he means the visible one near the top of the pipes.

This is a balance pipe that enhances the evacuation of exhaust gasses.
It's near the top of the pipes in chrome on pre 2004 solid engine mount bikes and hidden behind the silencers on post 2004 rubber mounted engine bikes.

[lee67]

as i said above...mine goes across m8..pre 04

[Tooty]

As far as I can remember the balance pipe that is visible on early bikes but is hidden away on later bikes is to help scavenging of the exhaust gases. Basically it attempts to give the same benefits of a 2 into 1 system. The balance pipes actually work better when they are close to the heads like on early models but because they look crap Harley hid them away on later bikes.
Harley say the balance pipe increases bottom end torque and smooths out the tickover.
Bottom line is that we have fitted hundreds of exhausts with no balance pipes and the bikes ran fine.
My advice, if you don't like the balance pipe, ditch it.

Tooty

[lee67]

i actually like the look of mine...

[Scotty]

Only advantage is to smooth tick over, but you wont notice if you dump it.
As far as helping with the 2 into 1 thing that dont work out, if anything the interfere with the flow and gases need to escape as quickly and smoothly as possible whilst still retaining a bit of back pressure..
Dump it or get a good 2 into 2 system or even better from a performance point of view get a good 2 into 1 system.

[Hawkeye]

They had these on Triumphs years ago, they said it improved power, i think it just mad it sound wooly.
I had two separate pipes on my Sporty and it sounded much crisper.

[Bilbo]

V8 cars tend to use a balance pipe to assist with gas extraction, lumpiness and in-car resonance. There are two ways to achieve it, the H system (or lateral pipe between two pipe runs) and the X system, which is basically a crossover system.
The H system tends to be the american way and the X system european. Hence the difference in sound; apart from the european engines usually being higher revving.

In bikes, especially V-twins, with a short exhaust system and no resonance to worry about, I would have thought the only benefit would be at tickover as the gasses are extracted pretty well anyway. A 2 into 1 system is probably better on paper but you would have to have a dyno to see the difference.

I prefer the Harley 'potato-potato' sound without the balance pipe, but that's just my opinion.