new voyager observations

[otter]

It's only a been a few days and a few hundred miles, but... I'm in love. And I'm glad I traded my 900 for a voyager.

All I can really say is that the bike is as solid as a rock riding two up and cruising at 75mph, she feels as relaxed. No sweat. Gobs of torque... feels like a locomotive. Brakes are amazing and K-ACT II works really, really well.

I've gotten over the dead spot when accelerating... just use more wrist. And I'm starting to like the popping on sudden decel... sounds... alive.

[rick6375]

You and I are about the only ones I read so far that like the popping, mines almost never more than a subdued popping when it happens, and very rarely, like once every couple months, I get a real pop from the pipes. I have stock pipes with baffles drilled, still reasonably quiet, but you can hear it running.

[otter]

ya, I'm not touching the pipes. Been there, done that. I must be getting old because I'm starting to like quiet and really enjoy the tunes.

And the popping? With stock baffles it sounds like more of a mutter.

I originally thought the popping was the bike running too lean. Because most comments I read about the 900 I had owned stated that the popping was always there, but the stock exhaust system does a good job hiding it. So I was surprised when I first heard it on the 1700. Called the dealer and spoke with their mechanic... "It's normal, they all do it, can't do anything about it unless you want to get a fuel processor and start spending some dough."

Then I read this (and sorry if it's a re-post):

Burn Baby Burn

The last thing I want to address today is the subject of deceleration backfire, or “popping”. This topic generates a lot of concern from inexperienced riders, or even from experienced guys who just hate the noise, so lets take a look at what causes it. But first things first, lets define the issue:

Deceleration Backfire is caused by fuel burning in the exhaust manifold or header.

No ifs ands or buts, that’s what causes it. But the bigger question is how does gas get there in the first place, and that’s a bit more complicated. Generally, there are a variety of ways it gets there, and a variety of things that can make the backfiring worse. But there’s a kicker, and something you should understand before we go any farther:

A motor in perfect tune will exhibit deceleration backfiring.

Therefore, just because your motor is banging it up, doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong. And consequently:

Getting rid of the noise means de-tuning your motor.

Yup. If you’ve just got to eliminate that popping, you’ll have to accept the fact that your motor is going to be forced to run rich to do it, and that isn’t necessarily a good thing. So lets talk about what causes the problem.

Ok, so you’re riding along at some given rpm, and suddenly you decide to decelerate, and you reduce the amount of throttle. This causes an “overrun” – that is, the motors rpm is turning faster than the fuel provided can support, so the motor begins to spool down. This causes a couple of things to happen.

First, when you close the throttle, you are also closing the throttle plates. This reduces the air and fuel flowing into the motor, and increases the vacuum (lowers the pressure). This results in less air and fuel in the cylinder during the power stroke, which in turn results in a lower pressure in the combustion chamber. Remember I said earlier, that the A/F mix burns faster in proportion to the pressure applied? Well, when we reduce pressure this way, the mix burns slower. This results in two things happening.

1. The lower burning fuel generates less heat, and the cooling effect of the non-burning fuel tends to “quench” the flame front, or slow it down even further. Because the mix is burning much slower, the exhaust valve can open before all the fuel is consumed, and the unburnt fuel is ejected into the exhaust.
2. The engine designers, in order to promote smoother idling and better combustion, retard the spark when the throttle is shut, and this results in the mix being lit later.

So, now we end up with unburnt fuel in the exhaust, and burning fuel being ejected into the exhaust, and bang! Backfire. In addition, Manufacturers have added a device called a “programmed air injection valve” (Pair Valve) that actually injects some fresh air into the exhaust to help this process along – since fully burning the fuel results in cleaner exhaust. So the backfiring is not only a normal part of the engines operation, it’s also intentionally amplified by the manufacturer! Of course, normally, that massive bazooka pipe hanging on your bike hides most of the noise, but it’s there, even when you can’t hear it.

So the bottom line, is: That backfiring is perfectly normal and expected. If you’ve just got get rid of it, that’s up to you. You’re entitled to set your motor up the way you want, and your goals are your goals. But don’t refer to it as “fixing” the popping. Rather, the correct way to think of it is “de-tuning a bit to get rid of the popping”.

There are a few ways you can do this.

First, use the stock pipe. It will hide the sound, by absorbing it into mass, and masking it with the larger baffle space. Second, you can add more fuel during deceleration. This has the effect of raising the chamber pressure slightly, which burns a little more before the exhaust valve opens. Lastly, you can remove the Pair valve, which reduces the amount of available oxygen in the pipe to burn the unburnt fuel.


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I'm sure this is going to set off a debate.

[Ken Vega]

Block the Pair Valve hose at the 11 o'clock position behind the dogbowl on the right side. With a stock set up you will eliminate popping altogether. With aftrmarket pipes it simply reduces it for sure. Congrats on the voyager. :cheers:

[otter]

no, really. I'm getting to LIKE the popping.

:cheers:

[ponch]

no, really. I'm getting to LIKE the popping.

:cheers:

Eat beans and cabbage and wash it down with beer. You'll get a similar effect. :D

[Ken Vega]

no, really. I'm getting to LIKE the popping.

:cheers:

I have V&H slip ons. When the bike gets heated in stop and go, sometimes the popping can be annoying. This is the first bike I ever had that pops at a certain rpm.

[otter]

Eat beans and cabbage and wash it down with beer. You'll get a similar effect. :D


egg salad sandwich and a beer to wash it down.

[smokier]

"Block the Pair Valve hose at the 11 o'clock position behind the dogbowl on the right side."
Can I get the beginners diagram on that please?

[Ken Vega]

"Block the Pair Valve hose at the 11 o'clock position behind the dogbowl on the right side."
Can I get the beginners diagram on that please?

Take off the dogbowl on the right side of the bike. Where the throttle body is. In the upper left corner at 11 o'clock you will see a hole. That is the pair valve hose also referred to as clean air injection. Basically injects air into the exhaust port to assist with re igniting the fuel vapor in the header pipe, thus afterfire and the pop you hear. You can insert something in the hole to block the hose or you can remove the air box backing plate and block the hose directly. Your choice. So simple a caveman could do it. LOL :lmao:

[CBO Vaquero]

I have V&H slip ons. When the bike gets heated in stop and go, sometimes the popping can be annoying. This is the first bike I ever had that pops at a certain rpm.

Take off the dogbowl on the right side of the bike. Where the throttle body is. In the upper left corner at 11 o'clock you will see a hole. That is the pair valve hose also referred to as clean air injection. Basically injects air into the exhaust port to assist with re igniting the fuel vapor in the header pipe, thus afterfire and the pop you hear. You can insert something in the hole to block the hose or you can remove the air box backing plate and block the hose directly. Your choice. So simple a caveman could do it. LOL :lmao:

In the top post you say that your bike does pop sometimes, is it still happening with the air shut off as you said in the bottom post? If it is still popping then why bother to block off the air valve at all?

[hlknvlcn60]

No way I would ever detune my Vaq because of an occasional popcorn fart....who cares? I love the power with the open air and pipe and tuner. No compromising. Otter well written. Thanks for dispelling the myth in iron clad description. everyone who owns a VN 1700 needed to read that.

[BadAssBill]

Hello All,
I am new to VBA and glad to be here. I have modified the Tri-Ovals to fit on my 2015 Voyager by drilling a hole and installing O2 sensor.
All went well and bike sounds great. As suggested by many, I have blocked off the fresh air valve/hose.
Still have the popping noise/backfiring on decel and blocking the hose had little effect.
My biggest issue is that I am finding the bike has less oooomph and seems bogged down a bit (making more noise than power) on acceleration. I hate the look and sound of stock pipes but I was considering putting them back on as the bike felt more powerful and definitely smoother/"lighter" in operation with stock pipes!
Has anyone experienced this (lack of power)?
Thanks.

[JD Hog]

Welcome to the forum from Northern California!

Cobra is releasing new pipes for our 2015 Voyagers with the 02 sensor hole included. It will be interesting to see if they have a better power range then yours have now.

Last email that I received from them was that they would be out by the end of this month.

[ponch]

Hello All,
I am new to VBA and glad to be here. I have modified the Tri-Ovals to fit on my 2015 Voyager by drilling a hole and installing O2 sensor.
All went well and bike sounds great. As suggested by many, I have blocked off the fresh air valve/hose.
Still have the popping noise/backfiring on decel and blocking the hose had little effect.
My biggest issue is that I am finding the bike has less oooomph and seems bogged down a bit (making more noise than power) on acceleration. I hate the look and sound of stock pipes but I was considering putting them back on as the bike felt more powerful and definitely smoother/"lighter" in operation with stock pipes!
Has anyone experienced this (lack of power)?
Thanks.

The bike probably runs lean to begin with and it probably got more so. Stock maps have their limits, so just adding pipes may or may not give the results you are looking for. So tell me about drilling holes...Did you weld on a bung for the 02 sensor to screw into?

[BadAssBill]

O2 sensor hole was drilled by tech and thread and then welded on. Perfect fit.

I will have to go back to OEM pipes and then wait for Cobra or V&H to release new pipes for 2015 Voyager. I will have all Ottawa winter to wait and see what the reviews will be on the new pipes.

[BadAssBill]

O2 sensor hole was drilled by tech and thread and then welded on. Perfect fit.

I will have to go back to OEM pipes and then wait for Cobra or V&H to release new pipes for 2015 Voyager. I will have all Ottawa winter to wait and see what the reviews will be on the new pipes.