[Ecgpeow]

So I've been slowly race prepping my R and had been putting off getting a catless header because of the cost. A couple of weeks ago I found this way deep in the dark web where all the secrets lie, the second page of a google search


IXIL DECAT RACE PIPE HONDA CBR 500 R 2013-2015 - IXIL USA


for only $167! Sure beats $390 for the Arrow Race Collector or $629 for a Yoshi full system. From the pic I'm thinking I'll have to hack the stock pipe off at the cat and attach it with clamps like on the slip-on, but for this price, that's not a problem. Well the day after I place the order some guy from IXIL USA calls about my order and he seems kind of excited, like maybe I'm their first order from the states. I tell him I've been hunting for something like this for a while; he says they've had them in the US for a year but haven't really been selling like they do over seas. I ask him about the install and about chopping off the cat. He says he's not sure but he'll look into it since they'll take about ten days to ship. We get off the phone and I'm thinking, "Real nice guy; I can't wait to get rid of my cat!" Well a week later I get this in the mail! I installed it, perfect fit! I did have to run to the hardware store to get an M8 x 1.25 nut though. What a deal!

 

[lost.in.cali.]

That's awesome . How is the install . Hacking involved ? What else did u buy to finish what u have assembled

 

[tothezenith]

Dude, just down to rock down to your local muffler shop and ask them to replace the cat on your stock exhaust with a straight pipe. Cash job cost me AUD100 so i imagine USD closer to the 50 mark.

Let em know they'll need to cut the tabs off the cat that holds the heatshield on and reweld them onto the piece of pipe.
They probably don't do bike's all that often, so if you can get them the header gaskets from Honda (~$10ea) they'll be able to do a nice clean weld. That was my failing when i got mine done as they did the welding still fitted to the bike and wasn't as neat a fit with those tabs.

You'll be stoked with this mod, the engine pulls from a 500rpm less, so you can run in a higher great with just as good torque, good for some fuel saving.

 

[tothezenith]

P.S. looking at that pic of the IXIL thing, I don't think it's long enough... like there must be another part that goes with it too join into the slip-on further down. Reason i say this, is because the cat has two tabs on it, and there is a third on the joiner pipe; those three hold the heat shield on.

So you're probably going to need another but of pipe to link that thing to the rest of the muffler system anyway.... Defo cheaper and easier to go the route I mentioned above

 

[Thump]

^ Agree - also what about the bend around the oil filter?

Correct me if I'm wrong but this is a header for an older 500 Honda twin.

Edit: You wrote that it fits, so it must be right!

Please post some pics of the headers, and the part where the cat was, after the installation, and one with the fairing back on, I bet many readers would appreciate that!

I've had a compete stainless steel system made here for a V-twin engine, the work is good and labor is cheap, but I wouldn't go through all the hassle just to get rid of the cat.
I'm happy with my LV slip-on!

 

[tothezenith]

Wait, i don't think i read the full original post before replying... that that $167 is actually a full header system that looks nothing like their advertised image?

 

[tothezenith]

So i just enquired with IXIL about the incorrect image on their website... quick reply, wow! They have confirmed the current image advertised is incorrect and will be updated now they've been made aware of this error.
The product for sale is a full header system as per the image in the OP.

 

[Ecgpeow]

Here it is installed with my Delkavic 8" mini. I had a "ready, fire, aim" approach so my installation wasn't this smooth, but here's how I should have done it:
(1) Loosen the V-band at the slip-on just behind the cat.
(2) Loosen the O2 sensor, but don't completely remove it yet. Trace the sensor wire up to its plug, disconnect it and free it from the frame.
(3) Remove the 4 cap nuts at the head.
(4) Remove the single hanger bolt above the cat.
(5) Wiggle loose the stock header/cat and pull it free of the slip-on. There are 2 pipe gaskets that stayed in the exhaust ports for me. Check if they come off with the pipe. You might have to order new ones if they get torn up.
(6) Loosen the muffler hanger by the passenger foot peg and slide the muffler back a little.
(7) With the stock header off, switch the O2 sensor to the new header.
(8) Fit the header into the exhaust ports and get the 4 cap nuts started. Remember the pipe gaskets if they came out with the stock pipe.
(9) Line up the hanger to the tab on the straight pipe and fit the bolt through. I had to go to Home Depot to pick up an M8x1.25 nut for the hanger bolt because the new pipe doesn't have one welded onto the back of the tab like on the stock pipe.
(10) Wiggle the pipes into position in the exhaust ports and tighten the 4 cap nuts. Don't try to tighten one down all at once, do all 4 incrementally like lug nuts on a car wheel. Don't ask me what the proper torque is, I just winged it and tried not to over tighten. You might have to tap a little with a rubber mallet to get it fully settled in the exhaust ports.
(11) Once the 4 bolts are tightened all the way, put the M8x1.25 nut on the pipe hanger bolt and tighten it down. I used a flat washer and a lock washer and since I'm racing I also drilled the bolt head and will wire it from the bolt head to the threads on top of the nut.
(12) Slip the slip-on on the new pipe ( see what I did there ). My Delkavic came with some red ceramic paste so I put that around the pipe where it connects with the slip-on. The stock pipe required a gasket for the muffler to fit but the new pipe's OD is just right to fit the ID of the muffler pipe. I just bent the tabs on the slip-on out a little so it could fit over the new pipe and tightened the V-band clamp down over things again. Make sure the muffler is on over the new pipe all the way. That red paste gets every where but it'll fill in any gaps where leakage might occur. I let the paste dry for a couple of hours while I loaded a new fuel map into my fuel controller. When I fired it up I couldn't detect any leakage even when blipping the throttle. Now I just need a PC-V so I can tune it to 91 octane!

 

[Ecgpeow]

Oops! Here's the pic of it installed.

 

[Thump]

One photo answers many questions!

I thought Honda made that bend in the header so it would fit under the fairing and still leave room to access the oil filter, but to seems to work like in the pic - I like it better this way!

Interesting discovery!

Is it 2" all the way through?

 

[Ecgpeow]

Yes, 2" up to the "Y". Heres pics of it with the fairings on. Most race fairings don't cover the front like that but the Catalyst Racing Composites fairings do and theres only a couple of mm clearance now. I might have to put some floor and tunnel shielding there.

 

[Oyabun]

Oops! Here's the pic of it installed.

Nice job. Looking forward to hear the results.
Can you please make a picture from the side also? I'm considering to use the same headers on a CB500x and suspension travel is an issue at the radiator.
Have you done any comparison of the weights? I assume the new header should be lighter than the OEM one with the cat - can you confirm that?
I assume you'll make a dyno of the whole setup together with the PCV?

 

[_Yamato]

one thing though ... when you had it all disassembled, you could clean the engine a bit, that would probably save some weight too

 

[granteuk]

So the big question I guess is, Did the new header pipes and Cat removal make a noticeable difference to the way the engine revved up, made more power, was it smoother ? more torque? Very interested to find out as I am very close to taking the Cat out of my own CBR500R race bike, and instead of cutting out the oem Cat and welding in a Y piece in it's place I may buy ths IXL pipe off the shelf instead.... thank you

 

[Oyabun]

Same questions here...
I've just recently found a new potential alternative. The welds does not seem to be the same quality as an Akra or Yoshi pipe, but the whole system sells for the price of a decent slip-on and the muffler actually looks quite OK.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Full-Exhaust-System-Slip-On-Stainless-Steel-Pipe-Carbon-Muffler-with-Removable-DB-Killer-CB500F-CB500X/32482022659.html

Did anyone had any experience with these by any chance?

 

[lost.in.cali.]

Oops! Here's the pic of it installed.

Big question for you... can you still run stock exhaust with his set up as well? I'm assuming you can since I also have that 8" delkavic exhaust . Thanks

 

[Ecgpeow]

Here's a pic from the side. Theres no suspension clearance issues with the R because my fairings cover all the way up to the radiator with no issues and the pipes just barely fit inside the fairings. I don't think there's much of a weight difference. I didn't compare them on the bathroom scale but I held one in each hand and couldn't tell a difference; if it's lighter it's not by much. I've been running a PCFC with the stock pipes/slip-on but I have a PC-V on order and will get a custom map, but not for at least 3 weeks. Side note: any one want to buy a CBR500 Dynojet fuel controller?

Question for y'all, what's the highest octane these bikes could take advantage of (I want to stay in superstock, no internal engine mods)? I know the EJC bikes ran on 91 and got 54bhp. Would it be worth it to tune to 93, or even 100 since I can get that at the track, or is 91 the best we can do with 10.7:1?

I haven't ridden it with the new pipes in yet; but I did fire it up and it sounded like a beast. I put the 16-039-004 map in it and, unlike before, didn't notice any popping upon lifting the throttle. I think I saw somewhere a guy dyno'd his with a full system, no timing adjustments, and got 50bhp. I'm not really concerned with what it's getting right now because I'm going to get a custom map done with whatever octane I settle on. I will update this thread on that.

That Fast Pro looks like a killer deal! If I'd seen that a year ago I totally would have jumped on it!

I think the stock exhaust would fit but you wouldn't be able to have the stock stainless steel heat shield; this pipe doesn't have the three mounting points.

 

[Oyabun]

Here's a pic from the side. Theres no suspension clearance issues with the R because my fairings cover all the way up to the radiator with no issues and the pipes just barely fit inside the fairings. I don't think there's much of a weight difference. I didn't compare them on the bathroom scale but I held one in each hand and couldn't tell a difference; if it's lighter it's not by much. I've been running a PCFC with the stock pipes/slip-on but I have a PC-V on order and will get a custom map, but not for at least 3 weeks. Side note: any one want to buy a CBR500 Dynojet fuel controller?

Question for y'all, what's the highest octane these bikes could take advantage of (I want to stay in superstock, no internal engine mods)? I know the EJC bikes ran on 91 and got 54bhp. Would it be worth it to tune to 93, or even 100 since I can get that at the track, or is 91 the best we can do with 10.7:1?

I haven't ridden it with the new pipes in yet; but I did fire it up and it sounded like a beast. I put the 16-039-004 map in it and, unlike before, didn't notice any popping upon lifting the throttle. I think I saw somewhere a guy dyno'd his with a full system, no timing adjustments, and got 50bhp. I'm not really concerned with what it's getting right now because I'm going to get a custom map done with whatever octane I settle on. I will update this thread on that.

That Fast Pro looks like a killer deal! If I'd seen that a year ago I totally would have jumped on it!

I think the stock exhaust would fit but you wouldn't be able to have the stock stainless steel heat shield; this pipe doesn't have the three mounting points.

Thanks for the picture.
You say that the removed pipe with all the precious metals of the half universe in it's catalytic converter is almost the same weight is not significantly heavier than the new downpipes? Holy crap. This Ixyl could be used as skid protectors then.

Am I right understanding that the only major difference between the PCFC and the PCV is the capability to autotune and setting custom ignition?

There's no real reason to use higher octane fuel than what is stock in case you're staying with stock compression levels. Probably you can be a bit more aggressive with the timing but not really much of a difference. Just a hint. Should you need to shave off a few tenths of a millimeter from the head surface because of a slight "warping" and you put everything together with a race proven new thin copper head gasket to avoid future head issues - it can get you a few tenths of CR and no sane judge would frack with you at a technical inspection as you're essentially running a stock engine with stock internals.
Every small detail counts... Don't ask me how I know.

 

[Ecgpeow]

Yes, the PCFC, is fuel maping only and the PC-V is fuel and timing(for our bike, most multi's need an additional component for timing I believe.)
So that's why the rule book is very detailed about replacing the head gasket! Thanks for the tip!

 

[tothezenith]

I've had my cat delete done for a while now, you'll definitely notice more low down pull; like it'll pull from 2500 as easily as it used to at 3000 before the mod.
You'll absolutely need to adjust the fuel map for this mod.

From all the default maps, merged maps and custom maps I've trialled in my bike over the last year and a bit. Best bet is to just get it tuned for the fuel you have most access to and most likely to use. I have no comparative dyno results between the fuels with the different maps, and any gains are too subtle to be felt with the butt dyno, so can only speak on mileage figures which I've logged from day dot. 91 is good, 85 is better 98 is worse.

I Excel'd all the PC-V maps the other month, in order for comparisons and for building other custom maps.
PC-V Downloadable Maps
@Ecgpeow I'm personally a little sceptical of the M16-039-004 map that you've loaded, as it leans things out quite a bit. I think until you get the custom tune, the Yoshi one M16-039-005 would be a safer one.