Full exhaust system installation

This tutorial illustrates the installation of a Moriwaki Zero Stage 2 full exhaust system on a 2005 CBR 600 RR.  But it should be general enough that it would apply to any exhaust system and bike (with the exception of the quirks that may occcur for a specific model or exhaust system). 

DISCLAIMER:  This tutorial is meant to be a guideline.  Any instructions you get from the manufacturer of your exhaust or service manual should take precedence over this tutorial.

NOTE:  for any pic, click on it for a higher resolution version

Fig 1 - Moriwaki Zero Stage 2 full exhaust system components

The Moriwaki kit is typical of many full exhaust systems (headers, collector, mid-pipe, canister, and assorted mounting hardware).  [and no comments from the

peanut gallery about the blanket  ]

Fig 2 - Bike preparation for full exhaust system installation

Though not required, I suggest putting the bike on front and rear stands.  It'll make working on the bike much easier and give you more clearance for removing the current exhaust and installing the new one.  The service manual says to remove seat, side covers, lower, middle, and rear cowls, rear fender (not the hugger), right rearset, right passenger footpeg, mid-pipe heat shield, and rear brake resevoir.  I removed all that but not the rear brake resevoir.  In addition I also removed the upper cowl.  It'll soon be evident why I did this.  I also found things easier to access if I moved the coolant resevoir and regulator/rectifier (not pictured) out of the way.

Fig 3 - Lower radiator bracket

Remove the lower radiator bracket.  This isn't stated in the service manual but it is absolutely necessary in order to remove the headers.  The bracket is physically in the way from removing one of the header nuts.  It is also necessary so that you can rotate the radiator (on its upper mounts) to give more clearance and access to the header nuts.  Removing the nut and bolt that secures the radiator is trivial.  Remove this first and then rotate the radiator forward to get better access to the bolt that secures this bracket to the engine block.

Fig 4 - Exhaust header nuts

Rotate the radiator forward and remove the exhaust header nuts.

Fig 5 - Exhaust header bolts and O2 sensor

Remove the remaining exhaust header bolts (yellow in Fig 5) and disconnect oxygen sensor (green in Fig 5).

Fig 6 - Muffler bolts

Remove muffler bolts (yellow in Fig 6).

The exhaust can now be removed.  I found it easier to remove the headers and muffler as one piece rather than each component.

Fig 7 - Muffler heat shield

Remove the bolts securing the muffler heat shield (yellow in Fig 7).  This was required because of clearance issues with this particular exhaust.  So depending on the exhaust you get, you may not need to do this.

Fig 8 - Heat shield tape

With the removal of the muffler heat shield, a precaution was taken by adding

head shield tape to the underside.  This pic only shows partial taping.  For this installation, I added the tape all the way forward.

Fig 9 - Exhaust header gasket

Remove the old exhaust header gaskets and replace with new ones.  There are those who will argue that you don't need to do this.  I disagree.  These gaskets are very soft and designed to "crush" as they get torqued so they'll conform to the shape of the header port.  Since no two headers are alike, I strongly suggest you replace these gaskets.  They're a few bucks each and its likely your local dealer has them in stock.

Fig 10 - Assemble header

Assemble header using the supplied spring tool. 

Most kits come with a tube of liquid gasket (the white tube in Fig 1).  It is only needed if you are having difficulty putting the components together.  If you do use the liquid gasket, make sure you do not get any on the exposed areas of the pipe as it will leave a stain.

Fig 11 - Install header

Install the header onto the engine block.  Just finger-tighten the header nuts for now.

Fig 12 - Install collector

Install the collector onto the headers.  This system secures the collector onto the

headers with springs only.  If your system uses bolts, only finger-tighten them.

Fig 13 - Midpipe and muffler installation

Finally, install the midpipe and muffler.  Again, for any nuts and bolts, just finger-tighten. 

Once all the pieces are in place, go ahead and tighten all nuts and bolts.  Use torque specs supplied by the manufacturer.  If none are supplied, then use the ones specified in the service manual.

Put all your bodywork and other hardware back on the bike and this is what you get:

 

Most likely, you will need to revamp your air/fuel ratios throughout the power curve as your bike will now be "breathing" differently.  Carbuerated bikes will do this via a jet kit while fuel injected bikes will do this either through a Power Commander or a reprogram of the ECU (e.g. Suzuki GSXR).  With a power commander, a new map will need to be uploaded.  Maps are usually available from Power Commander's web site.  If not, contact your exhaust manufacturer and see if they can provide one.  To get the optimal performance out of your full exhaust system, it would be best to get the bike dyno tuned.  Here are Moriwaki maps (for use with the stage 2 full exhaust system) for the 600RR:

2003 - 2004 Honda CBR 600RR w/ stock or aftermarket air filter

2005 - 2006 Honda CBR 600RR w/ stock or aftermarket air filter

 

Now get thee to a dyno so you can brag to your friends about how much more

horsepower you have

Here's a sound clip of the Moriwaki Zero stage 2 full exhuast on an '05 600RR: clicky-clicky

 

For fuel injected bikes, you will likely have the FI warning light flashing on your dash.  This is due to the removal of the O2 sensor.  One way to get rid of this is to get a DynoJet O2 sensor eliminator plug (DynoJet part number 76423005):

These are relatively inexpensive ($10 - $20) and are available from any DynoJet vendor.  The nice thing about this solution is that it is clean.  But it is expensive for what it is (especially for bikes that require two of these like the '03 - '04 600 RR).  For those of you who are more electrically inclined, this plug is merely a load resistor that simply fools the ECU into thinking that the O2 sensor is present. 

All you have to do is put a 325 Ohm resistor across the proper wires.  On the 2005 CBR 600 RR, these wires on the O2 sensor connector are white (goes to the ECU) and Black/White (goes to ECU, PAIR control solenoid valve, fuel cut relay, primary and secondary injectors, and purge control solenoid valve).  These resistors can be obtained from electonics stores (e.g. Radio Shack) quite cheaply (less than a buck).

 

Some quirks about an '05 CBR 600 RR with this Moriwaki exhaust (* see Note 1 below):

- of course, it wouldn't be an abad bike without some degree of ghetto-ness.  So here's some.  The canister is angled higher than stock.  In fact, it was hitting my rear tail light.  To lower the can, I had to put some washers in between the

canister mounting bracket and the canister clamp:

- the routing of this exhaust is not a perfect match to the OEM exhaust (but that was expected).  One artifact of this is that the heat shield that covers the mid-pipe and travels along the right rearset won't fit after the Moriwaki system is installed.  I had to cut part of this heat shield so that it could still serve its function:

- the OEM muffler had a small, gray cover over it.  Since this canister is angled higher and sticks out further, I had to remove this piece.  I'm sure I'm a minority in saying this but... I actually like the look of the OEM rear fender.  I thought the gray cover added some sleekness to it.

- the headers sit a little closer to the engine block than the stock headers.  With the stock headers, I was able to access my oil filter with an end cap style oil filter wrench.  Now there is not enough room to get the end cap wrench over the oil filter.  So I'll have to use a different style oil filter wrench.

* NOTE 1:  This is a race exhaust.  It is expected that this exhaust will be used on a race bike (i.e. a bike that has minimal hardware such as race fairings, no lights, etc).  So a race exhaust on a street bike that has stock fairings and stock hardware (e.g. heat shields, lights) may not have the best fitment with OEM hardware.

Acknowledgements

I'd like to thank Bob, Marshall, and Rich of Big Valley Honda for their technical support and excellent customer service.  And a big shout to Ryan of Hare Racing for his phone support that helped with the installation.

badfish'05 600RR Purple/Black