Leo Vince LV One or FMF Q4?

These two seem pretty even on price/function. They both come with spark arrestors.. which is a must for me, and both are around $550 or so.. which is way less then the all the other brands.. but I think I have read about people having to futz around with the LV's.. either with the mounts, or with fitting on the headers?? or is that some other brand that has that issue? I guess both have fairly frequent repacking needs since they are straight through design?

personally I think the LV is a little more pleasing to the eye.. but that is last on my list, I'm happy as long as they don't look uglier then the stock cans.. heh

any other tips, advise to help me decide?

oh, and a 2010 990A would be the recipient

I had the LVs and loved them.

My LV has done a lot of miles. My only complaint is the mounting system if you will be seriously offroading. The combination of a lot of weight behind the mount point and a wrap around band hanger allows things to loosen up in hard riding. One part of the assembly is a press fit. I only have had problems after 40K but... Best is a welded mount point that keeps the can secure in all directions.

I have had lots of issues with the Leo joint. Nice pipe and I really like the Spark arrestor. The pipes been welded and still comes lose after a good ride. Anyone found a better solution to this issue? Based on the mount I would go another direction next time.

good feedback.. thank you very much.. while I won't be racing my 990a offroad, I do like riding some pretty rough terrain..

FMF it is.. I had them on my 950, and never had a problem..

I have a 2 into 1 with a FMF Q4 and have never had any problems with the pipe. I aslo like the way the pipe has the mount welded to the pipe. Very strong and looks good.

that's a fantastic idea.. thanks.. and I see advtank is selling the 2:1 with an FMF Q4 for $400. seems like a great way to go..

If you wanted to save money you can make your stock mid pipe into 2 into 1. Thats what I did

how would I do that? I don't have a welder, but if I did, got any plans or a how to write up?

You could tig weld it. Take it to a shop. Dont use a wire welder. Here is a pic of mine. My friends shop only charge $75.

I took mine to a local Auburn Wa Muffler shop who makes custom headers. Cost was 50.00 a single pipe is nice.

could you PM me the shop info please? I have a welding shop that has done some stuff for me, but I'd prefer folks that have experience with exhaust, particularly bikes.

For those that did a 2-1 what pipe did you use? I've been trying to find something compatible with the 950, but most of the single pipes sold are dirt bike sized, and won't flow enough exhaust.
Alternately, is there a reason a slip-on for a liter bike wouldn't work? If an engine is just a big air pump, and given that the 950 is similar in displacement to a liter bike, any reason not to go that route? Ignore the mid-pipe and mount differences- shouldn't be too hard to have a mid-pipe made to fit, and use an exhaust hanger strap to get the placement right.
A quick search on-line shows a Ti Yoshi pipe for a CBR 1000 for $450. Not bad, and a fair bit less expensive than the Remus/Akra/Wings option.
Thoughts?
FWIW, I'm currently running a 2-1 with an FMF Powercore, but I think the pipe's too restrictive. I had the carb jetted, but the mileage is pretty bad: 25 mpg. :eek1 Based on what I've read here, I should be able to get closer to 35 with a 2-1 and well-tuned carb. Just need to find the right pipe/jet combination. What's your secret?
G

Your bike should be getting better fuel milage. Here is what Iam running. Here is the link.

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=839023

I was having issues getting someone to sell me a pipe. They all quoted some new law that could take their license if I put the pipe on a street bike in CA. Finally, I called Leo Vince and talked to a real nice lady there, that said she'd sell me a pipe, and they happened to be having a clearance sale, and they also had a set of test mule pipes with dyno time on them, but no street miles. For $180. I told her I'd call back in 2 days, which I did. Well, she didn't work there any more. But someone else went to look for the pipes, but couldn't find them. So he sold me a set of new ones for $180. I almost came. Perfect fit. Fairly easy install. No leaks. They are straight (I've heard of people having stuff sitting a little crooked after the install). And it's real fuckin' loud. There was only 1 decibel killier in the set of mufflers, so I removed it in the interest of being the same on both sides. Yeah, that's it.

Leo Vince people told me that the dealers were overreacting to the new law, that it affected only 2013 bikes and any built after that.

Very cool people to work with and talk to.

anyone want to split a pair of the FMF Q4's?

roughly $550 or so with shipping, so $225 each aprox.

I'm not sure what the current jetting on my bike is. I had the carbs done about a year ago- 2-1 with the Powercore and the pre-filter. Ran great, tons of torque, but about 120 miles to the fuel light. Took the shop about 20 hours of shop and dyno time to get there. Mine was the first bike they'd seen with a 2-1, so they had no baseline to start with. I was hoping for more mileage, so they suggested pulling the prefilter. Did that, I can go about 125-127 to the light, but there's a nasty flat spot right around 6700-7000 rpm. Called the shop about 4 months ago, but apparently the jet settings weren't entered in to their customer database, so no luck there. I do remember them saying they had to go down a size (apparently very unusual) to make any significant improvement. Can't bring myself to spring for another round of dyno time, esp. considering I think the exhaust is choking the bike. I'd like to try to find some solid setup info- pipe plus jetting, that I might be able to try at home and save myself dyno costs. Or at least use setup info to get me close, so I can minimize dyno costs.
G

Robdogg: might be interested, but my concern is that after my current experiences, one pipe might not flow enough exhaust. I'm curious to see if anyone has any thoughts on using an exhaust designed for a liter bike. Something to consider...

Did you look at the link I posted? The link has all my information of my bike plus jet size.

Installed Q4's last night on my 990. Alot louder than I expected...

FYI- After removing the FMF stickers, rubbing alcohol removes the glue pretty well..

I have the LV's on my bike, actually this is my second set.

With the LV it comes with a new mid pipe, 1st generation were one piece new ones are two pieces.

This is the thread to the 1st generation install.

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=295550

The advantage of the Q4 is it uses the stock mid pipe which is nice in the sense it keeps the gaskets etc and seals up better.

I dont have any pictures of the new pipes but they are smaller in overall diameter less oval. The original pipes I had hit the caliper on the rear.