hmf or curtis sparks?

[bigz-71]

i want to know from yall 450r owners out there of which pipe you like best, the hmf or curtis sparks. i had a sparks on my last bike and i liked it a lot but i was told the hmf was the better pipe of the two. what is yalls opinion?

[kazpr]

lol you are stuck @ the exact place that I am. I like how the HMF prints the Dyno #'s on Hp & Torque also. Sparks did not have the #'s when I called about 1 month ago.

[TRX450R014]

I too just went through the same thing.
To be honest the only way we can know for sure which is better is if some one has tried both.I went with the HMF BB slip-on because I wanted more torque.
(smaller stock head pipe is good for torque).I am sure the sparks is very comparable.In my opinion if you want the absolute most power gain from a full system then CT racing is the answer but you will pay$ for it.

[roughrider01]

Originally posted by kazpr
lol you are stuck @ the exact place that I am. I like how the HMF prints the Dyno #'s on Hp & Torque also. Sparks did not have the #'s when I called about 1 month ago.

I dont know why they are having a hard time getting Dyno #'s, i mean isnt that how they do there R&D. Im sure alot of it is seat of the pants feel but they had to have put it on the dyno at some point. I hear from alot of ppl that it produces good power, so i doubt that the #'s are low. I just dont understand how they dont have any dyno #'s when thats what alot of people are basing there pipe purchase decision on. Would seem smart to me but thats just my 2 cents.

[WhiteZee]

get the hmf, they are the best in my opinion, they also look nice too.

[brandonpeake]

how much is the CT pipe

[redrider410]

I heard that the Sparks silencer had a malfunction somthin about a piece separating i dont know but it is an awsome set up as well sounds good looks good and gives a significant amout of torque.

[honda350r]

No problem with the sparks on the Honda! They did have a small problem on the Yamaha but that is all good now ! Pm me for a great price on sparks stuff !!

[kazpr]

Would love to see some #s from sparks on that pipe. Makes me wonder why they will not tell me #'s on it. All they would tell me I think was Farr's bike had like 52 rwhp.

[TRX450R014]

I called them (CT Racing) and I was told they are around $650.00 for full system.
I was told they are not making a slip-on.
I should have ask what that price included because I know they include other things like jets,air filter,etc with some of their other pipes.I can't remember exact price I was quoted but
I know it was$in that area.

[lukester720]

Hey guys sparks has had there dyno #'s out since feburary and hmf's have been out about that long too. Call sparks and ask them again or use the search at the bottom of the screen. I knew the #'s back then but I don't remember what they are now. I do know that there not as high as hmf's but sparks doesn't build there pipes for peak horsepower they build the for max accleration so who knows. All I know is that I love the power that mine is putting out with the sparks pipe and I don't feel that changing it is going to help any. It doesn't really matter which pipe you get they're all going to make a big increase in power and your going to think its the best one no matter which one you buy. BTW my pipe hasn't fallen apart yet like some of the others say it will, but if someone has a pic of there 450r with there sparks pipe falling apart I sure would like to see it.

[joe1l]

I posted this exact post on another forum, but here it is again:

I have been researching the best exhaust on the market for the 450R for a few months, I usually try to avoid dyno numbers but with the bike being on the market for only a short amount of time, I had to base my decision partly on them. When I first started looking, I had originally thought I was buying a Sparks pipe, because of the great job they had done in the past with so many other bikes. I use one of their pipes on my 250R, and I had tested about 6 other top pipes, and nothing had came close. The other thing I know is that Sparks pipes are consistently LOUD, very LOUD. Then I started looking around and found out that their pipe was only making a 4-5hp. They told me that they were researching a quiet core version but didn't know when it would be ready. I also looked at LRD who I know had great sucess with 4 stroke pipes, but when ever I called them and asked them about there power gains, the answer would change depending who I talked to over at LRD. The other company I was looking at was closely was HMF. HMF had one of the nicest dyno graphs I had seen, and most impressively was the amount of torque it made. The other thing I really liked was the fact that it could come p-coated in a few colors, and that a quiet core was already available. I then looked at White Bros, FmF, ESR and a few others out there. The only one that was claiming more HP than the HMF was the ESR, but they were also $100 more expesive, and did not have a quiet core available. I like ESR products, but most ESR pipes are very loud, and I don't expect this one to be any different. After calling around I found out that most of the pipes out on the market were only making 4hp over stock and not too many of them were offering a quieter model. I hence decided to go with HMF. I got a red one and I ordere a quiet core, and I must say I am very very pleased with it so far. Fit and finish are perfect!. The midrange grunt is great, which is what I wanted, the low end pulls even harder which I didn't think was possible! I had a chance to open her up the other day, and boy what a difference!!! You can really tell the motor is making more power, the tires were breaking loose alot more, I was constantly in a gear higher than normal!!! I found that the motor could lug now in the higher gears a bit and the turn nice and crisp! The pipe was the perfect compliment to my bike! The funny thing is I felt all these gains, with the quiet core installed, to think there is a little bit more to gain without it! Oh yes as for the quiet core, it really quieted down the bike to an acceptable level for sensitive areas. The sound is similar to that of the stock pipe with the HRC endcap installed. Its not bad at idle, and has a little bark when opened up. I have owned many pipes in my days for my bikes, but so far this has been one of my favorite and by far the easiest pipe i have installed. So far I have to say Nice Job HMF!! But now I noticed that HMF is offering an eliptical style exhaust, and was wondering what the differnece was with the pipe i got?

[kazpr]

Pretty sure I read somewhere there was no difference other than a slight sound but none in power. Just a cosmetic thing.

[bigz-71]

thanks for the response joe! i am leaning toward hmf. i want the full system. how much was the quiet core?

[kazpr]

Only 2 reasons why I am leaning towards the Sparks is C&D racing is going to run one on they're bike and J. Hale said that and the Dmc is all he would run on his.

[tkwarrior]

I'm running the Sparks pipe and my impression was OMFG this is nice.

[kssandduner]

I think I'm jumping off the sparks band wagon and going with Duncan, plus, It'll be a little bit cheaper for the 505 kit if I already have the pipe!! :devil:

http://www.duncanracing.com/buyersguide/hondatrx450r.phtml aka: Joe's wish list

Joe

[joe1l]

thanks for the response joe! i am leaning toward hmf. i want the full system. how much was the quiet core?
The quiet core is only $35 and can be put on or taken off in less than 5 minutes.

[400ex4ever]

I to am shopping around for a pipe. HMF seems to have the best numbers. But like everyone says. You usually only get abot 4-6 more HP with a pipe on a honda. Honda exhaust is a pretty good exhaust for stock.

[avaloncon2]

I just bought the HMF w/ quiet core and polished finish. I paid 265 + tax. I put it on last night and the thing rips. The polished finish looks kick ***. I only had it into third gear because it was late but the power is awesome. I have not tr5ied the quiet core yet. I cant beleive how much the beast was sleepin.