I've got a chance to buy a fairly nice used set of aaen twin pipes for my '01 sxr500. Its a bone stock sled at the moment with only clutch work and 96 studs. I do mostly trail riding, but coming off a srx600 the 500 doesn't have the power i'm used to. Is it worth the trouble of performance pipes? Obviously jetting changes are needed, not a problem, but clutching may be more of a challenge. I'm planning on dropping a tooth on the top gear in the chaincase to get some more snap out of corners also. Any input on the pipes and opinions are greatly appreciated. 
mopar1rules
Active member
imo, not worth the time/money to try and build up a 500cc sled. just go buy a 600 or 700....imo.
xsivhp
Active member
what he said. you pipe your 500 your are going to kill it's reliability. imo(2)mopar1rules said:
the 2001 sx500r is down 1 tooth from the 1999 sxr/vmax 500. i know as i went through a lot to get more than 80mph out of the one i had. i was told in here by other members that the 500cc motor gets "peaky" and hard to keep from leaning out with the pipes. i would put in vmaxjhons setup from the tec pages. i did and it truned mine into an awsome corner to corner sled in the trails. on the lake i was still bringing up the rear when the 700's came out to play but in the trail i was pushing them most of the time.
here is a list of what i had done to mine:
-vmaxjhons clutch set-up(really woke the sled up)
-121" ripsaw. same as studing track in my opinion.
-reed notch from tec pages. made the sled easyer to start and seemed to have a bit more mid range.
-srx rear cooler. i found it ran too hot without it.
-mbrp trail can. more for the weight loss than power gain but sounds great.
-cbperformance trailing arms. bent one side and was cheper than stock yammy ones. less 20lb too.
-2002 viper skis. dropped the front end 1/2" and gave the sled a slot car feel in the trails. better carbide selection too.
-engine torque limiter. helped plant the power.
hope this gives you some ideas.
here is a list of what i had done to mine:
-vmaxjhons clutch set-up(really woke the sled up)
-121" ripsaw. same as studing track in my opinion.
-reed notch from tec pages. made the sled easyer to start and seemed to have a bit more mid range.
-srx rear cooler. i found it ran too hot without it.
-mbrp trail can. more for the weight loss than power gain but sounds great.
-cbperformance trailing arms. bent one side and was cheper than stock yammy ones. less 20lb too.
-2002 viper skis. dropped the front end 1/2" and gave the sled a slot car feel in the trails. better carbide selection too.
-engine torque limiter. helped plant the power.
hope this gives you some ideas.
Thanks for the tips guys. I'm still in the air about the pipes. I'm quite sure I could get them for under $100, so i might get them and if they aren't my thing then i'll sell them later. I'm not worried too much about the reliability or jetting, just if the pipes are going to take away the little bit of bottom end power it has now in order to gain the 10hp aaen claims. according to to some dyno charts i found with these pipes the 500 only puts out a touch over 20hp when the clutch engages at 4200. Yikes!!
Just wondering, anyone know what your 500/600 twin's are engaging at? Right out of the hole (4200 engagement) its flat for just a second until the power comes on, and from there it stays right at 7800 until she tops out. I'm thinking i need to get the engagement closer to 4500 and maybe drop to a 20 tooth to get the initial launch? Am i chasing my tail trying to make this sled work like something its not?
edit:
I'm looking for vmaxjohns clutching tips now, looks like he went from the v-max 500 stock 22 tooth gear to a 20, same as I was thinking. vmaxjohns setup engages at 4100 vs. my 4200 so the tall gearing must be what i'm feeling.
edit:
I'm looking for vmaxjohns clutching tips now, looks like he went from the v-max 500 stock 22 tooth gear to a 20, same as I was thinking. vmaxjohns setup engages at 4100 vs. my 4200 so the tall gearing must be what i'm feeling.
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