//WHAT IT IS: Graves Motorsports has been building fast motorcycles since 1990. If you follow racing or Supermoto, you've probably heard of them, as their bikes and riders are on the podium quite a bit. When given the opportunity to test one of their YZ450F motocross systems, we jumped at the chance
//HITS: This is a beautiful pipe! Graves' exhaust systems are hand built out of titanium and are 1.4 pounds lighter than stock on the Yamaha application. The pipe is a four piece system and bolted it up easily to our YZF test unit. On the track, it is a very easy pipe to ride. There was a noticeable gain on the bottom compared to the stock system, and it pulled smoothly thru the mid-range without any hard hits or awkward power fluctuations. On top, the Graves' pipe pulled harder and farther than stock unit, and offered a tad more overrev.
//MISSES: Though everything lined up nicely, it took a bit more time to install this pipe, as there are more pieces to align and the silencer mounting bracket is a three piece affair. Once it's together, however the silencer mounting bracket doesn't have to be disassembled to remove the pipe. One other issue that we had with the Graves' unit is that it sticks out about a half inch farther to the right than the stock pipe, and is thus more likely to get damaged in a crash.
//THE VERDICT: All in all this is a nice pipe! It performs better than the stock system throughout the entire power band, it’s not overly loud, and it's very easy to ride. If you want to trade your knobbies for a set of slicks, you'll fit right in with the Supermoto crowd. But if not, this is a good moto pipe too. |
