Installation Notes for FMF Q silencer to Cannondale m/c

Installation Notes for FMF Q silencer onto Cannondale

I found an FMF Q on Ebay for about $220 shipped, it was for an

'03 CRF450R. Dave had used one, so I thought it might fit right on...

At left, what's in the box. To the right, comparison between

a standard 'dale exhaust with PMB, FMF Q, and the stock X or S440.

This is the part you take to the muffler shop.

I also took the stock X can, after writing all over it with a sharpy.

"DO NOT CUT THIS PART! EXAMPLE ONLY!!"

Then you just tell 'em what you need.

In my case, it was a bit of 2" pipe, expanded just a bit to match the diameter of my

header. They welded it to the existing pipe that runs through the can, and to the can

a little as well. It's tight, and it's strong. Looks like car stuff, but it works fine.

On the left is the overview. If you have the two piece exhaust, you'll have to cut the

pipe somewhere and match things up that way. Note the coupler on the header pipe,

it's stock Cannondale and solves the cracked can issue. Should be easy to get the

local muffler shop to fix you up with a similar system. Also, on the right you will see

that I drilled and tapped the muffler mount tab for the new system. The mount on the

muffler is just too high, and this seemed like a fine solution. It's 8x1.25, BTW.

Finally, I set up for a sound check. I used my laptop to capture the sound, as it doesn't

have auto volume control. I ended up moving the microphone about 20 feet away so

I wouldn't get 'clipping'. The sound files are linked below, titles are self-explanatory.

You'll have to turn up the volume, I made sure that the mike wasn't overdriven and that

the sound would be clear and comparable side by side. It worked!

NOTE: If someone wants to bring a stock C440 or E440 can, I would be willing to

go through all this crap again to generate another set of sound bites. It's actually not

all that bad, unless you couldn't resist hearing it 'one more time' a few times and fouled

the plug. >8^(

Also, be sure to wear leather gloves when swapping systems!!!