Arizona Templar

[JerryHawk250]

Steak, Bacon. Man, I'm getting hungry just looking at those pictures. Nice view, I'm jealous.

[K'hermiit]

I wanted to share with you guys my no weld cat removal for the 2023 Templar X. I don't have access to a TIG to weld the SS, so this is what I did.

Acquire a 1.75" butt joint exhaust clamp. They look like this:
and are available on amazon for ~$10

I used a pipe cutter to make a straight line around the cat.



I cut the pipe with a cut off wheel and gutted the contents.



Not much flow through this POS...especially at higher rpm's.


Installed the exhaust to the bike left a bit of slack in the bolts so I could slide the rear section of tube forward firmly while tightening the clamp. I used a reasonable layer of high temp RTV on the clamp.(old diesel mechanic's trick for leakproof clamps) and tightened it all up. It is incredibly firm and will not go anywhere. The high temp silicone will probably burn, but the ash layer that remains keeps the clamp sealed.




Wipe off the excess rtv and let it cure overnight for best results. You will probably have to increase your main jet size to compensate for the extra flow.

That's it, enjoy your extra ponies for all of ten bucks. I notice the difference most at high rpm.

Dave

[Mikd]

I would imagine this also lower the temps a bit. Nice mod and thank you for the description.

[buzz]

Nice work,not everyone can weld.

[K'hermiit]

I believe its running cooler, but have no proof.

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by K'hermiit

I believe its running cooler, but have no proof.

That empty cat bulb should serve as a resonator now. It is better than a straight pipe to reduce back pressure. Nice!

That section of the pipe will definitely run cooler without the catalyst incinerating the unburnt fuel. It actually caused a fire once when I fell over to the right in dry grass.

I don't have access to a large pipe cutter like that. That is a clean cut.

[K'hermiit]

Originally Posted by Thumper

That empty cat bulb should serve as a resonator now. It is better than a straight pipe to reduce back pressure. Nice!

That section of the pipe will definitely run cooler without the catalyst incinerating the unburnt fuel. It actually caused a fire once when I fell over to the right in dry grass.

I don't have access to a large pipe cutter like that. That is a clean cut.

I just used the pipe cutter to make the mark. I used a cut off wheel on a 4 1/2 grinder to actually cut it. I was afraid the pipe cutter would reduce the diameter of the tube a bit where the cut occurred, making the cat insert hard to get out. Turns out I was right. It took some effort to get the cat sleeve separated from the tubing of that expansion chamber.

After running it some more...I think anyone who does this will have to increase the pilot jet size as well as the main. Started getting some popping on decel, so time to pull the carb bowl back off and enrichen that one too.

[K'hermiit]

The seat on my bike has been a source of irritation. It is quite firm and uncomfortable partially due to it's small section width. I decided to see if I could improve on the posterior padding. I removed the original cover and foam. I reassembled the seat retention brackets with loc-tite since two of them were loose.


I had ordered a slab of gel 3/4"x 12"x 12" and divided it into (3) 4"x 12" sections. I then placed one of the sections right in saddle area of the seat foam. I cut to specific depth in a grid pattern the size of one of my gel slabs. This grid allowed me to evacuate the unneeded foam and inset the first gel layer into the seat foam itself.






My remaining 2 slabs of gel were secured with some contact adhesive to the top of the seat.



Cover with a new seat cover. Pull everything tight and staple down with a t50 stapler or the like. 5/16 staples worked well.


Now, if you're short, consider that this mod raised the seat height 3/4" but your butt sinks into the gel...so I haven't noticed a difference in ability to put my feet down.

The extra comfort made this a worthwhile mod in my book. Ymmv.

[K'hermiit]

Well, the gel helps...but the seat is still a 2x4 wedged up your ass. Broke down and ordered a Seat Concepts foam and cover kit. Hopefully the extra width will equate to extra comfort.


I've bitched about the stock tires before. The tread was squirrely in the desert and that front produced some random direction changes that were unnerving at speed. I mounted up some Kenda Parker Deserts, and wow! What a difference. Huge positive impact on stability and traction. The stockers may be fine for loam type soil, but they sucked out here. I am very happy w/ the Parkers right now. We will see if that holds true in a few months.

I increased the jetting again, and have come to the conclusion that many people are leaving power on the table by running lean jetting. For instance: My pilot is currently at a 50! Starts and runs fantastic. I went up two sizes on the main to a 140. I ride in the 2000-3000ft range. Plug looks good, no soot, but keep in mind I also de-catted mine. I'm sure the extra flow helps.

Went riding yesterday, even did some single track. It was awesome. Really starting to enjoy my Templar now that I am getting it all set up.

[Weresquatch]

Originally Posted by K'hermiit

50 mile desert moto camping trip. Making it back in one piece? Even better!


The bike did fantastic. Starts easily and runs butter smooth. I did experiment with that 40t rear sprocket, but don't care for it. It is a smidge too tall. Would be fine for a fellow that rode on flat ground maybe, but hills found me downshifting to often. I am going back to the original 13/49 for now. I rarely get to ride over 35 mph...so the stock gearing was fun.

Pics for proof of a good time.

This is DOPE! This is what I'm hoping to do with mine. Ride the WA BDR, do some camping, some exploring. Thanks for the pics.

[K'hermiit]

No problem! Be careful out there and go through your bike with a fine toothed comb for issues before attempting a BDR, but awesome! Mine did fine on the short motocamping trip I did. You can't pack too much on it without overwhelming the suspension, but I had maybe 30 lbs on mine...and it it handled it fine.

[vividpixel]

Good to hear you've found a big difference with the Kenda DTs! I am about to mount those for my Templar X and it seems like they live up to the Desert Terrain promise.

[K'hermiit]

Originally Posted by vividpixel

Good to hear you've found a big difference with the Kenda DTs! I am about to mount those for my Templar X and it seems like they live up to the Desert Terrain promise.

So far so good. They are directional & I mounted mine in the Hard direction.

[Weresquatch]

Originally Posted by K'hermiit

No problem! Be careful out there and go through your bike with a fine toothed comb for issues before attempting a BDR, but awesome! Mine did fine on the short motocamping trip I did. You can't pack too much on it without overwhelming the suspension, but I had maybe 30 lbs on mine...and it it handled it fine.

Thank you. I'll definitely take it on a few overnights first. I think I can get away with 30lbs worth of gear for a couple days (I'm 205lbs though) especially in summer if I can cowboy camp or use a hammock.

[K'hermiit]

My fellow Templar owners rejoice, for the cure for 2x4 ass is at hand.

I've mentioned several times that my backside disapproves of the Templar X seat. Well, I took notes and compared pics and gambled away $246 in hopes of a solution. Gentlemen...I present.






Get your own here for a 2008-2017 Suzuki RMZ 450:
https://seatconcepts.com/products/suzuki-2008-16-rmz450?rq=yr_2009~mk_suzuki~md_rmz-450


Slight nipping of a little foam as seen in the first pic with the sharpie marks sits this foam perfectly on a Templar seat base. The cover was literally a perfect fit. I am happy with this mod.