Zach cat replacement

[Darth_1100S]

I actually found time to get out on the S this morning, first time since fitting the Y piece....Jeez it makes a difference! I know it's not just psychological - there IS without doubt more power in the mid range. Mind you the cat I took off was buggered, sounds like everything inside is broken up. The bike makes a nice noise now too - lovely burble but not so loud as it will give the neighbours owt to complain about

I did about 40 - 50 miles this morning so I'm just going to whip the plugs out to see if it's effected the mixture in anyway but i'm not expecting anything untoward - it's running too well

Thanks Alan great bargain M8

Dave

[adamski49]

Don't bin the cat! Both mine and Dan's cats rattled when off the bike but strangely quiet when back on

Adam

[Darth_1100S]

Adam, this thing rattled when it was ON the bike, whenever I rode over a bump it sounded like a load of ollies in a tin can. I didn't know it was so bad 'til I went for a run with no earplugs in a couple of weeks ago. That's why I wanted to change it for the Y piece in the first place. There's another cat being donated to me by a mate who sold his S with the full Vanderlinde system on it. So, I think I will retire the one I took off mine to the bin......Unless anybody wants it but one of the bolt heads was ground off and onother one sheared getting it off

Just a point - is it worth telling the insurance about it? Anyone else done so?

Dave.

[guised]

Zach pipe is a great mod and definitely better than the Lazer mid piece IMHO. Only problem is that the pulses that destroyed your cat start getting to work on the standard cans. Good excuse to get some Lazer end cans though

[Darth_1100S]

Thanks for that M8.......Er, I think

Dave

[drperkins]

How difficult was it to fit the Zach Y piece and did you need to adjust any other parts of the set up. Chip etc

[Darth_1100S]

Dr. Perkins! Personally I just bunged mine on, and took it for a 60 odd mile blat. When I got home, took the plugs out and they were a nice light grey / brownish type colour. Good enough for me!

Actually fitting the thing wasn't too bad.......Getting the cat off was a sod

Dave

[Paul]

How difficult was it to fit the Zach Y piece and did you need to adjust any other parts of the set up. Chip etc

Before attempting it, arm yourself with 4 replacement bolts for connecting the headers to the mid-section/cat. The existing ones are bound to be corroded to buggery. If you can get a long handled ball headed allen key to fit these bolts it will make life easier too. The top one on the right hand side is a bugger to get at otherwise. You will also need an 18mm spanner to get the lambda probe out of the cat and into the mid section. Thank your lucky stars you got a Zach, because the Laser requires you to whip off the petrol tank to free up the hidden lengths of cable for the lambda probe, to fit it in the odd new location on the Laser.

Other than that, it's a doddle

Cheers,

Paul

[fraggle]

I was lucky when I put my Laser on last week. The bolts on the cat came out without too much difficulty (good spray of WD40). I didn't remove the tank fully, I was able to just lift enough to free up the cable.

[Darth_1100S]

Paul - you forgot to mention the Dremel to whizz the head off the R/H bolt!! Because, when you've tried every allen key in your workshop - find one you can actually get into the bolthead, then it's so damned tight you end up rounding it out anyway............You'll need the Dremel

You will still be advised to disconnect the Lamda sensor from under the thank tho'. It only takes a short while to do and it saves having to twist the sensor wire and maybe damaging it. There's no need to remove the tank,just undo the securing bolts on either side, lift it up and prop it with a bit of wood. The the sensor plug is cable tied to the frame on the R/H side. The wire pulls out quite easily, just make sure when you put it back it follows the original route

Dave

[drperkins]

Thans for the response / advice.

Had to put of doing it for a month as my job has shipped me out of the country for a few weeks, therefore the beast will sit untamed in the garage a bit longer

[adamski49]

Just to revive an old thread I appear to have a dead CAT - the tinkling/rattling sound at tickover is akin to that noise you get when you shake a box marked 'fragile' that's just been dropped from a great height.

Although the bike runs fine (good acceleration, mid-range and mpg) would it affect top speed? The reason I ask is that in a moment of Northern France straight road boredom I struggled to get it over 130 and eventually reached 134 top - a bit lower than the 140+ I've seen in the past but I put this down to having all the boxes on and creating a bit of drag.

Decision time - stay in stealth mode and replace the CAT (must be plenty of second hand ones floating about) or fit a noisy Y piece (Zach after my poor experience with Laser).

Dave (darth) - How's the Zach doing now you've had it fitted a while?

Has anyone ordered direct from Zach or is Motorworks the way to go?

Adam

[Darth_1100S]

Adam, my Zachs has been on for a while now. Like you I replaced the cat because the thing was ratting like a good 'un. I also noticed a severe drop in power / MPG when it started rattling. It's beeen on for a couple of months now - including a 2500 mile tour of Europe, if you asked me to put the cat back on I'd tell you feck off. My MPG has soared to 150 miles to the light from full tank (used to get about 90 - 110) and the mid range power is superb. The noise is nice too! I've recently fitted a K&N filter and left all the restrictive induction piping off, so it breathes just throught the filter. It's now so smooth - no vibes at all and a pleasure to ride. It has a wee pop back thro' the xhaust now and then but nothing intrusive. It is a bit noisier now tho - I love it!

Dave

[guised]

Hi Adam,

The Zach is much easier to fit and get working than the Lazer. I think Darth (Dave) had to cut the 'up' pipe to the siliencer to get it to fit but this wasn't an issue for me.

I bought mine direct from Zach but after organising the money transfer (extra fees ) I didn't save much over Motorworks, for the extra hassle.

Cheers

Dan

[adamski49]

Thanks for the replies. Looks like Motorworks then if I go the Y piece route.

Cheers

Adam