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FX GARAGE WORKS BRAIDED FLEX PIPE

Matthew457

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Apr 6, 2015
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Yamaha Nytro xtx
I have a 2012 Yamaha Nytro XTX, haven’t looked at the exhaust joints or donuts in like 8 thousand km. Anyone have had these on for a while and know how they hold up? It’s like the same price to buy all new joints and donuts anyways so seems like it’d be worth it. Thanks
 

Had zero luck with these.
Yea I think I’m just going to buy all new joints, donuts and hardware from Yamaha. It’s too bad FX garage works doesn’t make the pipes larger so you can get a gasket between the connection points, sure that would seal it better since it sounds like the biggest problem is not sealing correctly
 
I've had few customers buying stock components to convert back to oem, as the braided kit did not work well for them. The design makes it tough to get a tough seal.
Do you know what the problem is specifically?
 
I have a 2006 attak. It's up to 4~5k miles and on the last trip began backfiring anytime I gave it throttle and backed off. My assumption is that it is time for the exhaust to get some attention.

I plan to get into it and do some work but the sled is at a far away location. I'd like to show up with all parts to rebuild the exhaust joints.

That said, without knowing what is worn out what parts could I plan to have on hand to make sure I have what is needed to make the fixes? I was thinking this kit may be the best option but it sounds like it can be hit and miss? As asked above what specifically was tough to seal?
 
This kit requires you to cut off the flange end of your header pipes and install their braided flex pipe using their clamps. It's the clamps and the flex pipe that some have had issues with sealing. I understand wanting to have all the parts needed to repair due to distant of the machine but it would be ideal to tear into it first to know exactly what you all need. It's quite possible that you caught the exhaust leak in time and your flanges are good where you would only need new exhaust donuts; and possibly clamps if they've expanded. Some have filed down the metal stop on these clamps so as to be able to clamp them tighter and not have to purchase new clamps. If donuts are all you need, you could be spending a small fortune just to have all the parts you "might" need.
 
It could just be your donuts. If your flex joints are good, you could just go with copper donuts.
 
The 06 came with titanium headers. Yamaha offered a steel replacement set.
 
I have a 2005 RS Rage I bought last summer. First thing I had to do was replace the blown out exhaust. Sled has 5200 miles on it.

Can we all admit the factory design was a complete fail? A flex coupling that is of a solid design and doesn’t really flex IMHO is the core of the issue. Any metal will break if you flex it enough. Not sure how the same design with different materials was gonna work long term. But having never done those other factory oriented repairs. Maybe I’m wrong. I just don’t think so! :)

I liked the look of the FX Garage couplers. These are the new style couplers. They are the same type of couplings I used on turbo drag car builds with never an issue. Used them all over the cars. So that’s the direction I went.

I had no real issues installing them. I put extra attention to getting the cylinder heads exhaust ports clean and smooth. New Yamaha gasket with a very thin coat of exhaust rated RTV. It took a few tries slowly cutting back the length of the header. Don’t cut enough and the rest of the system won’t line up or be tight and not float like it should. The provided clamps are wide and strong and clamped just right. I also used an exhaust sealing material I hadn’t used on anything in the past… just in case.

The real trick to all of this was to get the sled taken down as far as required to get really good access to everything. If you think you are going to not take the sled down very far and work with a reach on everything you’ll only make more grief for yourself. Making sure everything fits perfectly is key.

No leaks, issues. Granted it’s only one season. But I saw how it went together and know my work. I’m confident the fix will last. But… I reserve the right to be wrong.

Thanks!

Ed
 
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I'm a little over 8,000 miles (~13,000 km) on my 2009 Nytro. I replaced the donuts some time ago with copper and this past fall I replaced all 3 flex pipes because one of the bellows was cracked.

I contemplated the FX garage fix but with a fair amount of mixed reviews I did all OEM stuff from a site vendor. I figured if the first set lasted that long I should be good for a long time.
 
If you don't mind cutting your header anyways, I used (3) 1.5 inch stainless V-band kits off of ebay and some short 1 3/8ths stainless flex pipes. The best part about it is there is no need for any gaskets anymore, and the v bands fit perfectly under the tank just like stock. The v bands are obviously a little too big for the pipe, but if you're a decent welder it is nothing to make work.
 
Well after 10,500 miles on my 08', one of the flex pipes broke right off. I also found the two outside welds on the head pipe front bracket were cracked. Had the cracks welded up. I bought the sled with 6,000 miles on it and replaced the half gone original donuts with copper ones right when I bought it. Any ways, I decided to install a set of the FX Garage Works flex couplers. I have to say, quick ship from Canada to Michigan for only $10 US. The pipes look really nicely made and fit snug in the ID of the Nytro head pipe. I installed them a little differently than the instructions call for. I cut more of my head pipe flanges off so I could keep the flex pipe clamps in front of the tunnel. I thought this would give me easier access if I had an issue with them and I really did not feel like pulling the skid. The instructions call for removing the skid and placing the clamps under the tunnel. All in all a pretty clean installation. We will see how long they last. G.B.
 

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Just last week I saw some of these later versions and they have improved a lot.
Yes unlike the original design, the new ones have mounting flanges for the cylinder head and only use 1 clamp to the head pipe. Yamaha flex pipes are like $115 USD each right now. This set was $268 ish USD shipped. G.B.
 


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