Kawi2strokes.com Forum

As you all know, I took over the building of Tomcat pipes several years ago and had a miserable time getting the pipes made. Had I known then, what I know now, I would have made a different choice. My biggest issue was actually doing the welding. I can't weld sheet metal and haven't been able to develop the touch. And for the past several years I was not able to find a trustworthy welder who would do the work at a reasonable price...with reasonable to me being less than what was being charged for the pipes.

Well, that has finally changed. I have found a top notch welder who has his own equipment and work space. The fact that he's a bike nut is a double bonus. He and I tested out how well we work together for a month in June and July and got built 2 sets of T500 slip on pipes that I designed a few years ago in the Tomcat style. His work is very nice and the pipes look great. I took them to Mid-Ohio and everyone seemed to like them.

Pipes will start shipping by the end of September to all those who have outstanding orders. However, to clear the backlog, pipes are going to be built by model, not by order number. For all outstanding orders, H2 pipes will be built first then H1 pipes. This is being done simply for time management. Both I and the welder have full time jobs and mine requires a fair amount of overtime. There are more H2 pipe orders than H1 and rather than changing jigs constantly, I want to get all the pipes of a type done at once. In addition, I'll be building extra sets for sale. If you have an outstanding order and you see a set of pipes for sale before you get yours, that is NOT a snub or a stall. It's simply so that I can pay the welder and pay for more material and welding supplies. Without going into the details too much, for every 3 sets of pipes that have already been paid for, I have to sell 1 set of pipes to pay the welder. I will not be making an additional penny until all outstanding pipe orders have been filled.

I realize that to several of you, my name is dirt, and I truly regret that I have acted in a way that made you feel that way. There was NEVER an intent to deceive and all who know me well, know that and they know how badly that I feel that some think that my word is worthless. I hope to change that in the next few months by making sure that you get what you have paid for and have been patiently waiting for. I thank you for your patience. To all those who I've refunded the purchase price of the pipes, Thank you for the original order. If you still need pipes and want to re-order, I will honor the original purchase price.

Again, if you see a set of pipes on eBay or on the boards, and you have an outstanding order, please don't buy them unless you want an extra set of pipes. I guarantee if you see a NEW set of Kawasaki Tomcat pipes for sale, 3 people with outstanding orders will have had their orders shipped.

New orders will not be taken until after I start getting the outstanding orders shipped.

Jeff Gootblatt
jeff@kawtriple.com

NOT to criticize, but, when you took over the pipe business, I PM'd you on the old board, and offered to help with the construction. For whatever reason, you declined, no problem there, but, I was ready and able to help. I would have TIG welded them, I do that for all the systems I build for myself and others here. I also have rollers to make cones and flats from scratch, and I had my neighbor, a truck driver, go to Los Angeles, and pick up a computerized mandrel bender that can taper bend, from Little John Buttera (he has manufactured the tubes for most of the header builders in this country for many years), that now allows me to build a tapered primary pipe in 3 to 4 steps.

As I said, Jeff, THIS IS NOT A CRITICISM, just a reminder there was an alternative offered back then.

I know Dave. At the time, I wasn't willing to accept that I couldn't weld. That was MY fault and my pride caused me a lot of grief.

Jeff

They're large diameter expansion chambers. You can stop calling them TC pipes. In fact, I'd advise you to stop calling them that and edit out it's use herein.

Maybe you can call them:

LDXC = Large Diameter Expansion Chambers
FXC = Fat Expansion Chambers
HRXC = High Radius Expansion Chambers
LWFXC = Large Wave Front Expansion Chambers
LBLXC = Large Boundry Layer Expansion Chambers
HVLRXC = High Volume Low Restriction Expansion Chambers

I could go on & on......But I'd prefer HVGP = High Volume Gas-Passers

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Busy doing more riding than wrenching.......

Will there be any options to order these in a non-welded cone kit?

HVLRXC ? Ain't that some kind of Harley! Pretty much agree with the name change idea, nothing like a fresh start. Good luck Jeff!

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"One day, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching." : anon.

HVGP is a good name, but it's a better name for several of the board members who come to the Deals Gap meet.

Once I start offering new sets for sale, I'll rename them. But for the people who have ordered them and for everyone who knows that I took over things from Tom, they are called Tomcats so I don't want to cause confusion.

I'm definitely going to have to come up with a name because now that I can get these built, I'm also going to be offering pipes for the S models and the Suzuki GT550 and GT750. Once I get caught up, I'm going to be getting the port specs off of the bikes I have and designing pipes for them. And I have an S1, an S2, a KH400 (If I can get the motor unsiezed), both chassis styles of the GT550, a late chassis GT750, and a T500.

I want to get caught up first. I have a few months to come up with a name, but a couple of obvious names involving the letters "jeff" are OFF the table.

Not really. If you are doing something really strange, let me know and we'll figure something out. In your case, you could probably just bring your bike to Shawnee on the Delaware and we'll fit up what you need.

Jeff,
Once you get caught up with the bavk log and start taking orders, what would H2 pipes with the inverted silencers sell for?
If you'd rather not list it here a PM would be just fine.
Imagine there are others interested in the design.

From what I hear, there were a lot of people that didn't get their pipes or money back
Setting the score straight would be long overdue but certainly respected
In spite of these problems, I never heard one person complain about the performance; love my chrome Denco's but would like to try a set of phatties

_________________
There are only two types of motor sport racing:
Nitro and everything else
(Sometimes referred to as fast and slow)

Getting this all squared away is most certainly overdue, and I will have to earn my respect back from those who feel that I've screwed them over. Like I said earlier, that was NEVER my intention and I've felt terrible about the whole mess for a very long time. I got in over my head and my pride took over. It might even be one of the causes of my stomach issues as I've been stressing about this for a long time. I never stopped trying to learn to weld sheet metal, though, and I still suck at it. Fortunately, Scott (the welder) is very good at it, so I can start now to put this behind me and start rebuilding my name.

I'm still working on pricing for new sets, but they will be about $700 per set for a standard chassis bike. I'm not sure about the muffler thing, though. The pipes that I'm building have Denco style mufflers. Once I get the backlog squared away I'll be posting a website with all the info. However, if you like your chrome Dencos, you'll really like the stainless steel pipes that I will be offering as an alternative to the plain steel pipes. Stainless will, however, be significantly more than plain steel.