FAQ: ULEZ charge and how it effects you!

[Gnasher]

Im not a welding expert by any stretch and someone please correct me if Im wrong but I have several issue with that cut-n-shut job -

• [li]Imho that link pipe looks like Stainless steel, so whats with the cheap-ass paint job covering the even worse quality welds? (they bead is all over the place and they didnt even bother to clean off the weld spatter, which is the least I would have expect for the amount of money they charged!)[/l][[/l][/l]

I was trained in welding in a past life and you're right, this is poor welding at best.  Looks like they've used a MIG welder, which is the cheapest and quickest route, MIG is one of the most common welder system out there and the easiest to learn and use.  The best method to weld stainless sheet, especially thin tubing is TIG.  But it requires more time to learn and a lot more skill as you have to control the torch with one hand and the welding material, the rod with the other.  Because it takes time to obtain the skill it's not used by many.  All that said a skilled MIG welder with the correct wire/gas flux mix should be capable of producing better quality welds than this.     

     

• [li]Why did they have to cut into the link pipe at all, why didnt that just shove it into the end[/l][/l]

Because the downtube collector stub slides into the end of the silencer link pipe, meaning it would need to be pushed up the pipe 50mm or so to allow the collector stub to slide in.  That would make it very difficult with MiG or TIG but possible, although it would take skill.  The CAT should have and are with quality conversations, fitted/welded into the collector stub.  This requires more skill and can present other technical issues,  like the early FZS systems they're are not stainless and special wire or rods are required to weld.  They other method is interference fit but this would mean bespoke CAT elements for each bike and that would cost.     

Basically this is as cheapest job they can get away with, on as many different bikes as possible with and max their profit.

I've seen a FZ6 downtubes they have CATs in them, cut and reconfigure to fit an FZS, to get through the Pairs equivalent to our ULEZ.         

Regarding covering it up, just replace the link pipe. Now that your bike is on tfl's bull$hit system there is absolutely no way tfl can prove oitherwise.

Personally I'm in total agreement with the law, we've got to reduce emissions.  In that case I wouldn't recommend this course of action and I'm told they do or are planning to do spot checks, e.g. you get tested on the spot, or you have to go directly to a test area.  This would make sense and is the only way to ensure people don't take the piss.  It's going to get much tougher in the coming years, whether we like it or not. 

when the government introduce nationwide emissions testing which will put Riverbank ripoff merchants out of business.

It's on it way, all new bikes for some years now have had CATs fitted as standard, they've also had full loop fuel/air/ignition/emission systems, they just not been required to be tested in the UK at MOT.  They will, at some point quite soon and its very likely it will be illegal to change them i.e. cutting out CATs shoving on open exhaust, engine remaps etc.  Many make the assumption, noise is power and what worked 40 odd yrs ago works on late 90's on, WRONG.

Riverbank I agree are just fleecing people, they've got a monopoly which shouldn't be allowed.  Governments are looking for the cheapest, fastest and as profitable as possible ways, to force older vehicles off the road, especially those doing daily commuting into cities/towns.  Iv'e said it many times, if you have to daily or often commute into London or any city and will do for at least a year, get yourself a late model maxi scooter.  You can pick them up for less than a years ULEZ charge, bearing in mind many other large cities and town either have a charge or soon will have.

The other point I'd take real issue with, is the statement apparently made by the bod at Riverside.  Apparently he said, "having a clean air filter will make the NOX higher" and then in the next breath and I quote  "he also said it wouldn't have been significant enough to make it pass."

Utter bollocks, as will running higher octane fuel will reduce emissions, just shows you what they don't know.  Classic case of a little bit of knowledge and all that  :rolleyes

Pretty much anyone can be trained to strap a bike into a dyno and do a run, making sense of the reading from that run and implementing changes, is where the skill comes in.  Bit like the organ grinder and the monkey   The bike was running higher emissions because it's either their dyno equipment is out of calibration (very common) or the bike isn't set up correctly and/or there's engine/component wear, again very common on nearly 20yr old bike, plain and simple. 

Restricted air filter will mean richer fuel mixture, richer fuel mixture = higher NOX. Also using higher octane fuel will increase emissions for an engine not tuned/designed to burn it and could reduce engine power.  Admittedly the difference between 95 & 98 will be small, but it will be there.  Pretty much all Jap bikes for decades are designed to run on fuel between 80 - 95 octane fuel.  One easy way to get more power is to increase compression, more compression and earlier ignition = more power but that increases heat, which in turn causes pre ignition or detonation.  Which means, you lose most of the gains of running higher compression.  To overcome this higher octane fuel was produced, it requires more heat to burn as such can run higher compression before ignition via compression heat or pre detonation.  Result more power due to a stable detention, the higher the octane the higher the compression = more power.

To burn higher octane fuel efficiently requires higher compression and more ignition advance. Just shoving in 98 will do absolutely nothing to increase power, possibly the opposite, probably not much, not even noticeable by the rider but there.  If you do nothing to the bike to accommodate running higher octane, you will get no increase in power a richer mixture and increased emissions, FACT

I had a chap contact me, who'd removed the CATs and EXUP valve from his XJR1300 and fitted a freeflow exhaust system at a cost of almost 3k, running on V power.  Now it doesn't start, idle or drive very well low end - mid range and then found out it's producing only 95bhp, standard a good one will put out 103 - 5. Unless the fuel/ignition systems are modified to take into account the changes they can't take advantage, not there is much anyway couple bhp at most.  Like many others I've seen and will see, he listened to internet plagisiers  :rolleyes  and wasted 3k.  To fix it either pay out more to get it properly set up or put it back to standard, which will cost him more as he destroyed his downtubes.  Fitting a cat doesn't mean less power and any reduction will be very small and only at the very top end and who rides around everywhere with the throttled nailed :lol   

What many UK bikes can and do benefit from is advancing the ignition by around 4* this makes starting, better and gives a cleaner/smoother burn, bike feels more responsive.  Some bikes actually produce a few hp lower down and in the emission holes manufactures create to get through type approval.  Why can you do this in the UK, because the engine is designed to run of fuel as low as 80 certainly low 90's, here in the UK all fuel is above 95.