exhaust manifold for westcoast pipe on js550

[d36rmrider]

I just bought a westcoast pipe off ebay for my 89 550 and it says on the details that If your putting this pipe on a 550 you will need a 440 style exhaust manifold. I can see that it mounts differiently and i will need a new manifold but is this pipe for a 440 and will it work ok im a motocross rider and know you cant put a 125 pipe on a 250 or is this just a replacment because kawasaki did such a poor job making the 550 pipe?

[chris w]

Re: exhaust manifold for westcoast pipe on js550

The 440 and 550 share the same crank stroke and you could swap cranks between the two. That relates to the pipe only that they had similar ex time so they could feasibly share the same pipe. The 440 had a different pump that was a little less loaded than the 550 pump, so to make power they were usually tuned to turn more rpm than the 550's. I think the westcoast pipes (if I remember right) were slightly shorter than the similiar coffmans pipe(coffmans classic), but both can be made to work well on the 550. Yes you need a manifold, there were many available back in the day, OCJS, PJS, or the 440 manifold. I didnt use the 440 manifold, but there were people out there that did.

BTW, I am a D37 ktm rider. ;)