How a CForce 1000 sounds with a straight-through exhaust

Sound is the main reason people buy from us. Not the weight, not the stainless, not the welds. The sound.

And there's no point describing it in words. "Deep", "throaty" — everyone writes that, including the people whose exhaust rings like a bucket. So: recordings first, talk afterwards.

Idle and under load

Recorded on a CForce 1000, unprocessed and unedited. Nothing was touched — no EQ, no level correction.

Use headphones, or at least something better than a phone speaker. A phone speaker cuts the low end, and the low end is the whole point here.

What to listen for besides volume

Volume is the most obvious and least useful thing you can say about an exhaust. Any leaking pipe manages loud. The difference is elsewhere.

The note. In the idle recording you can hear that the body of the sound sits low. A straight-through core doesn't reflect the wave back, so the low frequencies leave almost intact — that's where the density comes from, and it's what a chambered stock muffler can't produce.

The top end. This is where straight-throughs usually fall apart. Thin packing or too short a pipe, and you get a metallic ring at higher revs. It doesn't deafen you, it wears you out — that ring is why your head feels heavy after two hours in the saddle. There's no ring in the load recording, and that isn't luck: system length and packing density were chosen for exactly this.

Steadiness. The note shouldn't wander at constant revs. If it does, you've got a leak or a joint that isn't sealing.

How much louder than stock

Noticeably. That's as precise as we'll get.

We haven't put a meter on it, and we won't quote a decibel figure — ours or anyone else's. A number without a test procedure means nothing: the result shifts with microphone distance, engine speed, height above ground, the surface under the machine, and a dozen other conditions. A seller who prints "96 dB" without a word about methodology has simply picked a good-looking number.

The recordings above were made under identical conditions, and the difference from the factory note is audible without any figures at all.

Sound limits where you ride

This matters more outside Russia than inside it, so it's worth spelling out.

Many riding areas — public land in the US, trail networks in Canada, and a lot of European countries — set a maximum sound level for off-highway vehicles, usually measured by a stationary test to SAE J1287. Some also require a working spark arrestor. Limits and test procedures differ by state, province and country, and they change.

We can't tell you whether this system passes where you ride, because we haven't run the test and we don't know your local figure. What we can tell you is that a straight-through system is louder than stock, so if you ride somewhere with an enforced limit, check the number before you order rather than after.

Cold starts and riding

The first few seconds from cold are sharper: the engine is running rich and at a raised warm-up idle. The note settles within a minute or two. Don't judge the system by its first start — that's the engine, not the muffler.

Riding changes the picture more than people expect. At steady revs, wind and transmission noise cover a lot of the exhaust, so it feels quieter than the static recording suggests. On a closed throttle, though, you hear it clearly, and some machines will pop. That's not a fault and not a defect — the stock can was smoothing it over, and a straight-through passes it through as it is.

There are clips from owners' machines in the gallery on the front page, including a winter ride.

Who shouldn't buy one

Worth saying plainly so you don't waste money.

If you hunt, fit a stock system or one built specifically to be quiet. A straight-through isn't for that job, and we're not going to argue otherwise.

If you carry a child as a passenger, or ride mostly around a village or campground, think twice. The difference from stock is obvious from the first start, and you can't undo it.

If what you want is "deep but quiet" — that doesn't exist, and that's not modesty on our part, it's how a straight-through works. Quiet is made with chambers, and chambers are no longer a straight-through.

What changes besides the sound

Weight. Our system is 6 kg against 12 for the stock one — roughly 13 lb against 26. That's the one number we measured ourselves and will stand behind.

We don't claim horsepower. We haven't run a dyno, and a percentage without a measurement is just a word. A straight-through core lowers restriction, which follows from how it's built, but how much of that becomes power on your machine with your mapping is a question for a dyno, not a product page.

Will it fit your machine

The system fits the CForce 800 and 1000 in the G3 body, including Touring and Overland on that same body. The generation is determined by the body, not the model year, and it will not fit earlier bodies.

If you're unsure, send us a message with a photo of the machine from the rear. We'll tell you before you order, not after.