My First Impression of the Lamonster CAT Bypass

[Jeffsm69]

Just got my new CAT Bypass from Pitbull Powersports, Len was very nice to deal with and he did give our club a 10% discount for the pipe and 2 gaskets, the first thing I noticed with this pipe, it has good quality, nice tig welds and can't beat the 301 stainless material, one thing that I did have a problem with was the flared out areas of the pipe that attach to the head pipes were not concentric and needed to be expanded, I do have a machine capable of doing this but was a little concerned that I might split the pipe on the relief cuts, that's exactly what happened on one relief cut, not much of an issue, just cleaned it up and repaired with another tig weld inside and outside the pipe and it's good as new, just something to keep in mind if you don't have the necessary equipment to handle the job yourself, I should get the install done by the weekend and with the pipe now perfectly concentric and the gaskets fitting inside with no problem, should be rather easy.

[bscrive]

Thanks for the info Jeff. This is a mod that I will be doing to my wife's STL this winter. Luckily I do have the equipment if I hit the same problems as you. You should give Len a call though to let him know of the issue you had. I am sure he would want to know so that he doesn't send something out that he will receive back because it doesn't fit for the average person. Not everyone has the equipement we do. I know I would be upset getting something like this and I needed to modify it and had to pay someone to do it or have to send it back.

Brian

[Jeffsm69]

Thanks for the info Jeff. This is a mod that I will be doing to my wife's STL this winter. Luckily I do have the equipment if I hit the same problems as you. You should give Len a call though to let him know of the issue you had. I am sure he would want to know so that he doesn't send something out that he will receive back because it doesn't fit for the average person. Not everyone has the equipement we do. I know I would be upset getting something like this and I needed to modify it and had to pay someone to do it or have to send it back.

Brian

True, I would hope that someone buying this mod would understand that it's not going to arrive in perfect condition, it's impossible to duplicate these and get them perfect every time, it only took me 30 minutes or so to fix them but I'm a perfectionist

[Chupaca]

several installs have mentioned the need to bend the flanges a bit to get them to fit but doable. Let us know how it goes and the effects...

[clueless]

Glad i had the boys at pitbull install mine at spyderfest this year

[Jeffsm69]

Glad i had the boys at pitbull install mine at spyderfest this year

I like to do my own work, just thought I'd share my experience so far, it's not a straight forward install as claimed especially when you need to modify or adjust the pipe before fitting it, Not a problem for me but others may find it difficult

[fulltimer]

Just got my new CAT Bypass from Pitbull Powersports, Len was very nice to deal with and he did give our club a 10% discount for the pipe and 2 gaskets, the first thing I noticed with this pipe, it has good quality, nice tig welds and can't beat the 301 stainless material, one thing that I did have a problem with was the flared out areas of the pipe that attach to the head pipes were not concentric and needed to be expanded, I do have a machine capable of doing this but was a little concerned that I might split the pipe on the relief cuts, that's exactly what happened on one relief cut, not much of an issue, just cleaned it up and repaired with another tig weld inside and outside the pipe and it's good as new, just something to keep in mind if you don't have the necessary equipment to handle the job yourself, I should get the install done by the weekend and with the pipe now perfectly concentric and the gaskets fitting inside with no problem, should be rather easy.

As the owner of a bone stock ST, what was it you wanted from an aftermarket pipe? Bypassing the CAT to defeat the heat problem? Sound? Power? Please enlighten me as I am mentally starting my "fixit" list. You certainly didn't spend the money for no reason.

[Jeffsm69]

As the owner of a bone stock ST, what was it you wanted from an aftermarket pipe? Bypassing the CAT to defeat the heat problem? Sound? Power? Please enlighten me as I am mentally starting my "fixit" list. You certainly didn't spend the money for no reason.

As you'll soon find out, it's definitely the heat problem unless you're the owner or a new 2014 ST, the 2013 ST doesn't have the vented side panels and even with them, the CAT located directly under the fuel tank throws off a ton of heat, that's the main reason for eliminating it

[capt.jim]

It is a very nice piece, good materials and nice workmanship.
It doesn't have that choked down feeling anymore, pulls better all the way through the power band.
It also lowered the temp from a constant 5 bars to 4 sometimes, never noticed that before.
I fought mine for a while then went to the muffler shop with the cat and the bypass in hand, they opened it up to the same size as the cat, then it went right on.
Make sure you have the center support with the 2 grommets on beforehand, or you will be dropping it again, ask me how I know.

[AbNormy]

Love mine quick service from Pitbull quality workmanship

[Just Doo Me]

It is a very nice piece, good materials and nice workmanship.
It doesn't have that choked down feeling anymore, pulls better all the way through the power band.
It also lowered the temp from a constant 5 bars to 4 sometimes, never noticed that before.
I fought mine for a while then went to the muffler shop with the cat and the bypass in hand, they opened it up to the same size as the cat, then it went right on.
Make sure you have the center support with the 2 grommets on beforehand, or you will be dropping it again, ask me how I know.

What I don't understand is why are they so hard to get on without modifying the flanges? I wonder if Pitbull and Lamont are aware they may need a little tweaking to make install a bit easier?

[Jeffsm69]

Anyone doing this job yourself,
1. Pitbull says you can put this on without removing body panels, I disagree, they need to come off the bike to properly fit the bypass and tighten the clamps, also very helpful to check for exhaust leaks.
2. Get some Berkebile 2 + 2 to help removing the rubber mounts, you can drop the CAT by removing the bracket on the two forks on the front of the CAT
3. Some say it's easier to put the new exhaust gaskets on the head pipe first, I found it easier to install them into the bypass and lift it up with a floor jack.
4. Lifting the bike is not necessary to remove the CAT from under the bike, there's plenty of room to slide it right out, you will need a floor jack to put the bracket holding the 2 rubber mounts back into place, also very helpful tightening the clamps while the jack holds the bypass in place.
5. Start the bike before re-installing the body panels and check everywhere for leaks, I removed 3 panels per side.
6. My final thoughts on the Bypass, I strongly recommend everyone buy this, heat problems are gone especially with the new air flow panels, the sound with the stock muffler is very nice and throaty, no real need for an aftermarket exhaust, most say this install takes two hours, leave yourself a good four hours to do this the right way, over all, a fantastic product designed by our fearless leader, many thanks to Lamont and Len at Pitbull Powersports.

[clueless]

Panels do not need removed. Watched them at pitbull install on my ST-S and on Bullants RTS without removing panels. They jacked up the bike to install from bottom

sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire 8.9 HDX Tablet

[Jeffsm69]

Panels do not need removed. Watched them at pitbull install on my ST-S and on Bullants RTS without removing panels. They jacked up the bike to install from bottom

sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire 8.9 HDX Tablet

Yep, watched the video myself and talked to Len, I still disagree and recommend removing the panels, I don't do anything half assed especially on my own machine, but that's my choice

[Genet]

Yep, watched the video myself and talked to Len, I still disagree and recommend removing the panels, I don't do anything half assed especially on my own machine, but that's my choice

where did you find the video for the bypass install?

[333Club]

Yep, watched the video myself and talked to Len, I still disagree and recommend removing the panels, I don't do anything half assed especially on my own machine, but that's my choice

Any chance of you uploading a sound clip of your bike with the cat bypass & Akro pipe?
Bike looks great. I have same 203 STS black currant and your wheels really look nice. Thanks for the insight & info.

[bayoumanPIBE]

Pitbull did mine as well. Unless I am missing something, my CAT bypass etc went together great. During my first tune up for new owners they did need to tighten a few things.

Between them doing my laser alignment, CAT bypass and Two Bros exhaust...things sound pretty nice to me. Len and the crew did me up right.

[bayoumanPIBE]

Any chance of you uploading a sound clip of your bike with the cat bypass & Akro pipe?
Bike looks great. I have same 203 STS black currant and your wheels really look nice. Thanks for the insight & info.

I have a 2014 STS Congac . I can post a video mine with the two bros exhaust if you are interested. You might be partial to Akro...just throwing it out there.

[GunDoctor]

Installed on my F3 without needing to take any panels off, just rode it up on my car ramps and in 30 minutes I had it back together. I did initially leave out the gasket because it really didn't fit "well" any place except on the cat, which was now gone. I guess this is what you are talking about. I took it all apart again the next night after speaking to Whit from Pitbull and put it in the pipe as it should have gone in with the 3 springs. Doesn't fit very well, but was told it had to be put on. I love the new sound, don't know much about power until I get her broke in, only 68 miles on her... Have 2nd F3 coming next week for my Girlfriend, but will wait to do hers If there is going to be changes to it.


Another Day To Be My Kid's Dad [emoji379]

[333Club]

I have a 2014 STS Congac . I can post a video mine with the two bros exhaust if you are interested. You might be partial to Akro...just throwing it out there.

Sure, I would appreciate the sound clip. That's for offering